Chapter 13 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 12 is here in full — 369 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XIII
Chapter 13 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 12 is here in full — 369 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
STEPH. He's my life's best health. The boy shall not miscarry for more wealth Than London gates lock safe up every night. My breath in black clouds flies: my thoughts are white. WIFE.
Chapter 13 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 12 is here in full — 369 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/73 · 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 “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
From this reading “My breath in black clouds flies: my thoughts are white.”
(theater) the space over the stage (out of view of the audience) used to store scenery (drop curtains)
From this reading “My breath in black clouds flies: my thoughts are white.”
United States computer entrepreneur whose software company made him the youngest multi-billionaire in the history of the United States (born in 1955)
From this reading “The boy shall not miscarry for more wealth Than London gates lock safe up every night.”
a healthy state of wellbeing free from disease
From this reading “He's my life's best health.”
possessive form of “life” — a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading “He's my life's best health.”
fasten with a lock
From this reading “The boy shall not miscarry for more wealth Than London gates lock safe up every night.”
free from danger or the risk of harm
From this reading “The boy shall not miscarry for more wealth Than London gates lock safe up every night.”
the state of being rich and affluent; having a plentiful supply of material goods and money
From this reading “The boy shall not miscarry for more wealth Than London gates lock safe up every night.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
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.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading My breath in black clouds flies: my thoughts are white.
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading He's my life's best health.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading My breath in black clouds flies: my thoughts are white.
a youthful male person
From this reading The boy shall not miscarry for more wealth Than London gates lock safe up every night.
the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing
From this reading My breath in black clouds flies: my thoughts are white.
plural of “cloud” — any collection of particles (e.g., smoke or dust) or gases that is visible
From this reading My breath in black clouds flies: my thoughts are white.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading The boy shall not miscarry for more wealth Than London gates lock safe up every night.
(theater) the space over the stage (out of view of the audience) used to store scenery (drop curtains)
From this reading My breath in black clouds flies: my thoughts are white.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The boy shall not miscarry for more wealth Than London gates lock safe up every night.
United States computer entrepreneur whose software company made him the youngest multi-billionaire in the history of the United States (born in 1955)
From this reading The boy shall not miscarry for more wealth Than London gates lock safe up every night.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He's my life's best health.
a healthy state of wellbeing free from disease
From this reading He's my life's best health.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading My breath in black clouds flies: my thoughts are white.
possessive form of “life” — a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading He's my life's best health.
fasten with a lock
From this reading The boy shall not miscarry for more wealth Than London gates lock safe up every night.
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading The boy shall not miscarry for more wealth Than London gates lock safe up every night.
be unsuccessful
From this reading The boy shall not miscarry for more wealth Than London gates lock safe up every night.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading The boy shall not miscarry for more wealth Than London gates lock safe up every night.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading He's my life's best health.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading The boy shall not miscarry for more wealth Than London gates lock safe up every night.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The boy shall not miscarry for more wealth Than London gates lock safe up every night.
free from danger or the risk of harm
From this reading The boy shall not miscarry for more wealth Than London gates lock safe up every night.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading The boy shall not miscarry for more wealth Than London gates lock safe up every night.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading STEPH.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading The boy shall not miscarry for more wealth Than London gates lock safe up every night.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The boy shall not miscarry for more wealth Than London gates lock safe up every night.
plural of “thought” — the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading My breath in black clouds flies: my thoughts are white.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The boy shall not miscarry for more wealth Than London gates lock safe up every night.
the state of being rich and affluent; having a plentiful supply of material goods and money
From this reading The boy shall not miscarry for more wealth Than London gates lock safe up every night.
a Caucasian
From this reading My breath in black clouds flies: my thoughts are white.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading WIFE.
Chapter 13 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 12 by Robert Dodsley holds 369 sentences, grouped into 74 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 13 holds 369 sentences of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 12, unabridged, divided into 74 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 13 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 12 by Robert Dodsley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 369 sentences, grouped into 74 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 74 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 74 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 13 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 12 by Robert Dodsley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 13539 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #46791 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #46791, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2708 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 12 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 12 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 12, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
