Chapter 4 of Bartholomew Fair: A Comedy is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Bartholomew Fair: A Comedy is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
WHIT. Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had? BRI. Nay, that's most true, a sufficient watchman knows what a clock it is. WHIT.
Chapter 4 of Bartholomew Fair: A Comedy is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
an old form of “are”, used with “thou”
From this reading “Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had?”
a timepiece that shows the time of day
From this reading “Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had?”
an old form of “did”, used with “thou”
From this reading “Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had?”
plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people
From this reading “Nay, that's most true, a sufficient watchman knows what a clock it is.”
an old word for “no”
From this reading “Nay, that's most true, a sufficient watchman knows what a clock it is.”
of a quantity that can fulfill a need or requirement but without being abundant
From this reading “Nay, that's most true, a sufficient watchman knows what a clock it is.”
a guard who keeps watch
From this reading “Nay, that's most true, a sufficient watchman knows what a clock it is.”
a tiny or scarcely detectable amount
From this reading “WHIT.”
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.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had?
an old form of “are”, used with “thou”
From this reading Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BRI.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had?
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had?
a timepiece that shows the time of day
From this reading Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had?
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had?
an old form of “did”, used with “thou”
From this reading Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had?
at any time
From this reading Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had?
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had?
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had?
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Nay, that's most true, a sufficient watchman knows what a clock it is.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Nay, that's most true, a sufficient watchman knows what a clock it is.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had?
plural of “know” — the fact of being aware of information that is known to few people
From this reading Nay, that's most true, a sufficient watchman knows what a clock it is.
used to form the superlative
From this reading Nay, that's most true, a sufficient watchman knows what a clock it is.
an old word for “no”
From this reading Nay, that's most true, a sufficient watchman knows what a clock it is.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had?
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had?
precisely, exactly
From this reading Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had?
of a quantity that can fulfill a need or requirement but without being abundant
From this reading Nay, that's most true, a sufficient watchman knows what a clock it is.
express in words
From this reading Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nay, that's most true, a sufficient watchman knows what a clock it is.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had?
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading Nay, that's most true, a sufficient watchman knows what a clock it is.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Tou art right now! phen didst tou ever know or hear of a shuffishient vatchment, but he did tell the clock, phat bushiness soever he had?
a guard who keeps watch
From this reading Nay, that's most true, a sufficient watchman knows what a clock it is.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Nay, that's most true, a sufficient watchman knows what a clock it is.
a tiny or scarcely detectable amount
From this reading WHIT.
Chapter 4 of Bartholomew Fair: A Comedy by Ben Jonson holds 415 sentences, grouped into 83 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 4 holds 415 sentences of Bartholomew Fair: A Comedy, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Bartholomew Fair: A Comedy by Ben Jonson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 415 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 4 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 Bartholomew Fair: A Comedy by Ben Jonson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3824 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #49461 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #49461, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 318 minutes of reading across 765 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Bartholomew Fair: A Comedy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Bartholomew Fair: A Comedy 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 Bartholomew Fair: A Comedy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
