Chapter 2 of Burlesque Plays and Poems is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Burlesque Plays and Poems is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Old Mer._ And will do. _Mist. Mer._ But how wilt thou come by it, Charles? _Old Mer._ How? Why how have I done hitherto these forty years?
Chapter 2 of Burlesque Plays and Poems is here in full — 400 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
King of France from 1560 to 1574 whose reign was dominated by his mother Catherine de Medicis (1550-1574)
From this reading “Mer._ But how wilt thou come by it, Charles?”
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading “Why how have I done hitherto these forty years?”
being ten more than thirty
From this reading “Why how have I done hitherto these forty years?”
used in negative statement to describe a situation that has existed up to this point or up to the present time
From this reading “Why how have I done hitherto these forty years?”
become covered with mist
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading “Mer._ But how wilt thou come by it, Charles?”
an old form of “will”, used with “thou”
From this reading “Mer._ But how wilt thou come by it, Charles?”
a late time of life
From this reading “Why how have I done hitherto these forty years?”
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.
In this reading “Why how have I done hitherto these forty years?”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading _Old Mer._ And will do.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Mer._ But how wilt thou come by it, Charles?
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Mer._ But how wilt thou come by it, Charles?
King of France from 1560 to 1574 whose reign was dominated by his mother Catherine de Medicis (1550-1574)
From this reading Mer._ But how wilt thou come by it, Charles?
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Mer._ But how wilt thou come by it, Charles?
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading _Old Mer._ And will do.
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading Why how have I done hitherto these forty years?
being ten more than thirty
From this reading Why how have I done hitherto these forty years?
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Why how have I done hitherto these forty years?
used in negative statement to describe a situation that has existed up to this point or up to the present time
From this reading Why how have I done hitherto these forty years?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mer._ But how wilt thou come by it, Charles?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Why how have I done hitherto these forty years?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Mer._ But how wilt thou come by it, Charles?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Old Mer._ And will do.
become covered with mist
From this reading _Mist.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading _Old Mer._ And will do.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading Why how have I done hitherto these forty years?
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading Mer._ But how wilt thou come by it, Charles?
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why how have I done hitherto these forty years?
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading _Old Mer._ And will do.
an old form of “will”, used with “thou”
From this reading Mer._ But how wilt thou come by it, Charles?
a late time of life
From this reading Why how have I done hitherto these forty years?
Chapter 2 of Burlesque Plays and Poems by Henry [Editor] Morley holds 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 2 holds 400 sentences of Burlesque Plays and Poems, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Burlesque Plays and Poems by Henry [Editor] Morley exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 400 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 2 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 Burlesque Plays and Poems by Henry [Editor] Morley on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5928 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #53606 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #53606, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 494 minutes of reading across 1186 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Burlesque Plays and Poems section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of Burlesque Plays and Poems 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 Burlesque Plays and Poems, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
