Chapter 3 of The Duchess of Padua is here in full — 162 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Duchess of Padua is here in full — 162 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
DUKE Shut that door there; this morning air is cold. [_They close the door on the corridor_.] [_Enter the Duchess followed by a crowd of meanly dressed Citizens_.] DUCHESS [_flinging herself upon her knees_] I do beseech your Grace to give us audience. DUKE What are these grievances?
Chapter 3 of The Duchess of Padua is here in full — 162 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 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 gathering of spectators or listeners at a (usually public) performance
From this reading “DUCHESS [_flinging herself upon her knees_] I do beseech your Grace to give us audience.”
ask for or request earnestly
From this reading “DUCHESS [_flinging herself upon her knees_] I do beseech your Grace to give us audience.”
plural of “citizen” — a native or naturalized member of a state or other political community
an enclosed passageway; rooms usually open onto it
the wife of a duke or a woman holding ducal title in her own right
From this reading “[_Enter the Duchess followed by a crowd of meanly dressed Citizens_.]”
-ing form of “fling” — throw with force or recklessness
plural of “grievance” — a resentment strong enough to justify retaliation
From this reading “DUKE What are these grievances?”
plural of “knee” — hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
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 the Duchess followed by a crowd of meanly dressed Citizens_.]
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading DUKE Shut that door there; this morning air is cold.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading DUKE What are these grievances?
a gathering of spectators or listeners at a (usually public) performance
From this reading DUCHESS [_flinging herself upon her knees_] I do beseech your Grace to give us audience.
ask for or request earnestly
From this reading DUCHESS [_flinging herself upon her knees_] I do beseech your Grace to give us audience.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading [_Enter the Duchess followed by a crowd of meanly dressed Citizens_.]
plural of “citizen” — a native or naturalized member of a state or other political community
From this reading [_Enter the Duchess followed by a crowd of meanly dressed Citizens_.]
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading [_They close the door on the corridor_.]
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading DUKE Shut that door there; this morning air is cold.
an enclosed passageway; rooms usually open onto it
From this reading [_They close the door on the corridor_.]
cause to herd, drive, or crowd together
From this reading [_Enter the Duchess followed by a crowd of meanly dressed Citizens_.]
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading DUCHESS [_flinging herself upon her knees_] I do beseech your Grace to give us audience.
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading DUKE Shut that door there; this morning air is cold.
dressed or clothed especially in fine attire; often used in combination
From this reading [_Enter the Duchess followed by a crowd of meanly dressed Citizens_.]
the wife of a duke or a woman holding ducal title in her own right
From this reading [_Enter the Duchess followed by a crowd of meanly dressed Citizens_.]
a British peer of the highest rank
From this reading DUKE Shut that door there; this morning air is cold.
to come or go into
From this reading [_Enter the Duchess followed by a crowd of meanly dressed Citizens_.]
-ing form of “fling” — throw with force or recklessness
From this reading DUCHESS [_flinging herself upon her knees_] I do beseech your Grace to give us audience.
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading [_Enter the Duchess followed by a crowd of meanly dressed Citizens_.]
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading DUCHESS [_flinging herself upon her knees_] I do beseech your Grace to give us audience.
(Christian theology) a state of sanctification by God; the state of one who is under such divine influence
From this reading DUCHESS [_flinging herself upon her knees_] I do beseech your Grace to give us audience.
plural of “grievance” — a resentment strong enough to justify retaliation
From this reading DUKE What are these grievances?
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading DUCHESS [_flinging herself upon her knees_] I do beseech your Grace to give us audience.
used when the woman or girl doing the action is also its object
From this reading DUCHESS [_flinging herself upon her knees_] I do beseech your Grace to give us audience.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading DUCHESS [_flinging herself upon her knees_] I do beseech your Grace to give us audience.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading DUKE Shut that door there; this morning air is cold.
plural of “knee” — hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading DUCHESS [_flinging herself upon her knees_] I do beseech your Grace to give us audience.
in a nasty ill-tempered manner
From this reading [_Enter the Duchess followed by a crowd of meanly dressed Citizens_.]
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading DUKE Shut that door there; this morning air is cold.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading [_Enter the Duchess followed by a crowd of meanly dressed Citizens_.]
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading [_They close the door on the corridor_.]
move so that an opening or passage is obstructed; make shut
From this reading DUKE Shut that door there; this morning air is cold.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading DUKE Shut that door there; this morning air is cold.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading [_They close the door on the corridor_.]
in or at that place or location
From this reading DUKE Shut that door there; this morning air is cold.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading DUKE What are these grievances?
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading [_They close the door on the corridor_.]
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading DUKE Shut that door there; this morning air is cold.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading DUCHESS [_flinging herself upon her knees_] I do beseech your Grace to give us audience.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading DUCHESS [_flinging herself upon her knees_] I do beseech your Grace to give us audience.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading DUCHESS [_flinging herself upon her knees_] I do beseech your Grace to give us audience.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading DUKE What are these grievances?
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading DUCHESS [_flinging herself upon her knees_] I do beseech your Grace to give us audience.
Chapter 3 of The Duchess of Padua by Oscar Wilde holds 162 sentences, grouped into 33 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 3 holds 162 sentences of The Duchess of Padua, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Duchess of Padua by Oscar Wilde exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 162 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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.
Common questions about reading The Duchess of Padua by Oscar Wilde on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1456 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #875 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #875, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 121 minutes of reading across 292 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Duchess of Padua section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of The Duchess of Padua 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 Padua, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
