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A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 1
A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 1

Chapter XIX · Chapter 19

Chapter 19 of A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 1 is here in full — 345 sentences across 69 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 1
Context Illustration Reading 1/69 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
_Bal_.
'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.
_King_.
Mine, I protest, are free.
_Queen_.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 1

Chapter XIX · Chapter 19

Chapter 19 of A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 1 is here in full — 345 sentences across 69 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/69 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
_Bal_.
Line 2
'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.
Line 3
_King_.
/kɪŋ/
Line 4
Mine, I protest, are free.
/maɪn aɪ ˈproʊtest ɑːr friː/
Line 5
_Queen_.
/kwiːn/

Learner Dictionary

These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.

Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.

Exits noun US /ˈeɡzɪts/

plural of “exit” — an opening that permits escape or release

From this reading “'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.”

free verb US /friː/

grant freedom to; free from confinement

From this reading “Mine, I protest, are free.”

lamentable adjective US /ləˈmentəbəl/

bad; unfortunate

From this reading “'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.”

Mine pronoun US /maɪn/

the one or ones belonging to the person speaking

From this reading “Mine, I protest, are free.”

protest noun US /ˈproʊtest/

a formal and solemn declaration of objection

From this reading “Mine, I protest, are free.”

Queen noun US /kwiːn/

the only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs

Statesmen noun US /ˈsteɪtsmɪn/

plural of “statesman” — a man who is a respected leader in national or international affairs

From this reading “'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.”

vile adjective US /vaɪl/

morally reprehensible

From this reading “'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.”

All words in this reading · 30

Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.

Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading 'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class

From this reading 'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.

areauxiliary verbUS /ɑːr/

the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun

From this reading 'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.

Bal

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading _Bal_.

butconjunctionUS /bʌt/

used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before

From this reading 'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.

ExitsnounUS /ˈeɡzɪts/

plural of “exit” — an opening that permits escape or release

From this reading 'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.

EyesnounUS /aɪz/

opinion or judgment

From this reading 'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.

freeverbUS /friː/

grant freedom to; free from confinement

From this reading Mine, I protest, are free.

greatadjectiveUS /ɡreɪt/

relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind

From this reading 'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading 'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.

hopenounUS /hoʊp/

a specific instance of feeling hopeful

From this reading 'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading 'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading 'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.

KingnounUS /kɪŋ/

a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom

From this reading _King_.

lamentableadjectiveUS /ləˈmentəbəl/

bad; unfortunate

From this reading 'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.

MinepronounUS /maɪn/

the one or ones belonging to the person speaking

From this reading Mine, I protest, are free.

nothingpronounUS /ˈnʌθɪŋ/

not one thing; not anything

From this reading 'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading 'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.

peece

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.

plaudities

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.

protestnounUS /ˈproʊtest/

a formal and solemn declaration of objection

From this reading Mine, I protest, are free.

QueennounUS /kwiːn/

the only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs

From this reading _Queen_.

seeverbUS /siː/

perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight

From this reading 'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.

StatesmennounUS /ˈsteɪtsmɪn/

plural of “statesman” — a man who is a respected leader in national or international affairs

From this reading 'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.

stuffe

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.

thereadverbUS /ðer/

in or at that place or location

From this reading 'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading 'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.

Twere

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.

vileadjectiveUS /vaɪl/

morally reprehensible

From this reading 'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.

yourdeterminerUS /jɔːr/

belonging to the person or people being spoken to

From this reading 'Twere a lamentable peece of stuffe to see great Statesmen have vile Exits; but I hope there are nothing but plaudities in all your Eyes.

Chapter 19 of A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 1 by A. H. (Arthur Henry) [Editor] Bullen holds 345 sentences, grouped into 69 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.

What does chapter 19 of A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 1 contain?

Chapter 19 holds 345 sentences of A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 1, unabridged, divided into 69 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 19 of A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 1 by A. H. (Arthur Henry) [Editor] Bullen exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 345 sentences, grouped into 69 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.

How do I study chapter 19 of A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 1?

Work through the 69 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 69 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.

Can chapter 19 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 19 can be played aloud in United States English.

Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.

Questions about reading A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 1

Common questions about reading A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 1 by A. H. (Arthur Henry) [Editor] Bullen on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 1?

Yes. All 7531 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #10388 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 1 is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #10388, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 1 take to read?

About 600 minutes of reading across 1507 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 1 section by section

How to work through A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 1 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

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  2. Read one section

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Vocabulary met early in A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 1

Words and structures a reader meets early in A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 1, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Bullen
A word that appears in the opening chapter of A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 1; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Plays
A word that appears in the opening chapter of A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 1; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Present
A word that appears in the opening chapter of A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 1; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Collection
A word that appears in the opening chapter of A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 1; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.