Chapter 3 of The Comedies of William Congreve — Volume 1 is here in full — 392 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Comedies of William Congreve — Volume 1 is here in full — 392 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BELL. Hang him, no, he a dragon! If he be, 'tis a very peaceful one. I can ensure his anger dormant; or should he seem to rouse, 'tis but well lashing him, and he will sleep like a top. SHARP.
Chapter 3 of The Comedies of William Congreve — Volume 1 is here in full — 392 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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 hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading “BELL.”
in a condition of biological rest or suspended animation
From this reading “I can ensure his anger dormant; or should he seem to rouse, 'tis but well lashing him, and he will sleep like a top.”
a creature of Teutonic mythology; usually represented as breathing fire and having a reptilian body and sometimes wings
From this reading “Hang him, no, he a dragon!”
make certain of
From this reading “I can ensure his anger dormant; or should he seem to rouse, 'tis but well lashing him, and he will sleep like a top.”
be suspended or hanging
From this reading “Hang him, no, he a dragon!”
beating with a whip or strap or rope as a form of punishment
From this reading “I can ensure his anger dormant; or should he seem to rouse, 'tis but well lashing him, and he will sleep like a top.”
not disturbed by strife or turmoil or war
From this reading “If he be, 'tis a very peaceful one.”
become active
From this reading “I can ensure his anger dormant; or should he seem to rouse, 'tis but well lashing him, and he will sleep like a top.”
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 Hang him, no, he a dragon!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I can ensure his anger dormant; or should he seem to rouse, 'tis but well lashing him, and he will sleep like a top.
a strong emotion; a feeling that is oriented toward some real or supposed grievance
From this reading I can ensure his anger dormant; or should he seem to rouse, 'tis but well lashing him, and he will sleep like a top.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading If he be, 'tis a very peaceful one.
a hollow device made of metal that makes a ringing sound when struck
From this reading BELL.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading I can ensure his anger dormant; or should he seem to rouse, 'tis but well lashing him, and he will sleep like a top.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading I can ensure his anger dormant; or should he seem to rouse, 'tis but well lashing him, and he will sleep like a top.
in a condition of biological rest or suspended animation
From this reading I can ensure his anger dormant; or should he seem to rouse, 'tis but well lashing him, and he will sleep like a top.
a creature of Teutonic mythology; usually represented as breathing fire and having a reptilian body and sometimes wings
From this reading Hang him, no, he a dragon!
make certain of
From this reading I can ensure his anger dormant; or should he seem to rouse, 'tis but well lashing him, and he will sleep like a top.
be suspended or hanging
From this reading Hang him, no, he a dragon!
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Hang him, no, he a dragon!
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Hang him, no, he a dragon!
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading I can ensure his anger dormant; or should he seem to rouse, 'tis but well lashing him, and he will sleep like a top.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I can ensure his anger dormant; or should he seem to rouse, 'tis but well lashing him, and he will sleep like a top.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If he be, 'tis a very peaceful one.
beating with a whip or strap or rope as a form of punishment
From this reading I can ensure his anger dormant; or should he seem to rouse, 'tis but well lashing him, and he will sleep like a top.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading I can ensure his anger dormant; or should he seem to rouse, 'tis but well lashing him, and he will sleep like a top.
not any; not one
From this reading Hang him, no, he a dragon!
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading If he be, 'tis a very peaceful one.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading I can ensure his anger dormant; or should he seem to rouse, 'tis but well lashing him, and he will sleep like a top.
not disturbed by strife or turmoil or war
From this reading If he be, 'tis a very peaceful one.
become active
From this reading I can ensure his anger dormant; or should he seem to rouse, 'tis but well lashing him, and he will sleep like a top.
give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading I can ensure his anger dormant; or should he seem to rouse, 'tis but well lashing him, and he will sleep like a top.
(of something seen or heard) clearly defined
From this reading SHARP.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading I can ensure his anger dormant; or should he seem to rouse, 'tis but well lashing him, and he will sleep like a top.
a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended
From this reading I can ensure his anger dormant; or should he seem to rouse, 'tis but well lashing him, and he will sleep like a top.
plural of “ti” — a light strong grey lustrous corrosion-resistant metallic element used in strong lightweight alloys (as for airplane parts); the main sources are rutile and ilmenite
From this reading If he be, 'tis a very peaceful one.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I can ensure his anger dormant; or should he seem to rouse, 'tis but well lashing him, and he will sleep like a top.
the upper part of anything
From this reading I can ensure his anger dormant; or should he seem to rouse, 'tis but well lashing him, and he will sleep like a top.
precisely as stated
From this reading If he be, 'tis a very peaceful one.
(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 I can ensure his anger dormant; or should he seem to rouse, 'tis but well lashing him, and he will sleep like a top.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading I can ensure his anger dormant; or should he seem to rouse, 'tis but well lashing him, and he will sleep like a top.
Chapter 3 of The Comedies of William Congreve — Volume 1 by William Congreve holds 392 sentences, grouped into 79 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 3 holds 392 sentences of The Comedies of William Congreve — Volume 1, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Comedies of William Congreve — Volume 1 by William Congreve exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 392 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 3 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.
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Yes. All 6029 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #24215 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #24215, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 502 minutes of reading across 1206 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Comedies of William Congreve — Volume 1 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of The Comedies of William Congreve — Volume 1 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 Comedies of William Congreve — Volume 1, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
