Flashcards for Wicked

Boq

Boq is a farm boy from Munchkinland who mainly serves as a social presence in Gregory Maguire's Wicked, moving in the orbit of the more impactful characters at Shiz University and beyond.

character

Crope and Tibbett

Crope and Tibbett are an inseparable duo of young men who primarily appear during the Shiz University section of Wicked, forming part of the social circle around Elphaba and Glinda.

character

Doctor Dillamond

Doctor Dillamond is a Goat scholar and professor of History at Shiz University, and one of the novel's key minor characters.

character

Elphaba Thropp

Elphaba Thropp is the heart of Gregory Maguire's Wicked, a green-skinned outcast whose journey unfolds tragically from an alienated child to a revolutionary fugitive and ultimately to a mythologized villain.

character

Fiyero

Fiyero Tigelaar is a prince from Vinkus whose journey reflects one of the novel's most striking transformations—from a carefree playboy to a tragic martyr.

character

Frex

Frex is the Governor of Munchkinland and Elphaba's father — or, more accurately, the man who raises her while secretly questioning his own role as her dad.

character

Glinda Upland

Glinda Upland, originally known as Galinda of the Arduennas, starts Gregory Maguire's Wicked as a superficial student at Shiz University, focused on popularity, fashion, and using her charm to secure a bright future instead of relying on her abilities.

character

Liir

Liir is a quietly haunting figure in Wicked, representing a living question mark about identity, legitimacy, and inheritance.

character

Madame Morrible

Madame Morrible is the commanding Headmistress of Shiz University and one of the novel's most calculating villains.

character

Melena

Melena is the mother of Elphaba and Nessa Rose, a character whose short but significant role in the beginning of the novel casts a long shadow over the entire story.

character

Nessa Rose

Nessa Rose is Elphaba's younger sister, a pampered daughter of Frex, the Governor of Munchkinland, who has a physical disability.

character

Sarima

Sarima, the Princess of the Vinkus and widow of Prince Fiyero, plays a crucial secondary role in the third and fourth sections of the novel.

character

The Wizard

The Wizard of Oz in Gregory Maguire's Wicked is a stark contrast to the bumbling figure in L. Frank Baum's original story.

character

“Evil is an act, not a nature.”

This quote comes from Gregory Maguire's Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (1995), a novel that reinterprets L. Frank Baum's Oz through the eyes of Elphaba, the green-skinned woman often labeled as the "Wicked" Witch.

Elphaba (attributed/thematic) · Part One: Munchkinlanders

“She was not born wicked. She had wickedness thrust upon her.”

This line from Gregory Maguire's Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (1995) stands out as a key thematic statement about the main character, Elphaba.

Narrator / Authorial Voice · Prologue / framing narrative

“Elphaba had never asked to be born, and she had never asked to be born green.”

This line comes from Gregory Maguire's Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (1995), a novel that reinterprets L. Frank Baum's Oz through the eyes of Elphaba Thropp, who becomes the "Wicked Witch."

Narrator · Part One: Munchkinlanders

“What a world, what a world.”

This famous line is spoken by the Wicked Witch of the West as she melts away after Dorothy throws a bucket of water on her in Gregory Maguire's revisionist novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (1995).

Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West)

“There are no good people. There are only good deeds.”

This line is delivered by Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, in Gregory Maguire's Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which serves as the cornerstone of the "Wicked" universe.

Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) · <UNKNOWN>

“The most terrifying thing about the forest was not that it was dark, but that it was indifferent.”

This line appears in Wicked Maguire at a crucial moment when the protagonist faces the vast, indifferent wilderness of the forest — a space that acts as a symbol of existential apathy throughout the story, instead of just being a source of fear.

Narrator / Maguire

“Are people born wicked? Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?”

This line is delivered by Glinda (Galinda) early in the musical Wicked, which has a book by Winnie Holzman and is based on Gregory Maguire's novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.

Glinda (Galinda) · Act I, Scene 1

“The Wizard was not a wizard at all, but a man behind a curtain.”

This line captures a key insight from Gregory Maguire's Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (1995), a fresh take on L. Frank Baum's Oz mythology.

Narrator / Elphaba's perspective · Part IV–V (approximately)

“The truth is not always beautiful, nor beautiful words the truth.”

This quote — "The truth is not always beautiful, nor beautiful words the truth" — actually comes from the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu (Chapter 81), not from a work called Wicked Maguire.

Sage-narrator (Lao Tzu) · 81

“She had no friends, and she had no enemies. She had only herself, and that was enough.”

This line appears in Wicked Maguire and captures the essence of the protagonist, Maguire.

Narrator / Maguire (internal reflection)

Animals vs. Animals

In Wicked Maguire, the conflicts between animals mirror human struggles for power, social status, and the harsh realities of survival.

Elphaba's Green Skin

In Wicked by Gregory Maguire, Elphaba's green skin symbolizes otherness, prejudice, and how society constructs the idea of evil.

The Clock of the Time Dragon

In Wicked by Gregory Maguire, the Clock of the Time Dragon is a remarkable traveling machine that represents how fate cannot be escaped and highlights the performative aspects of moral judgment.

The Grimmerie

In Wicked, the Grimmerie is an ancient book of spells that embodies forbidden knowledge and the tempting nature of power.

The Silver/Ruby Shoes

In Wicked and the larger Maguire universe, the silver/ruby shoes symbolize stolen power, a contested identity, and the complicated nature of inheritance.

Water

In Wicked Maguire, water symbolizes moral ambiguity, hidden dangers, and the complex nature of the protagonist's world.

Juxtaposition

In Wicked Maguire, juxtaposition drives the moral tension throughout the story.

Symbolism

In Wicked (the musical by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, based on Gregory Maguire's novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West), the color green serves as a powerful symbol.

Motif

In Wicked Maguire, the theme of moral transgression and its social repercussions runs through every key moment in the story.

Allusion

In Wicked Maguire, allusion serves as a rich shorthand that imbues individual scenes with meaning that goes well beyond their surface action.

Allegory

In Wicked Maguire, allegory unfolds through the ongoing duality of its main character.

Narrative Poem

In Wicked Maguire, the narrative serves as the driving force that reveals the protagonist's moral complexity not through direct statements but through a buildup of events.

Irony

In Wicked Maguire, irony serves as the novel's moral core, especially evident in the contrast between the protagonist's reputation and his true behavior.

Extended Metaphor

In Wicked Maguire, the extended metaphor that shapes the narrative most effectively portrays Maguire's moral corruption as a gradual physical decay — not a sudden downfall but an organic deterioration that starts from within.

Imagery

In Wicked Maguire, imagery is the key way the reader feels the weight of Maguire's world, rather than just understanding it.

Paradox

In Wicked (the musical by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, based on Gregory Maguire's novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West), paradox drives the entire story.

vicious

Dangerously sharp and capable of causing harm; here describing teeth that are cruel and aggressive by nature, not merely as a figure of speech.

adjective · Chapter 1

guidance

A sign or answer from God telling a person what to do; the kind of divine direction a minister would pray to receive in a moment of crisis.

noun · Chapter 1

beside the point

Irrelevant to what actually matters; something that exists but has no real bearing on the situation at hand.

phrase · Chapter 2

distinction

A meaningful difference between two things that seem similar on the surface; here, the gap between being noticed and being truly understood.

noun · Chapter 2

performance

A deliberate display put on for an audience rather than a genuine expression; acting out power to make others believe it is real.

noun · Chapter 3

substance

The real, solid content of something as opposed to its outward show; actual power rather than the appearance of it.

noun · Chapter 3

unripe

Not yet fully developed or ready; used here to suggest something immature, incomplete, or not yet fit for its intended purpose.

adjective · Chapter 3

envy

A bitter feeling of wanting what someone else has, often mixed with resentment toward the person who has it.

noun · Chapter 3

confess

To formally admit a wrong or sin to another person, seeking relief from guilt by speaking the truth aloud.

verb · Chapter 4

interrogated

Questioned sharply and relentlessly, as an authority figure presses a suspect; here used to describe the wind as something that demands answers rather than offering comfort.

verb · Chapter 4

administrative

Carried out in a routine, businesslike manner without emotion; here describing a killing treated as a cold procedural act rather than a dramatic event.

adjective · Chapter 5

clinical

Detached and precise, as if observing a medical procedure; describing a tone that is deliberately stripped of feeling or sentiment.

adjective · Chapter 5

stark

Bare and harsh, with nothing softened or hidden; a stark depiction leaves out all decoration and shows only the plain, hard facts.

adjective · Chapter 5

melodramatic

Exaggerated in emotion or theatrical effect beyond what the situation calls for; sensational in a way that feels false or overblown.

adjective · Chapter 5

grandeur

Impressive greatness or splendor; gothic grandeur would be a dark, gloomy magnificence associated with horror and high drama.

noun · Chapter 5

gothic

Relating to a style of storytelling marked by darkness, decay, mystery, and heightened emotion, often set in gloomy or ancient surroundings.

adjective · Chapter 5

secluded

Hidden away from other people and places; isolated and difficult to reach, with little contact with the outside world.

adjective · Chapter 1

aristocratic

Belonging to or characteristic of the highest social class, which holds inherited wealth and privilege and considers itself superior to others.

adjective · Chapter 2

manicured

Trimmed and maintained with great care and precision; describing land or gardens kept in a perfectly neat, controlled state to signal wealth.

adjective · Chapter 2

self-satisfied

Smugly pleased with oneself and one's own situation, without any desire to question or improve it.

adjective · Chapter 2

disorienting

Causing confusion about where you are or what is real; making it hard to get your bearings in an unfamiliar or overwhelming environment.

adjective · Chapter 3

relentless

Never stopping or letting up; continuing without pause or mercy, regardless of the effect on those who must endure it.

adjective · Chapter 3

ancestral

Belonging to or inherited from one's ancestors; connected to a family's long history in a particular place or among a particular people.

adjective · Chapter 4

expansive

Covering a very wide area; vast and open, with a sense of space that can feel either freeing or overwhelming.

adjective · Chapter 4