The Only Use of
cloister
in
Macbeth
- ere the bat hath flown
His cloistered flight, ere to black Hecate's summons,p. 95.1cloistered = secluded or hiddeneditor's notes: Hecate was the goddess of witchcraft and the night. This could be paraphrased as: "Before the bat has flown his hidden flight where Hecate calls it, i.e., before nightfall."
Definitions:
-
(1)
(cloister in the architectural sense) a covered walkway with columns along one or more sides of a courtyard -- often found in monasteries, churches, or old colleges
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(2)
(cloister in the religious sense) a place, such as a monastery or convent, where people live in religious seclusion; or the act of withdrawing into such a place
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(3)
(cloister as in: cloister ourselves away) to keep someone or something away from the outside world -- often for safety, privacy, or focus