Chapter 4 of Every Man in His Humor is here in full — 419 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Every Man in His Humor is here in full — 419 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Wel. What a dull slave was this! but, sirrah, what said he to it, i'faith? E. Know. Nay, I know not what he said; but I have a shrewd guess what he thought. Wel.
Chapter 4 of Every Man in His Humor is here in full — 419 sentences across 84 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.
lacking in liveliness or animation
From this reading “What a dull slave was this! but, sirrah, what said he to it, i'faith?”
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading “Nay, I know not what he said; but I have a shrewd guess what he thought.”
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading “E. Know.”
an old word for “no”
From this reading “Nay, I know not what he said; but I have a shrewd guess what he thought.”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “What a dull slave was this! but, sirrah, what said he to it, i'faith?”
marked by practical hardheaded intelligence
From this reading “Nay, I know not what he said; but I have a shrewd guess what he thought.”
a person who is owned by someone
From this reading “What a dull slave was this! but, sirrah, what said he to it, i'faith?”
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading “Nay, I know not what he said; but I have a shrewd guess what he thought.”
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 What a dull slave was this! but, sirrah, what said he to it, i'faith?
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading What a dull slave was this! but, sirrah, what said he to it, i'faith?
lacking in liveliness or animation
From this reading What a dull slave was this! but, sirrah, what said he to it, i'faith?
a fat-soluble vitamin that is essential for normal reproduction; an important antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals in the body
From this reading E. Know.
expect, believe, or suppose
From this reading Nay, I know not what he said; but I have a shrewd guess what he thought.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Nay, I know not what he said; but I have a shrewd guess what he thought.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading What a dull slave was this! but, sirrah, what said he to it, i'faith?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Nay, I know not what he said; but I have a shrewd guess what he thought.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading What a dull slave was this! but, sirrah, what said he to it, i'faith?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading What a dull slave was this! but, sirrah, what said he to it, i'faith?
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading E. Know.
an old word for “no”
From this reading Nay, I know not what he said; but I have a shrewd guess what he thought.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Nay, I know not what he said; but I have a shrewd guess what he thought.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading What a dull slave was this! but, sirrah, what said he to it, i'faith?
marked by practical hardheaded intelligence
From this reading Nay, I know not what he said; but I have a shrewd guess what he thought.
formerly a contemptuous term of address to an inferior man or boy; often used in anger
From this reading What a dull slave was this! but, sirrah, what said he to it, i'faith?
a person who is owned by someone
From this reading What a dull slave was this! but, sirrah, what said he to it, i'faith?
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading What a dull slave was this! but, sirrah, what said he to it, i'faith?
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading Nay, I know not what he said; but I have a shrewd guess what he thought.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading What a dull slave was this! but, sirrah, what said he to it, i'faith?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading What a dull slave was this! but, sirrah, what said he to it, i'faith?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Wel.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What a dull slave was this! but, sirrah, what said he to it, i'faith?
Chapter 4 of Every Man in His Humor by Ben Jonson holds 419 sentences, grouped into 84 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 419 sentences of Every Man in His Humor, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Every Man in His Humor by Ben Jonson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 419 sentences, grouped into 84 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 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 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 Every Man in His Humor by Ben Jonson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3268 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5333 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5333, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 272 minutes of reading across 654 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Every Man in His Humor section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of Every Man in His Humor 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 Every Man in His Humor, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
