Chapter 4 of King John is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of King John is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Elea. Look'st thou pale France? do not let go thy hand Con. Looke to that Deuill, lest that France repent, And by disioyning hands hell lose a soule Aust. King Philip, listen to the Cardinall Bast. And hang a Calues-skin on his recreant limbs Aust.
Chapter 4 of King John is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
strong woody fibers obtained especially from the phloem of from various plants
From this reading “King Philip, listen to the Cardinall Bast.”
an argument opposed to a proposal
From this reading “Look'st thou pale France? do not let go thy hand Con.”
be suspended or hanging
From this reading “And hang a Calues-skin on his recreant limbs Aust.”
any place of pain and turmoil
From this reading “Looke to that Deuill, lest that France repent, And by disioyning hands hell lose a soule Aust.”
in order that something should not happen
From this reading “Looke to that Deuill, lest that France repent, And by disioyning hands hell lose a soule Aust.”
plural of “limb” — one of the jointed appendages of an animal used for locomotion or grasping: arm; leg; wing; flipper
From this reading “And hang a Calues-skin on his recreant limbs Aust.”
Englishman and husband of Elizabeth II (born 1921)
From this reading “King Philip, listen to the Cardinall Bast.”
turn away from sin or do penitence
From this reading “Looke to that Deuill, lest that France repent, And by disioyning hands hell lose a soule Aust.”
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 Looke to that Deuill, lest that France repent, And by disioyning hands hell lose a soule Aust.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Looke to that Deuill, lest that France repent, And by disioyning hands hell lose a soule Aust.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Looke to that Deuill, lest that France repent, And by disioyning hands hell lose a soule Aust.
strong woody fibers obtained especially from the phloem of from various plants
From this reading King Philip, listen to the Cardinall Bast.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Looke to that Deuill, lest that France repent, And by disioyning hands hell lose a soule Aust.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And hang a Calues-skin on his recreant limbs Aust.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading King Philip, listen to the Cardinall Bast.
an argument opposed to a proposal
From this reading Look'st thou pale France? do not let go thy hand Con.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Looke to that Deuill, lest that France repent, And by disioyning hands hell lose a soule Aust.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Looke to that Deuill, lest that France repent, And by disioyning hands hell lose a soule Aust.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Look'st thou pale France? do not let go thy hand Con.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Elea.
a republic in western Europe; the largest country wholly in Europe
From this reading Look'st thou pale France? do not let go thy hand Con.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Look'st thou pale France? do not let go thy hand Con.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading Look'st thou pale France? do not let go thy hand Con.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Looke to that Deuill, lest that France repent, And by disioyning hands hell lose a soule Aust.
be suspended or hanging
From this reading And hang a Calues-skin on his recreant limbs Aust.
any place of pain and turmoil
From this reading Looke to that Deuill, lest that France repent, And by disioyning hands hell lose a soule Aust.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading And hang a Calues-skin on his recreant limbs Aust.
a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading King Philip, listen to the Cardinall Bast.
in order that something should not happen
From this reading Looke to that Deuill, lest that France repent, And by disioyning hands hell lose a soule Aust.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Look'st thou pale France? do not let go thy hand Con.
plural of “limb” — one of the jointed appendages of an animal used for locomotion or grasping: arm; leg; wing; flipper
From this reading And hang a Calues-skin on his recreant limbs Aust.
hear with intention
From this reading King Philip, listen to the Cardinall Bast.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Look'st thou pale France? do not let go thy hand Con.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Looke to that Deuill, lest that France repent, And by disioyning hands hell lose a soule Aust.
fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
From this reading Looke to that Deuill, lest that France repent, And by disioyning hands hell lose a soule Aust.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Look'st thou pale France? do not let go thy hand Con.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading And hang a Calues-skin on his recreant limbs Aust.
very light colored; highly diluted with white
From this reading Look'st thou pale France? do not let go thy hand Con.
Englishman and husband of Elizabeth II (born 1921)
From this reading King Philip, listen to the Cardinall Bast.
an abject coward
From this reading And hang a Calues-skin on his recreant limbs Aust.
turn away from sin or do penitence
From this reading Looke to that Deuill, lest that France repent, And by disioyning hands hell lose a soule Aust.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Looke to that Deuill, lest that France repent, And by disioyning hands hell lose a soule Aust.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Looke to that Deuill, lest that France repent, And by disioyning hands hell lose a soule Aust.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading King Philip, listen to the Cardinall Bast.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading Look'st thou pale France? do not let go thy hand Con.
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading Look'st thou pale France? do not let go thy hand Con.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Looke to that Deuill, lest that France repent, And by disioyning hands hell lose a soule Aust.
Chapter 4 of King John by William Shakespeare holds 131 sentences, grouped into 27 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 131 sentences of King John, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of King John by William Shakespeare exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 131 sentences, grouped into 27 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 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 27 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 King John by William Shakespeare on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1174 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1110 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1110, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 97 minutes of reading across 235 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through King John section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of King John 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 King John, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
