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Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet

Chapter II · Chapter 2

Chapter 2 of Romeo and Juliet is here in full — 174 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for Romeo and Juliet
Context Illustration Reading 1/34 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Rom.
Good heart, at what?
Ben.
At thy good hearts oppression Rom.
Why such is loues transgression.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Romeo and Juliet

Chapter II · Chapter 2

Chapter 2 of Romeo and Juliet is here in full — 174 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/34 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Rom.
/rɑːm/
Line 2
Good heart, at what?
/ɡʊd hɑːrt æt wʌt/
Line 3
Ben.
/ben/
Line 4
At thy good hearts oppression Rom.
/æt ðaɪ ɡʊd hɑːrts əˈpreʃən rɑːm/
Line 5
Why such is loues transgression.

Learner Dictionary

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.

Ben noun US /ben/

a mountain or tall hill

From this reading “Ben.”

good adjective US /ɡʊd/

having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified

From this reading “Good heart, at what?”

heart noun US /hɑːrt/

the locus of feelings and intuitions

From this reading “Good heart, at what?”

hearts noun US /hɑːrts/

a form of whist in which players avoid winning tricks containing hearts or the queen of spades

From this reading “At thy good hearts oppression Rom.”

oppression noun US /əˈpreʃən/

the act of subjugating by cruelty

From this reading “At thy good hearts oppression Rom.”

Rom noun US /rɑːm/

(computer science) memory whose contents can be accessed and read but cannot be changed

From this reading “Rom.”

thy determiner US /ðaɪ/

an old word for “your”, speaking to one person

From this reading “At thy good hearts oppression Rom.”

transgression noun US /trænzˈɡreʃən/

the act of transgressing; the violation of a law or a duty or moral principle

From this reading “Why such is loues transgression.”

All words in this reading · 14

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.

atprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading Good heart, at what?

BennounUS /ben/

a mountain or tall hill

From this reading Ben.

GoodadjectiveUS /ɡʊd/

having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified

From this reading Good heart, at what?

heartnounUS /hɑːrt/

the locus of feelings and intuitions

From this reading Good heart, at what?

heartsnounUS /hɑːrts/

a form of whist in which players avoid winning tricks containing hearts or the queen of spades

From this reading At thy good hearts oppression Rom.

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading Why such is loues transgression.

loues

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Why such is loues transgression.

oppressionnounUS /əˈpreʃən/

the act of subjugating by cruelty

From this reading At thy good hearts oppression Rom.

RomnounUS /rɑːm/

(computer science) memory whose contents can be accessed and read but cannot be changed

From this reading Rom.

suchdeterminerUS /sʌtʃ/

of the kind already mentioned

From this reading Why such is loues transgression.

thydeterminerUS /ðaɪ/

an old word for “your”, speaking to one person

From this reading At thy good hearts oppression Rom.

transgressionnounUS /trænzˈɡreʃən/

the act of transgressing; the violation of a law or a duty or moral principle

From this reading Why such is loues transgression.

whatpronounUS /wʌt/

used to ask for information about something

From this reading Good heart, at what?

WhynounUS /waɪ/

the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”

From this reading Why such is loues transgression.

Chapter 2 of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare holds 174 sentences, grouped into 35 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.

What does chapter 2 of Romeo and Juliet contain?

Chapter 2 holds 174 sentences of Romeo and Juliet, unabridged, divided into 35 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 2 of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 174 sentences, grouped into 35 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.

How do I study chapter 2 of Romeo and Juliet?

Work through the 35 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 35 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.

Can chapter 2 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading Romeo and Juliet

Common questions about reading Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Romeo and Juliet?

Yes. All 1765 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1112 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Romeo and Juliet is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #1112, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Romeo and Juliet take to read?

About 147 minutes of reading across 353 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Romeo and Juliet section by section

How to work through Romeo and Juliet section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 10 chapters of Romeo and Juliet to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Romeo and Juliet

Words and structures a reader meets early in Romeo and Juliet, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Addition
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Romeo and Juliet; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Notes
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Romeo and Juliet; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Below
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Romeo and Juliet; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Think
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Romeo and Juliet; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.