Chapter 16 of Shakespeare's First Folio is here in full — 1474 sentences across 295 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of Shakespeare's First Folio is here in full — 1474 sentences across 295 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
La. I could weepe, Madame, would it doe you good Qu. And I could sing, would weeping doe me good, And neuer borrow any Teare of thee. Enter a Gardiner, and two Seruants. But stay, here comes the Gardiners, Let's step into the shadow of these Trees.
Chapter 16 of Shakespeare's First Folio is here in full — 1474 sentences across 295 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/294 · 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.
get temporarily
From this reading “And I could sing, would weeping doe me good, And neuer borrow any Teare of thee.”
the federal department responsible for maintaining a national energy policy of the United States; created in 1977
From this reading “I could weepe, Madame, would it doe you good Qu.”
to come or go into
From this reading “Enter a Gardiner, and two Seruants.”
British historian remembered for his ten-volume history of England (1829-1902)
From this reading “Enter a Gardiner, and two Seruants.”
A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.
From this reading “But stay, here comes the Gardiners, Let's step into the shadow of these Trees.”
deliver by singing
From this reading “And I could sing, would weeping doe me good, And neuer borrow any Teare of thee.”
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading “But stay, here comes the Gardiners, Let's step into the shadow of these Trees.”
showing sorrow
From this reading “And I could sing, would weeping doe me good, And neuer borrow any Teare of thee.”
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 Enter a Gardiner, and two Seruants.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And I could sing, would weeping doe me good, And neuer borrow any Teare of thee.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading And I could sing, would weeping doe me good, And neuer borrow any Teare of thee.
get temporarily
From this reading And I could sing, would weeping doe me good, And neuer borrow any Teare of thee.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But stay, here comes the Gardiners, Let's step into the shadow of these Trees.
plural of “come” — the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
From this reading But stay, here comes the Gardiners, Let's step into the shadow of these Trees.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading I could weepe, Madame, would it doe you good Qu.
the federal department responsible for maintaining a national energy policy of the United States; created in 1977
From this reading I could weepe, Madame, would it doe you good Qu.
to come or go into
From this reading Enter a Gardiner, and two Seruants.
British historian remembered for his ten-volume history of England (1829-1902)
From this reading Enter a Gardiner, and two Seruants.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But stay, here comes the Gardiners, Let's step into the shadow of these Trees.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading I could weepe, Madame, would it doe you good Qu.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading But stay, here comes the Gardiners, Let's step into the shadow of these Trees.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I could weepe, Madame, would it doe you good Qu.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading But stay, here comes the Gardiners, Let's step into the shadow of these Trees.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I could weepe, Madame, would it doe you good Qu.
a white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily; occurs in rare earth minerals and is usually classified as a rare earth
From this reading La.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But stay, here comes the Gardiners, Let's step into the shadow of these Trees.
title used for a married Frenchwoman
From this reading I could weepe, Madame, would it doe you good Qu.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading And I could sing, would weeping doe me good, And neuer borrow any Teare of thee.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And I could sing, would weeping doe me good, And neuer borrow any Teare of thee.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading And I could sing, would weeping doe me good, And neuer borrow any Teare of thee.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I could weepe, Madame, would it doe you good Qu.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Enter a Gardiner, and two Seruants.
A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.
From this reading But stay, here comes the Gardiners, Let's step into the shadow of these Trees.
deliver by singing
From this reading And I could sing, would weeping doe me good, And neuer borrow any Teare of thee.
stay the same; remain in a certain state
From this reading But stay, here comes the Gardiners, Let's step into the shadow of these Trees.
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading But stay, here comes the Gardiners, Let's step into the shadow of these Trees.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And I could sing, would weeping doe me good, And neuer borrow any Teare of thee.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading But stay, here comes the Gardiners, Let's step into the shadow of these Trees.
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading And I could sing, would weeping doe me good, And neuer borrow any Teare of thee.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading But stay, here comes the Gardiners, Let's step into the shadow of these Trees.
plural of “tree” — a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading But stay, here comes the Gardiners, Let's step into the shadow of these Trees.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Enter a Gardiner, and two Seruants.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I could weepe, Madame, would it doe you good Qu.
showing sorrow
From this reading And I could sing, would weeping doe me good, And neuer borrow any Teare of thee.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading I could weepe, Madame, would it doe you good Qu.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I could weepe, Madame, would it doe you good Qu.
Chapter 16 of Shakespeare's First Folio by William Shakespeare holds 1474 sentences, grouped into 295 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 16 holds 1474 sentences of Shakespeare's First Folio, unabridged, divided into 295 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of Shakespeare's First Folio by William Shakespeare exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 1474 sentences, grouped into 295 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 295 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 295 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 16 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.
