Chapter 5 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 01 is here in full — 200 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 01 is here in full — 200 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Intrat_ DANIO _pater_ MELIBAEAE. O marvellous God, what a dream had I to-night! Most terrible vision to report and hear! I had never none such, nor none yearthly wight. Alas! when I think thereon, I quake for fear; It was of Melibaea, my daughter dear.
Chapter 5 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 01 is here in full — 200 sentences across 40 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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.
used to show sadness, pity, or regret
From this reading “Alas! when I think thereon, I quake for fear; It was of Melibaea, my daughter dear.”
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading “O marvellous God, what a dream had I to-night!”
an informal use of the Latin word for father; sometimes used by British schoolboys or used facetiously
shake with fast, tremulous movements
From this reading “Alas! when I think thereon, I quake for fear; It was of Melibaea, my daughter dear.”
to give an account or representation of in words
From this reading “Most terrible vision to report and hear!”
on that
From this reading “Alas! when I think thereon, I quake for fear; It was of Melibaea, my daughter dear.”
a vivid mental image
From this reading “Most terrible vision to report and hear!”
a human being; “wight” is an archaic term
From this reading “I had never none such, nor none yearthly wight.”
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 O marvellous God, what a dream had I to-night!
used to show sadness, pity, or regret
From this reading Alas! when I think thereon, I quake for fear; It was of Melibaea, my daughter dear.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Most terrible vision to report and hear!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Intrat_ DANIO _pater_ MELIBAEAE.
a female human offspring
From this reading Alas! when I think thereon, I quake for fear; It was of Melibaea, my daughter dear.
dearly loved
From this reading Alas! when I think thereon, I quake for fear; It was of Melibaea, my daughter dear.
A series of thoughts, images, or emotions during sleep.
From this reading O marvellous God, what a dream had I to-night!
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading Alas! when I think thereon, I quake for fear; It was of Melibaea, my daughter dear.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Alas! when I think thereon, I quake for fear; It was of Melibaea, my daughter dear.
the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
From this reading O marvellous God, what a dream had I to-night!
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading O marvellous God, what a dream had I to-night!
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading Most terrible vision to report and hear!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading O marvellous God, what a dream had I to-night!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Intrat_ DANIO _pater_ MELIBAEAE.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Alas! when I think thereon, I quake for fear; It was of Melibaea, my daughter dear.
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading O marvellous God, what a dream had I to-night!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Alas! when I think thereon, I quake for fear; It was of Melibaea, my daughter dear.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Intrat_ DANIO _pater_ MELIBAEAE.
used to form the superlative
From this reading Most terrible vision to report and hear!
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Alas! when I think thereon, I quake for fear; It was of Melibaea, my daughter dear.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading I had never none such, nor none yearthly wight.
not one, and not any
From this reading I had never none such, nor none yearthly wight.
and not; used after a negative to add a second negative
From this reading I had never none such, nor none yearthly wight.
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading O marvellous God, what a dream had I to-night!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Alas! when I think thereon, I quake for fear; It was of Melibaea, my daughter dear.
an informal use of the Latin word for father; sometimes used by British schoolboys or used facetiously
From this reading _Intrat_ DANIO _pater_ MELIBAEAE.
shake with fast, tremulous movements
From this reading Alas! when I think thereon, I quake for fear; It was of Melibaea, my daughter dear.
to give an account or representation of in words
From this reading Most terrible vision to report and hear!
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading I had never none such, nor none yearthly wight.
causing fear or dread or terror
From this reading Most terrible vision to report and hear!
on that
From this reading Alas! when I think thereon, I quake for fear; It was of Melibaea, my daughter dear.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading Alas! when I think thereon, I quake for fear; It was of Melibaea, my daughter dear.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Most terrible vision to report and hear!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading O marvellous God, what a dream had I to-night!
a vivid mental image
From this reading Most terrible vision to report and hear!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Alas! when I think thereon, I quake for fear; It was of Melibaea, my daughter dear.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading O marvellous God, what a dream had I to-night!
at the time that
From this reading Alas! when I think thereon, I quake for fear; It was of Melibaea, my daughter dear.
a human being; “wight” is an archaic term
From this reading I had never none such, nor none yearthly wight.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I had never none such, nor none yearthly wight.
Chapter 5 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 01 by Robert [Compiler] Dodsley holds 200 sentences, grouped into 40 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 5 holds 200 sentences of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 01, unabridged, divided into 40 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 01 by Robert [Compiler] Dodsley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 200 sentences, grouped into 40 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 40 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 40 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 5 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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Project Gutenberg eBook #9050, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 530 minutes of reading across 1273 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 01 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 01 to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 01, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
