Chapter 17 of A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 3 is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 3 is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Pem_. Must I be spokesman? _Pembrooke_ plead for love? Whose tounge tuned to the Instruments of war Never knew straine of fancy; on my breathe Affection never dwelt, but war and death! But if thou lov'dst to have thy soldiers fight, Or hearten the spent courages of men, _Pembrooke_ could use a stile invincible.
Chapter 17 of A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 3 is here in full — 401 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
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.
inflected form of “dwell” — think moodily or anxiously about something
From this reading “Whose tounge tuned to the Instruments of war Never knew straine of fancy; on my breathe Affection never dwelt, but war and death!”
give encouragement to
From this reading “But if thou lov'dst to have thy soldiers fight, Or hearten the spent courages of men, _Pembrooke_ could use a stile invincible.”
plural of “instrument” — a device that requires skill for proper use
From this reading “Whose tounge tuned to the Instruments of war Never knew straine of fancy; on my breathe Affection never dwelt, but war and death!”
incapable of being overcome or subdued
From this reading “But if thou lov'dst to have thy soldiers fight, Or hearten the spent courages of men, _Pembrooke_ could use a stile invincible.”
appeal or request earnestly
From this reading “_Pembrooke_ plead for love?”
a male spokesperson
From this reading “Must I be spokesman?”
an upright that is a member in a door or window frame
From this reading “But if thou lov'dst to have thy soldiers fight, Or hearten the spent courages of men, _Pembrooke_ could use a stile invincible.”
past form of “tune” — adjust for (better) functioning
From this reading “Whose tounge tuned to the Instruments of war Never knew straine of fancy; on my breathe Affection never dwelt, but war and death!”
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.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading But if thou lov'dst to have thy soldiers fight, Or hearten the spent courages of men, _Pembrooke_ could use a stile invincible.
a positive feeling of liking
From this reading Whose tounge tuned to the Instruments of war Never knew straine of fancy; on my breathe Affection never dwelt, but war and death!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Whose tounge tuned to the Instruments of war Never knew straine of fancy; on my breathe Affection never dwelt, but war and death!
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Must I be spokesman?
draw air into, and expel out of, the lungs
From this reading Whose tounge tuned to the Instruments of war Never knew straine of fancy; on my breathe Affection never dwelt, but war and death!
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Whose tounge tuned to the Instruments of war Never knew straine of fancy; on my breathe Affection never dwelt, but war and death!
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading But if thou lov'dst to have thy soldiers fight, Or hearten the spent courages of men, _Pembrooke_ could use a stile invincible.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But if thou lov'dst to have thy soldiers fight, Or hearten the spent courages of men, _Pembrooke_ could use a stile invincible.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading Whose tounge tuned to the Instruments of war Never knew straine of fancy; on my breathe Affection never dwelt, but war and death!
inflected form of “dwell” — think moodily or anxiously about something
From this reading Whose tounge tuned to the Instruments of war Never knew straine of fancy; on my breathe Affection never dwelt, but war and death!
something many people believe that is false
From this reading Whose tounge tuned to the Instruments of war Never knew straine of fancy; on my breathe Affection never dwelt, but war and death!
be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
From this reading But if thou lov'dst to have thy soldiers fight, Or hearten the spent courages of men, _Pembrooke_ could use a stile invincible.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading _Pembrooke_ plead for love?
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading But if thou lov'dst to have thy soldiers fight, Or hearten the spent courages of men, _Pembrooke_ could use a stile invincible.
give encouragement to
From this reading But if thou lov'dst to have thy soldiers fight, Or hearten the spent courages of men, _Pembrooke_ could use a stile invincible.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Must I be spokesman?
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading But if thou lov'dst to have thy soldiers fight, Or hearten the spent courages of men, _Pembrooke_ could use a stile invincible.
plural of “instrument” — a device that requires skill for proper use
From this reading Whose tounge tuned to the Instruments of war Never knew straine of fancy; on my breathe Affection never dwelt, but war and death!
incapable of being overcome or subdued
From this reading But if thou lov'dst to have thy soldiers fight, Or hearten the spent courages of men, _Pembrooke_ could use a stile invincible.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Whose tounge tuned to the Instruments of war Never knew straine of fancy; on my breathe Affection never dwelt, but war and death!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But if thou lov'dst to have thy soldiers fight, Or hearten the spent courages of men, _Pembrooke_ could use a stile invincible.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading _Pembrooke_ plead for love?
the force of workers available
From this reading But if thou lov'dst to have thy soldiers fight, Or hearten the spent courages of men, _Pembrooke_ could use a stile invincible.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Must I be spokesman?
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Whose tounge tuned to the Instruments of war Never knew straine of fancy; on my breathe Affection never dwelt, but war and death!
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Whose tounge tuned to the Instruments of war Never knew straine of fancy; on my breathe Affection never dwelt, but war and death!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Whose tounge tuned to the Instruments of war Never knew straine of fancy; on my breathe Affection never dwelt, but war and death!
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Whose tounge tuned to the Instruments of war Never knew straine of fancy; on my breathe Affection never dwelt, but war and death!
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading But if thou lov'dst to have thy soldiers fight, Or hearten the spent courages of men, _Pembrooke_ could use a stile invincible.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Pem_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Pembrooke_ plead for love?
appeal or request earnestly
From this reading _Pembrooke_ plead for love?
plural of “soldier” — an enlisted man or woman who serves in an army
From this reading But if thou lov'dst to have thy soldiers fight, Or hearten the spent courages of men, _Pembrooke_ could use a stile invincible.
depleted of energy, force, or strength
From this reading But if thou lov'dst to have thy soldiers fight, Or hearten the spent courages of men, _Pembrooke_ could use a stile invincible.
a male spokesperson
From this reading Must I be spokesman?
an upright that is a member in a door or window frame
From this reading But if thou lov'dst to have thy soldiers fight, Or hearten the spent courages of men, _Pembrooke_ could use a stile invincible.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Whose tounge tuned to the Instruments of war Never knew straine of fancy; on my breathe Affection never dwelt, but war and death!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Whose tounge tuned to the Instruments of war Never knew straine of fancy; on my breathe Affection never dwelt, but war and death!
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading But if thou lov'dst to have thy soldiers fight, Or hearten the spent courages of men, _Pembrooke_ could use a stile invincible.
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading But if thou lov'dst to have thy soldiers fight, Or hearten the spent courages of men, _Pembrooke_ could use a stile invincible.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Whose tounge tuned to the Instruments of war Never knew straine of fancy; on my breathe Affection never dwelt, but war and death!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Whose tounge tuned to the Instruments of war Never knew straine of fancy; on my breathe Affection never dwelt, but war and death!
past form of “tune” — adjust for (better) functioning
From this reading Whose tounge tuned to the Instruments of war Never knew straine of fancy; on my breathe Affection never dwelt, but war and death!
the act of using
From this reading But if thou lov'dst to have thy soldiers fight, Or hearten the spent courages of men, _Pembrooke_ could use a stile invincible.
the waging of armed conflict against an enemy
From this reading Whose tounge tuned to the Instruments of war Never knew straine of fancy; on my breathe Affection never dwelt, but war and death!
belonging to which person
From this reading Whose tounge tuned to the Instruments of war Never knew straine of fancy; on my breathe Affection never dwelt, but war and death!
Chapter 17 of A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 3 by A. H. (Arthur Henry) [Editor] Bullen holds 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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.
Chapter 17 holds 401 sentences of A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 3, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of A Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 3 by A. H. (Arthur Henry) [Editor] Bullen exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 401 sentences, grouped into 81 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.
Work through the 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 17 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.
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