Chapter 4 of The Duchess of Malfi is here in full — 230 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Duchess of Malfi is here in full — 230 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
SECOND SERVANT. A Switzer! FIRST SERVANT. With a pistol---- SECOND SERVANT. There was a cunning traitor!
Chapter 4 of The Duchess of Malfi is here in full — 230 sentences across 46 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/46 · 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.
attractive especially by means of smallness or prettiness or quaintness
From this reading “There was a cunning traitor!”
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading “FIRST SERVANT.”
a firearm that is held and fired with one hand
From this reading “With a pistol---- SECOND SERVANT.”
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading “SECOND SERVANT.”
a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading “SECOND SERVANT.”
someone who betrays his country by committing treason
From this reading “There was a cunning traitor!”
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 A Switzer!
attractive especially by means of smallness or prettiness or quaintness
From this reading There was a cunning traitor!
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading FIRST SERVANT.
a firearm that is held and fired with one hand
From this reading With a pistol---- SECOND SERVANT.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading SECOND SERVANT.
a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading SECOND SERVANT.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A Switzer!
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a cunning traitor!
someone who betrays his country by committing treason
From this reading There was a cunning traitor!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was a cunning traitor!
in the company of; together with
From this reading With a pistol---- SECOND SERVANT.
Chapter 4 of The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster holds 230 sentences, grouped into 46 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 4 holds 230 sentences of The Duchess of Malfi, unabridged, divided into 46 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 230 sentences, grouped into 46 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 46 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 46 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 4 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 Duchess of Malfi by John Webster on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2587 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2232 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2232, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 215 minutes of reading across 518 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Duchess of Malfi section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of The Duchess of Malfi 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 Duchess of Malfi, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
