Chapter 31 of Shakespeare's First Folio is here in full — 1474 sentences across 295 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XXXI
Chapter 31 of Shakespeare's First Folio is here in full — 1474 sentences across 295 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
4 They were Traitors: Honourable men? All. The Will, the Testament 2 They were Villaines, Murderers: the Will, read the Will Ant. You will compell me then to read the Will: Then make a Ring about the Corpes of Caesar, And let me shew you him that made the Will: Shall I descend? And will you giue me leaue?
Chapter 31 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.
social insect living in organized colonies; characteristically the males and fertile queen have wings during breeding season; wingless sterile females are the workers
From this reading “The Will, the Testament 2 They were Villaines, Murderers: the Will, read the Will Ant.”
conqueror of Gaul and master of Italy (100-44 BC)
From this reading “You will compell me then to read the Will: Then make a Ring about the Corpes of Caesar, And let me shew you him that made the Will: Shall I descend?”
move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading “You will compell me then to read the Will: Then make a Ring about the Corpes of Caesar, And let me shew you him that made the Will: Shall I descend?”
worthy of being honored; entitled to honor and respect
From this reading “4 They were Traitors: Honourable men?”
plural of “murderer” — a criminal who commits homicide (who performs the unlawful premeditated killing of another human being)
From this reading “The Will, the Testament 2 They were Villaines, Murderers: the Will, read the Will Ant.”
establish the validity of something, as by an example, explanation or experiment
From this reading “You will compell me then to read the Will: Then make a Ring about the Corpes of Caesar, And let me shew you him that made the Will: Shall I descend?”
a profession of belief
From this reading “The Will, the Testament 2 They were Villaines, Murderers: the Will, read the Will Ant.”
plural of “traitor” — someone who betrays his country by committing treason
From this reading “4 They were Traitors: Honourable men?”
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 The Will, the Testament 2 They were Villaines, Murderers: the Will, read the Will Ant.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 4 They were Traitors: Honourable men?
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading You will compell me then to read the Will: Then make a Ring about the Corpes of Caesar, And let me shew you him that made the Will: Shall I descend?
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading You will compell me then to read the Will: Then make a Ring about the Corpes of Caesar, And let me shew you him that made the Will: Shall I descend?
(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 All.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading You will compell me then to read the Will: Then make a Ring about the Corpes of Caesar, And let me shew you him that made the Will: Shall I descend?
social insect living in organized colonies; characteristically the males and fertile queen have wings during breeding season; wingless sterile females are the workers
From this reading The Will, the Testament 2 They were Villaines, Murderers: the Will, read the Will Ant.
conqueror of Gaul and master of Italy (100-44 BC)
From this reading You will compell me then to read the Will: Then make a Ring about the Corpes of Caesar, And let me shew you him that made the Will: Shall I descend?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You will compell me then to read the Will: Then make a Ring about the Corpes of Caesar, And let me shew you him that made the Will: Shall I descend?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You will compell me then to read the Will: Then make a Ring about the Corpes of Caesar, And let me shew you him that made the Will: Shall I descend?
move downward and lower, but not necessarily all the way
From this reading You will compell me then to read the Will: Then make a Ring about the Corpes of Caesar, And let me shew you him that made the Will: Shall I descend?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And will you giue me leaue?
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading You will compell me then to read the Will: Then make a Ring about the Corpes of Caesar, And let me shew you him that made the Will: Shall I descend?
worthy of being honored; entitled to honor and respect
From this reading 4 They were Traitors: Honourable men?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading You will compell me then to read the Will: Then make a Ring about the Corpes of Caesar, And let me shew you him that made the Will: Shall I descend?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And will you giue me leaue?
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading You will compell me then to read the Will: Then make a Ring about the Corpes of Caesar, And let me shew you him that made the Will: Shall I descend?
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading You will compell me then to read the Will: Then make a Ring about the Corpes of Caesar, And let me shew you him that made the Will: Shall I descend?
engage in
From this reading You will compell me then to read the Will: Then make a Ring about the Corpes of Caesar, And let me shew you him that made the Will: Shall I descend?
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading You will compell me then to read the Will: Then make a Ring about the Corpes of Caesar, And let me shew you him that made the Will: Shall I descend?
the force of workers available
From this reading 4 They were Traitors: Honourable men?
plural of “murderer” — a criminal who commits homicide (who performs the unlawful premeditated killing of another human being)
From this reading The Will, the Testament 2 They were Villaines, Murderers: the Will, read the Will Ant.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading You will compell me then to read the Will: Then make a Ring about the Corpes of Caesar, And let me shew you him that made the Will: Shall I descend?
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading The Will, the Testament 2 They were Villaines, Murderers: the Will, read the Will Ant.
sound loudly and sonorously
From this reading You will compell me then to read the Will: Then make a Ring about the Corpes of Caesar, And let me shew you him that made the Will: Shall I descend?
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading You will compell me then to read the Will: Then make a Ring about the Corpes of Caesar, And let me shew you him that made the Will: Shall I descend?
establish the validity of something, as by an example, explanation or experiment
From this reading You will compell me then to read the Will: Then make a Ring about the Corpes of Caesar, And let me shew you him that made the Will: Shall I descend?
a profession of belief
From this reading The Will, the Testament 2 They were Villaines, Murderers: the Will, read the Will Ant.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading You will compell me then to read the Will: Then make a Ring about the Corpes of Caesar, And let me shew you him that made the Will: Shall I descend?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Will, the Testament 2 They were Villaines, Murderers: the Will, read the Will Ant.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading You will compell me then to read the Will: Then make a Ring about the Corpes of Caesar, And let me shew you him that made the Will: Shall I descend?
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading 4 They were Traitors: Honourable men?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading You will compell me then to read the Will: Then make a Ring about the Corpes of Caesar, And let me shew you him that made the Will: Shall I descend?
plural of “traitor” — someone who betrays his country by committing treason
From this reading 4 They were Traitors: Honourable men?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Will, the Testament 2 They were Villaines, Murderers: the Will, read the Will Ant.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading 4 They were Traitors: Honourable men?
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading The Will, the Testament 2 They were Villaines, Murderers: the Will, read the Will Ant.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You will compell me then to read the Will: Then make a Ring about the Corpes of Caesar, And let me shew you him that made the Will: Shall I descend?
Chapter 31 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 source edition, 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 31 holds 1474 sentences of Shakespeare's First Folio, unabridged, divided into 295 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 31 of Shakespeare's First Folio by William Shakespeare exactly as it stands in the 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 31 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, unabridged. 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.
