Chapter 5 of The Duchess of Padua is here in full — 166 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Duchess of Padua is here in full — 166 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
[_Passes across the stage to foot of staircase_.] Ah! who art thou That sittest on the stair, like unto Death Waiting a guilty soul? [_A pause_.] Canst thou not speak? Or has this storm laid palsy on thy tongue, And chilled thy utterance? [_The figure rises and takes off his mask_.]
Chapter 5 of The Duchess of Padua is here in full — 166 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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.
an old form of “can”, used with “thou”
From this reading “[_A pause_.] Canst thou not speak?”
past form of “chill” — depress or discourage
From this reading “Or has this storm laid palsy on thy tongue, And chilled thy utterance?”
hide under a false appearance
loss of the ability to move a body part
From this reading “Or has this storm laid palsy on thy tongue, And chilled thy utterance?”
plural of “pass” — (baseball) an advance to first base by a batter who receives four balls
plural of “rise” — a growth in strength or number or importance
From this reading “[_The figure rises and takes off his mask_.]”
support consisting of a place to rest the foot while ascending or descending a stairway
From this reading “Ah! who art thou That sittest on the stair, like unto Death Waiting a guilty soul?”
the use of uttered sounds for auditory communication
From this reading “Or has this storm laid palsy on thy tongue, And chilled thy utterance?”
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 Ah! who art thou That sittest on the stair, like unto Death Waiting a guilty soul?
from one side of something to the other
From this reading [_Passes across the stage to foot of staircase_.]
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ah! who art thou That sittest on the stair, like unto Death Waiting a guilty soul?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Or has this storm laid palsy on thy tongue, And chilled thy utterance?
an old form of “are”, used with “thou”
From this reading Ah! who art thou That sittest on the stair, like unto Death Waiting a guilty soul?
an old form of “can”, used with “thou”
From this reading [_A pause_.] Canst thou not speak?
past form of “chill” — depress or discourage
From this reading Or has this storm laid palsy on thy tongue, And chilled thy utterance?
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading Ah! who art thou That sittest on the stair, like unto Death Waiting a guilty soul?
a diagram or picture illustrating textual material
From this reading [_The figure rises and takes off his mask_.]
the part of the leg of a human being below the ankle joint
From this reading [_Passes across the stage to foot of staircase_.]
responsible for or chargeable with a reprehensible act
From this reading Ah! who art thou That sittest on the stair, like unto Death Waiting a guilty soul?
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Or has this storm laid palsy on thy tongue, And chilled thy utterance?
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading [_The figure rises and takes off his mask_.]
set down according to a plan
From this reading Or has this storm laid palsy on thy tongue, And chilled thy utterance?
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Ah! who art thou That sittest on the stair, like unto Death Waiting a guilty soul?
hide under a false appearance
From this reading [_The figure rises and takes off his mask_.]
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading [_A pause_.] Canst thou not speak?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading [_Passes across the stage to foot of staircase_.]
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading [_The figure rises and takes off his mask_.]
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Ah! who art thou That sittest on the stair, like unto Death Waiting a guilty soul?
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Or has this storm laid palsy on thy tongue, And chilled thy utterance?
loss of the ability to move a body part
From this reading Or has this storm laid palsy on thy tongue, And chilled thy utterance?
plural of “pass” — (baseball) an advance to first base by a batter who receives four balls
From this reading [_Passes across the stage to foot of staircase_.]
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading [_A pause_.] Canst thou not speak?
plural of “rise” — a growth in strength or number or importance
From this reading [_The figure rises and takes off his mask_.]
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ah! who art thou That sittest on the stair, like unto Death Waiting a guilty soul?
the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading Ah! who art thou That sittest on the stair, like unto Death Waiting a guilty soul?
express in speech
From this reading [_A pause_.] Canst thou not speak?
any distinct time period in a sequence of events
From this reading [_Passes across the stage to foot of staircase_.]
support consisting of a place to rest the foot while ascending or descending a stairway
From this reading Ah! who art thou That sittest on the stair, like unto Death Waiting a guilty soul?
a way of access (upward and downward) consisting of a set of steps
From this reading [_Passes across the stage to foot of staircase_.]
behave violently, as if in state of a great anger
From this reading Or has this storm laid palsy on thy tongue, And chilled thy utterance?
plural of “take” — the income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property
From this reading [_The figure rises and takes off his mask_.]
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Ah! who art thou That sittest on the stair, like unto Death Waiting a guilty soul?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading [_Passes across the stage to foot of staircase_.]
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Or has this storm laid palsy on thy tongue, And chilled thy utterance?
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading Ah! who art thou That sittest on the stair, like unto Death Waiting a guilty soul?
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading Or has this storm laid palsy on thy tongue, And chilled thy utterance?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading [_Passes across the stage to foot of staircase_.]
a mobile mass of muscular tissue covered with mucous membrane and located in the oral cavity
From this reading Or has this storm laid palsy on thy tongue, And chilled thy utterance?
an old word for “to”
From this reading Ah! who art thou That sittest on the stair, like unto Death Waiting a guilty soul?
the use of uttered sounds for auditory communication
From this reading Or has this storm laid palsy on thy tongue, And chilled thy utterance?
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading Ah! who art thou That sittest on the stair, like unto Death Waiting a guilty soul?
which person or people
From this reading Ah! who art thou That sittest on the stair, like unto Death Waiting a guilty soul?
Chapter 5 of The Duchess of Padua by Oscar Wilde holds 166 sentences, grouped into 34 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 166 sentences of The Duchess of Padua, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Duchess of Padua by Oscar Wilde exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 166 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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 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.
