Chapter 20 of Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy is here in full — 209 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy is here in full — 209 sentences across 42 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
DUVAL. [breathless] I have not shoot. Dey shoot first. ANARCHIST. I told you to begin by abolishing the State. Now we are all lost.
Chapter 20 of Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy is here in full — 209 sentences across 42 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.
-ing form of “abolish” — do away with
From this reading “I told you to begin by abolishing the State.”
an advocate of anarchism
From this reading “ANARCHIST.”
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “I told you to begin by abolishing the State.”
not breathing or able to breathe except with difficulty
From this reading “DUVAL. [breathless] I have not shoot.”
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading “Now we are all lost.”
hit with a missile from a weapon
From this reading “DUVAL. [breathless] I have not shoot.”
the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading “I told you to begin by abolishing the State.”
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading “I told you to begin by abolishing the State.”
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.
-ing form of “abolish” — do away with
From this reading I told you to begin by abolishing the State.
(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 Now we are all lost.
an advocate of anarchism
From this reading ANARCHIST.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Now we are all lost.
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading I told you to begin by abolishing the State.
not breathing or able to breathe except with difficulty
From this reading DUVAL. [breathless] I have not shoot.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading I told you to begin by abolishing the State.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dey shoot first.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DUVAL. [breathless] I have not shoot.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Dey shoot first.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading DUVAL. [breathless] I have not shoot.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading DUVAL. [breathless] I have not shoot.
no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered
From this reading Now we are all lost.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading DUVAL. [breathless] I have not shoot.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now we are all lost.
hit with a missile from a weapon
From this reading DUVAL. [breathless] I have not shoot.
the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading I told you to begin by abolishing the State.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I told you to begin by abolishing the State.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I told you to begin by abolishing the State.
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading I told you to begin by abolishing the State.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Now we are all lost.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I told you to begin by abolishing the State.
Chapter 20 of Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy by Bernard Shaw holds 209 sentences, grouped into 42 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 20 holds 209 sentences of Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy, unabridged, divided into 42 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy by Bernard Shaw exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 209 sentences, grouped into 42 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 42 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 42 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 20 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 Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy by Bernard Shaw on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4820 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3328 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3328, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 401 minutes of reading across 964 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy 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 Man and Superman: A Comedy and a Philosophy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
