Chapter 3 of Becket and other plays is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Becket and other plays is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
HILARY. O my good lord, I do entreat thee--sign. Save the King's honour here before his barons. He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent. BECKET.
Chapter 3 of Becket and other plays is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
agreement with a statement or proposal to do something
From this reading “He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.”
plural of “baron” — a nobleman (in various countries) of varying rank
From this reading “Save the King's honour here before his barons.”
(Roman Catholic Church) archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to 1170; murdered following his opposition to Henry II's attempts to control the clergy (1118-1170)
From this reading “BECKET.”
an unsuccessful ending to a struggle or contest
From this reading “He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.”
an outward or token appearance or form that is deliberately misleading
From this reading “He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.”
an old form of “should”, used with “thou”
From this reading “He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.”
third-person singular of “shun” — avoid and stay away from deliberately; stay clear of
From this reading “He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.”
bound by or as if by an oath
From this reading “He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.”
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 “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.
agreement with a statement or proposal to do something
From this reading He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.
plural of “baron” — a nobleman (in various countries) of varying rank
From this reading Save the King's honour here before his barons.
(Roman Catholic Church) archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to 1170; murdered following his opposition to Henry II's attempts to control the clergy (1118-1170)
From this reading BECKET.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading Save the King's honour here before his barons.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.
an unsuccessful ending to a struggle or contest
From this reading He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading O my good lord, I do entreat thee--sign.
ask for or request earnestly
From this reading O my good lord, I do entreat thee--sign.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading O my good lord, I do entreat thee--sign.
an old form of “has”
From this reading He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.
detected or perceived by the sense of hearing
From this reading He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Save the King's honour here before his barons.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading HILARY.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Save the King's honour here before his barons.
the state of being honored
From this reading Save the King's honour here before his barons.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading O my good lord, I do entreat thee--sign.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.
possessive form of “king” — a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading Save the King's honour here before his barons.
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading O my good lord, I do entreat thee--sign.
thing or person that acts to produce a particular effect or achieve an end
From this reading He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading O my good lord, I do entreat thee--sign.
not any; not one
From this reading He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.
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 my good lord, I do entreat thee--sign.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.
except for; apart from
From this reading Save the King's honour here before his barons.
express in words
From this reading He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.
an outward or token appearance or form that is deliberately misleading
From this reading He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.
A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.
From this reading He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.
an old form of “should”, used with “thou”
From this reading He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.
third-person singular of “shun” — avoid and stay away from deliberately; stay clear of
From this reading He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.
a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading O my good lord, I do entreat thee--sign.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.
bound by or as if by an oath
From this reading He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Save the King's honour here before his barons.
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading O my good lord, I do entreat thee--sign.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading He hath sworn that thou shouldst sign, and now but shuns The semblance of defeat; I have heard him say He means no more; so if thou sign, my lord, That were but as the shadow of an assent.
Chapter 3 of Becket and other plays by Alfred Tennyson, Baron Tennyson holds 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 3 holds 410 sentences of Becket and other plays, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Becket and other plays by Alfred Tennyson, Baron Tennyson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 3 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.
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Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Becket and other plays section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of Becket and other plays 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 Becket and other plays, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
