Chapter 4 of Chastelard, a Tragedy is here in full — 205 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Chastelard, a Tragedy is here in full — 205 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
CHASTELARD. Will you weep too? QUEEN. In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king! I should be all ways better than I am.
Chapter 4 of Chastelard, a Tragedy is here in full — 205 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/41 · 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.
installation from which a military force initiates operations
From this reading “In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!”
be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
From this reading “In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!”
inflected form of “fight” — be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
From this reading “In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!”
the only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs
From this reading “QUEEN.”
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading “In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!”
structure consisting of a sloping way down to the water from the place where ships are built or repaired
From this reading “I should be all ways better than I am.”
shed tears because of sadness, rage, or pain
From this reading “Will you weep too?”
an old word for “yes”
From this reading “In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!”
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 In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading I should be all ways better than I am.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading I should be all ways better than I am.
installation from which a military force initiates operations
From this reading In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading I should be all ways better than I am.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading CHASTELARD.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!
be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
From this reading In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!
inflected form of “fight” — be engaged in a fight; carry on a fight
From this reading In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!
the force of workers available
From this reading In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!
not any; not one
From this reading In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!
the only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs
From this reading QUEEN.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!
give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!
truth or reality
From this reading In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading I should be all ways better than I am.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Will you weep too?
structure consisting of a sloping way down to the water from the place where ships are built or repaired
From this reading I should be all ways better than I am.
shed tears because of sadness, rage, or pain
From this reading Will you weep too?
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Will you weep too?
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!
an old word for “yes”
From this reading In sooth, If I were a man I should be no base man; I could have fought; yea, I could fight now too If men would show me; I would I were the king!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Will you weep too?
Chapter 4 of Chastelard, a Tragedy by Algernon Charles Swinburne holds 205 sentences, grouped into 41 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 205 sentences of Chastelard, a Tragedy, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Chastelard, a Tragedy by Algernon Charles Swinburne exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 205 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 Chastelard, a Tragedy by Algernon Charles Swinburne on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2046 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2379 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2379, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 170 minutes of reading across 410 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Chastelard, a Tragedy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of Chastelard, a Tragedy 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 Chastelard, a Tragedy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
