Chapter 4 of Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare is here in full — 217 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare is here in full — 217 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“The old man,” said Claudio, “was like to have snapped my nose off.” “You are a villain!” said Benedick, shortly. “Fight me when and with what weapon you please, or I call you a coward.” Claudio was astounded, but said, “I'll meet you. Nobody shall say I can't carve a calf's head.”
Chapter 4 of Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare is here in full — 217 sentences across 44 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/43 · 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.
filled with the emotional impact of overwhelming surprise or shock
From this reading “Claudio was astounded, but said, “I'll meet you.”
a newly married man (especially one who has long been a bachelor)
From this reading ““You are a villain!” said Benedick, shortly.”
possessive form of “calf” — young of domestic cattle
From this reading “Nobody shall say I can't carve a calf's head.””
form by carving
From this reading “Nobody shall say I can't carve a calf's head.””
a person who shows fear or timidity
From this reading ““Fight me when and with what weapon you please, or I call you a coward.””
inflected form of “snap” — utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
From this reading ““The old man,” said Claudio, “was like to have snapped my nose off.””
a wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately
From this reading ““You are a villain!” said Benedick, shortly.”
any instrument or instrumentality used in fighting or hunting
From this reading ““Fight me when and with what weapon you please, or I call you a coward.””
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 “You are a villain!” said Benedick, shortly.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “Fight me when and with what weapon you please, or I call you a coward.”
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “You are a villain!” said Benedick, shortly.
filled with the emotional impact of overwhelming surprise or shock
From this reading Claudio was astounded, but said, “I'll meet you.
a newly married man (especially one who has long been a bachelor)
From this reading “You are a villain!” said Benedick, shortly.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Claudio was astounded, but said, “I'll meet you.
possessive form of “calf” — young of domestic cattle
From this reading Nobody shall say I can't carve a calf's head.”
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading “Fight me when and with what weapon you please, or I call you a coward.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nobody shall say I can't carve a calf's head.”
form by carving
From this reading Nobody shall say I can't carve a calf's head.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “The old man,” said Claudio, “was like to have snapped my nose off.”
a person who shows fear or timidity
From this reading “Fight me when and with what weapon you please, or I call you a coward.”
be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
From this reading “Fight me when and with what weapon you please, or I call you a coward.”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “The old man,” said Claudio, “was like to have snapped my nose off.”
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Nobody shall say I can't carve a calf's head.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading “Fight me when and with what weapon you please, or I call you a coward.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Claudio was astounded, but said, “I'll meet you.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading “The old man,” said Claudio, “was like to have snapped my nose off.”
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading “The old man,” said Claudio, “was like to have snapped my nose off.”
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Fight me when and with what weapon you please, or I call you a coward.”
come together
From this reading Claudio was astounded, but said, “I'll meet you.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “The old man,” said Claudio, “was like to have snapped my nose off.”
no person; not anyone
From this reading Nobody shall say I can't carve a calf's head.”
the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals
From this reading “The old man,” said Claudio, “was like to have snapped my nose off.”
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading “The old man,” said Claudio, “was like to have snapped my nose off.”
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading “The old man,” said Claudio, “was like to have snapped my nose off.”
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading “Fight me when and with what weapon you please, or I call you a coward.”
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading “Fight me when and with what weapon you please, or I call you a coward.”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “The old man,” said Claudio, “was like to have snapped my nose off.”
express in words
From this reading Nobody shall say I can't carve a calf's head.”
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading Nobody shall say I can't carve a calf's head.”
for a short time
From this reading “You are a villain!” said Benedick, shortly.
inflected form of “snap” — utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
From this reading “The old man,” said Claudio, “was like to have snapped my nose off.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “The old man,” said Claudio, “was like to have snapped my nose off.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “The old man,” said Claudio, “was like to have snapped my nose off.”
a wicked or evil person; someone who does evil deliberately
From this reading “You are a villain!” said Benedick, shortly.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “The old man,” said Claudio, “was like to have snapped my nose off.”
any instrument or instrumentality used in fighting or hunting
From this reading “Fight me when and with what weapon you please, or I call you a coward.”
used to ask for information about something
From this reading “Fight me when and with what weapon you please, or I call you a coward.”
at the time that
From this reading “Fight me when and with what weapon you please, or I call you a coward.”
in the company of; together with
From this reading “Fight me when and with what weapon you please, or I call you a coward.”
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You are a villain!” said Benedick, shortly.
Chapter 4 of Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare by E. (Edith) Nesbit holds 217 sentences, grouped into 44 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 217 sentences of Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare, unabridged, divided into 44 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare by E. (Edith) Nesbit exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 217 sentences, grouped into 44 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 44 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 44 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 Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare by E. (Edith) Nesbit on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2328 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1430 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1430, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 194 minutes of reading across 466 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare 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 Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
