Chapter 1 of Shakespeare's First Folio is here in full — 1364 sentences across 273 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Shakespeare's First Folio is here in full — 1364 sentences across 273 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Pro. Well Sir: here is for your paines: what said she? Sp. Truely Sir, I thinke you'll hardly win her Pro. Why? could'st thou perceiue so much from her?
Chapter 1 of Shakespeare's First Folio is here in full — 1364 sentences across 273 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/272 · 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.
only a very short time before
From this reading “Truely Sir, I thinke you'll hardly win her Pro.”
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading “Well Sir: here is for your paines: what said she?”
to a great degree or extent
From this reading “Why? could'st thou perceiue so much from her?”
an athlete who plays for pay
From this reading “Pro.”
term of address for a man
From this reading “Well Sir: here is for your paines: what said she?”
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading “Why? could'st thou perceiue so much from her?”
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading “Well Sir: here is for your paines: what said she?”
be the winner in a contest or competition; be victorious
From this reading “Truely Sir, I thinke you'll hardly win her Pro.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Why? could'st thou perceiue so much from her?
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Well Sir: here is for your paines: what said she?
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Why? could'st thou perceiue so much from her?
only a very short time before
From this reading Truely Sir, I thinke you'll hardly win her Pro.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Truely Sir, I thinke you'll hardly win her Pro.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Well Sir: here is for your paines: what said she?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Truely Sir, I thinke you'll hardly win her Pro.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Well Sir: here is for your paines: what said she?
to a great degree or extent
From this reading Why? could'st thou perceiue so much from her?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well Sir: here is for your paines: what said she?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Why? could'st thou perceiue so much from her?
an athlete who plays for pay
From this reading Pro.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Well Sir: here is for your paines: what said she?
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Well Sir: here is for your paines: what said she?
term of address for a man
From this reading Well Sir: here is for your paines: what said she?
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Why? could'st thou perceiue so much from her?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sp.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Truely Sir, I thinke you'll hardly win her Pro.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading Why? could'st thou perceiue so much from her?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Truely Sir, I thinke you'll hardly win her Pro.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading Well Sir: here is for your paines: what said she?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Well Sir: here is for your paines: what said she?
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why? could'st thou perceiue so much from her?
be the winner in a contest or competition; be victorious
From this reading Truely Sir, I thinke you'll hardly win her Pro.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Truely Sir, I thinke you'll hardly win her Pro.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Well Sir: here is for your paines: what said she?
Chapter 1 of Shakespeare's First Folio by William Shakespeare holds 1364 sentences, grouped into 273 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 1 holds 1364 sentences of Shakespeare's First Folio, unabridged, divided into 273 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Shakespeare's First Folio by William Shakespeare exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 1364 sentences, grouped into 273 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 273 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 273 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 1 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 Shakespeare's First Folio by William Shakespeare on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 55059 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2270 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2270, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 11012 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Shakespeare's First Folio section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 38 chapters of Shakespeare's First Folio 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 Shakespeare's First Folio, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
