Use context clues to determine the meaning of the word restrained. Write your definition, along with the words or phrases that were most helpful in arriving at your conclusion. Then consult a dictionary to confirm your understanding.

The literature and other art of the ancient and classical periods is characterized by a formal and restrained style. A glance at any piece of classical Greek or Roman art or architecture makes that style clear. It is
perfectly balanced and symmetrical and hardly adorned, which can be seen in the Parthenon, a famous Greek temple built in 480 BCE. Classical artists strove to achieve an ideal, and therefore did not include excess features that could throw the piece off balance or reveal any awkward human flaw. Likewise, classical authors employed a restrained style in their poetry and prose. True to the philosophy of the time, they prized balance and order in their language and
in the structure of their poems and plots. Dramas follow Aristotle's unities, strict rules that dictated that a play must focus on one action over the course of one day in a single location. All the messy action happens offstage and then is described in formal language for the audience by a member of the chorus. In epic poems, passionate actions are often counseled against or result in terrible consequences.