Chapter 5 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 07 is here in full — 376 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter V
Chapter 5 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 07 is here in full — 376 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
ANTHONY. Why then the senate's name, whose reverend rule Hath blazed our virtues 'midst the western isle, Must be obscur'd by Cinna's forced power. O citizens! are laws of country left? Is justice banish'd from this capitol? Must we, poor fathers, see your drooping bands Enter the sacred synod of this state?
Chapter 5 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 07 is here in full — 376 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/75 · 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.
plural of “band” — an unofficial association of people or groups
From this reading “Must we, poor fathers, see your drooping bands Enter the sacred synod of this state?”
past form of “blaze” — shine brightly and intensively
From this reading “Why then the senate's name, whose reverend rule Hath blazed our virtues 'midst the western isle, Must be obscur'd by Cinna's forced power.”
a building occupied by a state legislature
From this reading “Is justice banish'd from this capitol?”
weak from exhaustion
From this reading “Must we, poor fathers, see your drooping bands Enter the sacred synod of this state?”
a small island
From this reading “Why then the senate's name, whose reverend rule Hath blazed our virtues 'midst the western isle, Must be obscur'd by Cinna's forced power.”
a member of the clergy and a spiritual leader of the Christian Church
From this reading “Why then the senate's name, whose reverend rule Hath blazed our virtues 'midst the western isle, Must be obscur'd by Cinna's forced power.”
possessive form of “senate” — assembly possessing high legislative powers
From this reading “Why then the senate's name, whose reverend rule Hath blazed our virtues 'midst the western isle, Must be obscur'd by Cinna's forced power.”
a council convened to discuss ecclesiastical business
From this reading “Must we, poor fathers, see your drooping bands Enter the sacred synod of this state?”
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.
Roman general under Julius Caesar in the Gallic wars; repudiated his wife for the Egyptian queen Cleopatra; they were defeated by Octavian at Actium (83-30 BC)
From this reading ANTHONY.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading O citizens! are laws of country left?
plural of “band” — an unofficial association of people or groups
From this reading Must we, poor fathers, see your drooping bands Enter the sacred synod of this state?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Is justice banish'd from this capitol?
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Why then the senate's name, whose reverend rule Hath blazed our virtues 'midst the western isle, Must be obscur'd by Cinna's forced power.
past form of “blaze” — shine brightly and intensively
From this reading Why then the senate's name, whose reverend rule Hath blazed our virtues 'midst the western isle, Must be obscur'd by Cinna's forced power.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Why then the senate's name, whose reverend rule Hath blazed our virtues 'midst the western isle, Must be obscur'd by Cinna's forced power.
a building occupied by a state legislature
From this reading Is justice banish'd from this capitol?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Why then the senate's name, whose reverend rule Hath blazed our virtues 'midst the western isle, Must be obscur'd by Cinna's forced power.
plural of “citizen” — a native or naturalized member of a state or other political community
From this reading O citizens! are laws of country left?
a politically organized body of people under a single government
From this reading O citizens! are laws of country left?
weak from exhaustion
From this reading Must we, poor fathers, see your drooping bands Enter the sacred synod of this state?
to come or go into
From this reading Must we, poor fathers, see your drooping bands Enter the sacred synod of this state?
plural of “father” — a male parent (also used as a term of address to your father)
From this reading Must we, poor fathers, see your drooping bands Enter the sacred synod of this state?
produced by or subjected to forcing
From this reading Why then the senate's name, whose reverend rule Hath blazed our virtues 'midst the western isle, Must be obscur'd by Cinna's forced power.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Is justice banish'd from this capitol?
an old form of “has”
From this reading Why then the senate's name, whose reverend rule Hath blazed our virtues 'midst the western isle, Must be obscur'd by Cinna's forced power.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Is justice banish'd from this capitol?
a small island
From this reading Why then the senate's name, whose reverend rule Hath blazed our virtues 'midst the western isle, Must be obscur'd by Cinna's forced power.
the quality of being just or fair
From this reading Is justice banish'd from this capitol?
the first of three divisions of the Hebrew Scriptures comprising the first five books of the Hebrew Bible considered as a unit
From this reading O citizens! are laws of country left?
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading O citizens! are laws of country left?
the location of something surrounded by other things
From this reading Why then the senate's name, whose reverend rule Hath blazed our virtues 'midst the western isle, Must be obscur'd by Cinna's forced power.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Why then the senate's name, whose reverend rule Hath blazed our virtues 'midst the western isle, Must be obscur'd by Cinna's forced power.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Why then the senate's name, whose reverend rule Hath blazed our virtues 'midst the western isle, Must be obscur'd by Cinna's forced power.
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 citizens! are laws of country left?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Why then the senate's name, whose reverend rule Hath blazed our virtues 'midst the western isle, Must be obscur'd by Cinna's forced power.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading O citizens! are laws of country left?
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Why then the senate's name, whose reverend rule Hath blazed our virtues 'midst the western isle, Must be obscur'd by Cinna's forced power.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading Must we, poor fathers, see your drooping bands Enter the sacred synod of this state?
possession of controlling influence
From this reading Why then the senate's name, whose reverend rule Hath blazed our virtues 'midst the western isle, Must be obscur'd by Cinna's forced power.
a member of the clergy and a spiritual leader of the Christian Church
From this reading Why then the senate's name, whose reverend rule Hath blazed our virtues 'midst the western isle, Must be obscur'd by Cinna's forced power.
a principle or condition that customarily governs behavior
From this reading Why then the senate's name, whose reverend rule Hath blazed our virtues 'midst the western isle, Must be obscur'd by Cinna's forced power.
concerned with religion or religious purposes
From this reading Must we, poor fathers, see your drooping bands Enter the sacred synod of this state?
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Must we, poor fathers, see your drooping bands Enter the sacred synod of this state?
possessive form of “senate” — assembly possessing high legislative powers
From this reading Why then the senate's name, whose reverend rule Hath blazed our virtues 'midst the western isle, Must be obscur'd by Cinna's forced power.
the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading Must we, poor fathers, see your drooping bands Enter the sacred synod of this state?
a council convened to discuss ecclesiastical business
From this reading Must we, poor fathers, see your drooping bands Enter the sacred synod of this state?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Why then the senate's name, whose reverend rule Hath blazed our virtues 'midst the western isle, Must be obscur'd by Cinna's forced power.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Why then the senate's name, whose reverend rule Hath blazed our virtues 'midst the western isle, Must be obscur'd by Cinna's forced power.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Is justice banish'd from this capitol?
plural of “virtue” — the quality of doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong
From this reading Why then the senate's name, whose reverend rule Hath blazed our virtues 'midst the western isle, Must be obscur'd by Cinna's forced power.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Must we, poor fathers, see your drooping bands Enter the sacred synod of this state?
relating to or characteristic of the western parts of the world or the West as opposed to the eastern or oriental parts
From this reading Why then the senate's name, whose reverend rule Hath blazed our virtues 'midst the western isle, Must be obscur'd by Cinna's forced power.
belonging to which person
From this reading Why then the senate's name, whose reverend rule Hath blazed our virtues 'midst the western isle, Must be obscur'd by Cinna's forced power.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why then the senate's name, whose reverend rule Hath blazed our virtues 'midst the western isle, Must be obscur'd by Cinna's forced power.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Must we, poor fathers, see your drooping bands Enter the sacred synod of this state?
Chapter 5 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 07 by Robert [Compiler] Dodsley holds 376 sentences, grouped into 76 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 376 sentences of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 07, unabridged, divided into 76 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 07 by Robert [Compiler] Dodsley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 376 sentences, grouped into 76 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 76 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 76 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.
Common questions about reading A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 07 by Robert [Compiler] Dodsley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 11328 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #10336 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #10336, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2266 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 07 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 31 chapters of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 07 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 07, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
