Chapter 5 of The Beggar's Opera is here in full — 288 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Beggar's Opera is here in full — 288 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Polly. _Why how now_, _saucy Jade_; _Sure the Wench is tipsy_! _How can you see me made_ [To him.] _The Scoff of such a Gipsy_? _Saucy Jade_! [To her.]
Chapter 5 of The Beggar's Opera is here in full — 288 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/57 · 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.
a semiprecious gemstone that takes a high polish; is usually green but sometimes whitish; consists of jadeite or nephrite
produced by a manufacturing process
characterized by a lightly pert and exuberant quality
laugh at with contempt and derision
From this reading “_How can you see me made_ [To him.] _The Scoff of such a Gipsy_?”
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading “_How can you see me made_ [To him.] _The Scoff of such a Gipsy_?”
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
slightly intoxicated
informal terms for a (young) woman
From this reading “_Why how now_, _saucy Jade_; _Sure the Wench is tipsy_!”
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 _How can you see me made_ [To him.] _The Scoff of such a Gipsy_?
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading _How can you see me made_ [To him.] _The Scoff of such a Gipsy_?
a laborer who moves from place to place as demanded by employment
From this reading _How can you see me made_ [To him.] _The Scoff of such a Gipsy_?
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading [To her.]
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading _How can you see me made_ [To him.] _The Scoff of such a Gipsy_?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Why how now_, _saucy Jade_; _Sure the Wench is tipsy_!
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading _Why how now_, _saucy Jade_; _Sure the Wench is tipsy_!
a semiprecious gemstone that takes a high polish; is usually green but sometimes whitish; consists of jadeite or nephrite
From this reading _Why how now_, _saucy Jade_; _Sure the Wench is tipsy_!
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading _How can you see me made_ [To him.] _The Scoff of such a Gipsy_?
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading _How can you see me made_ [To him.] _The Scoff of such a Gipsy_?
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading _Why how now_, _saucy Jade_; _Sure the Wench is tipsy_!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading _How can you see me made_ [To him.] _The Scoff of such a Gipsy_?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Polly.
characterized by a lightly pert and exuberant quality
From this reading _Why how now_, _saucy Jade_; _Sure the Wench is tipsy_!
laugh at with contempt and derision
From this reading _How can you see me made_ [To him.] _The Scoff of such a Gipsy_?
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading _How can you see me made_ [To him.] _The Scoff of such a Gipsy_?
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading _How can you see me made_ [To him.] _The Scoff of such a Gipsy_?
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading _Why how now_, _saucy Jade_; _Sure the Wench is tipsy_!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _Why how now_, _saucy Jade_; _Sure the Wench is tipsy_!
slightly intoxicated
From this reading _Why how now_, _saucy Jade_; _Sure the Wench is tipsy_!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading _How can you see me made_ [To him.] _The Scoff of such a Gipsy_?
informal terms for a (young) woman
From this reading _Why how now_, _saucy Jade_; _Sure the Wench is tipsy_!
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading _Why how now_, _saucy Jade_; _Sure the Wench is tipsy_!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading _How can you see me made_ [To him.] _The Scoff of such a Gipsy_?
Chapter 5 of The Beggar's Opera by John Gay holds 288 sentences, grouped into 58 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 5 holds 288 sentences of The Beggar's Opera, unabridged, divided into 58 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Beggar's Opera by John Gay exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 288 sentences, grouped into 58 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 58 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 58 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 5 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 The Beggar's Opera by John Gay on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1403 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2421 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2421, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 116 minutes of reading across 281 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Beggar's Opera section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The Beggar's Opera 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 The Beggar's Opera, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
