Chapter 1 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 14 is here in full — 363 sentences across 73 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 14 is here in full — 363 sentences across 73 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
1. Passages in italics are surrounded by _underscores_. 2. This transcription uses the caret ^ symbol to indicate superscripted text, and {curly brackets} around multi-character superscripts. OLD ENGLISH PLAYS.
Chapter 1 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 14 is here in full — 363 sentences across 73 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/72 · 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 “bracket” — a category falling within certain defined limits
From this reading “This transcription uses the caret ^ symbol to indicate superscripted text, and {curly brackets} around multi-character superscripts.”
(of hair) having curls or waves
From this reading “This transcription uses the caret ^ symbol to indicate superscripted text, and {curly brackets} around multi-character superscripts.”
be a signal for or a symptom of
From this reading “This transcription uses the caret ^ symbol to indicate superscripted text, and {curly brackets} around multi-character superscripts.”
plural of “italic” — a style of handwriting with the letters slanting to the right
From this reading “Passages in italics are surrounded by _underscores_.”
an arbitrary sign (written or printed) that has acquired a conventional significance
From this reading “This transcription uses the caret ^ symbol to indicate superscripted text, and {curly brackets} around multi-character superscripts.”
something written, especially copied from one medium to another, as a typewritten version of dictation
From this reading “This transcription uses the caret ^ symbol to indicate superscripted text, and {curly brackets} around multi-character superscripts.”
plural of “underscore” — a line drawn underneath (especially under written matter)
plural of “use” — the act of using
From this reading “This transcription uses the caret ^ symbol to indicate superscripted text, and {curly brackets} around multi-character superscripts.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 1.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 2.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading This transcription uses the caret ^ symbol to indicate superscripted text, and {curly brackets} around multi-character superscripts.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Passages in italics are surrounded by _underscores_.
surrounding, or on every side of, something
From this reading This transcription uses the caret ^ symbol to indicate superscripted text, and {curly brackets} around multi-character superscripts.
plural of “bracket” — a category falling within certain defined limits
From this reading This transcription uses the caret ^ symbol to indicate superscripted text, and {curly brackets} around multi-character superscripts.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Passages in italics are surrounded by _underscores_.
a mark used by an author or editor to indicate where something is to be inserted into a text
From this reading This transcription uses the caret ^ symbol to indicate superscripted text, and {curly brackets} around multi-character superscripts.
(of hair) having curls or waves
From this reading This transcription uses the caret ^ symbol to indicate superscripted text, and {curly brackets} around multi-character superscripts.
an Indo-European language belonging to the West Germanic branch; the official language of Britain and the United States and most of the commonwealth countries
From this reading OLD ENGLISH PLAYS.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Passages in italics are surrounded by _underscores_.
be a signal for or a symptom of
From this reading This transcription uses the caret ^ symbol to indicate superscripted text, and {curly brackets} around multi-character superscripts.
plural of “italic” — a style of handwriting with the letters slanting to the right
From this reading Passages in italics are surrounded by _underscores_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This transcription uses the caret ^ symbol to indicate superscripted text, and {curly brackets} around multi-character superscripts.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading OLD ENGLISH PLAYS.
plural of “passage” — the act of passing from one state or place to the next
From this reading Passages in italics are surrounded by _underscores_.
plural of “play” — a dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage
From this reading OLD ENGLISH PLAYS.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This transcription uses the caret ^ symbol to indicate superscripted text, and {curly brackets} around multi-character superscripts.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This transcription uses the caret ^ symbol to indicate superscripted text, and {curly brackets} around multi-character superscripts.
confined on all sides
From this reading Passages in italics are surrounded by _underscores_.
an arbitrary sign (written or printed) that has acquired a conventional significance
From this reading This transcription uses the caret ^ symbol to indicate superscripted text, and {curly brackets} around multi-character superscripts.
the words of something written
From this reading This transcription uses the caret ^ symbol to indicate superscripted text, and {curly brackets} around multi-character superscripts.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading This transcription uses the caret ^ symbol to indicate superscripted text, and {curly brackets} around multi-character superscripts.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This transcription uses the caret ^ symbol to indicate superscripted text, and {curly brackets} around multi-character superscripts.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading This transcription uses the caret ^ symbol to indicate superscripted text, and {curly brackets} around multi-character superscripts.
something written, especially copied from one medium to another, as a typewritten version of dictation
From this reading This transcription uses the caret ^ symbol to indicate superscripted text, and {curly brackets} around multi-character superscripts.
plural of “underscore” — a line drawn underneath (especially under written matter)
From this reading Passages in italics are surrounded by _underscores_.
plural of “use” — the act of using
From this reading This transcription uses the caret ^ symbol to indicate superscripted text, and {curly brackets} around multi-character superscripts.
Chapter 1 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 14 by Robert [Compiler] Dodsley holds 363 sentences, grouped into 73 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 1 holds 363 sentences of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 14, unabridged, divided into 73 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 14 by Robert [Compiler] Dodsley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 363 sentences, grouped into 73 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 73 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 73 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 1 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 14 by Robert [Compiler] Dodsley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 11892 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #33398 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #33398, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2379 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 14 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 14 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 14, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
