Both Uses of
sullen
in
Romeo and Juliet
- A pack of blessings lights upon thy back;
Happiness courts thee in her best array;
But, like a misbehav'd and sullen wench,
Thou pout'st upon thy fortune and thy love:p. 156.4 *sullen = unhappy
- All things that we ordained festival
Turn from their office to black funeral:
Our instruments to melancholy bells;
Our wedding cheer to a sad burial feast;
Our solemn hymns to sullen dirges change;
Our bridal flowers serve for a buried corse
And all things change them to the contrary.Scene 4.5sullen = gloomy (sad)
Definitions:
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(1)
(sullen as in: a sullen mood) being unhappy (and often withdrawn)
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(2)
(sullen as in: a sullen sky) darkened by clouds; or the color of a gloomy sky
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(3)
(sullen as in: sullen heat) unpleasant
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(4)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Sullen can also be used figuratively. For example, "A sullen economic landscape" is one that does not look hopeful.