Chapter 2 of The London Prodigal is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The London Prodigal is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
LANCELOT. Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding. We’ll have two at once, and that will save charges, Master Weathercock. ARTICHOKE. Well, we will do it, sir.
Chapter 2 of The London Prodigal is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
Mediterranean thistlelike plant widely cultivated for its large edible flower head
From this reading “ARTICHOKE.”
plural of “blow” — a powerful stroke with the fist or a weapon
From this reading “Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.”
plural of “charge” — an impetuous rush toward someone or something
From this reading “We’ll have two at once, and that will save charges, Master Weathercock.”
(psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires
From this reading “Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.”
(Arthurian legend) one of the knights of the Round Table; friend of King Arthur until (according to some versions of the legend) he became the lover of Arthur's wife Guinevere
From this reading “LANCELOT.”
the state of having been made ready or prepared for use or action (especially military action)
From this reading “Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.”
become destroyed by water, air, or a corrosive such as an acid
From this reading “Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.”
plural of “sword” — a cutting or thrusting weapon that has a long metal blade and a hilt with a hand guard
From this reading “Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.”
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.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.
Having no one else present.
From this reading Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading We’ll have two at once, and that will save charges, Master Weathercock.
Mediterranean thistlelike plant widely cultivated for its large edible flower head
From this reading ARTICHOKE.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading We’ll have two at once, and that will save charges, Master Weathercock.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.
propose a payment
From this reading Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.
plural of “blow” — a powerful stroke with the fist or a weapon
From this reading Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.
plural of “charge” — an impetuous rush toward someone or something
From this reading We’ll have two at once, and that will save charges, Master Weathercock.
(psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires
From this reading Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Well, we will do it, sir.
the act of fighting; any contest or struggle
From this reading Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Well, we will do it, sir.
(Arthurian legend) one of the knights of the Round Table; friend of King Arthur until (according to some versions of the legend) he became the lover of Arthur's wife Guinevere
From this reading LANCELOT.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.
an artist of consummate skill
From this reading We’ll have two at once, and that will save charges, Master Weathercock.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.
not any; not one
From this reading Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.
on one occasion
From this reading We’ll have two at once, and that will save charges, Master Weathercock.
the state of having been made ready or prepared for use or action (especially military action)
From this reading Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.
become destroyed by water, air, or a corrosive such as an acid
From this reading Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.
except for; apart from
From this reading We’ll have two at once, and that will save charges, Master Weathercock.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.
term of address for a man
From this reading Well, we will do it, sir.
plural of “sword” — a cutting or thrusting weapon that has a long metal blade and a hilt with a hand guard
From this reading Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading We’ll have two at once, and that will save charges, Master Weathercock.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading We’ll have two at once, and that will save charges, Master Weathercock.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Well, we will do it, sir.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading We’ll have two at once, and that will save charges, Master Weathercock.
weathervane with a vane in the form of a rooster
From this reading We’ll have two at once, and that will save charges, Master Weathercock.
the social event at which the ceremony of marriage is performed
From this reading Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.
(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 Well, we will do it, sir.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading We’ll have two at once, and that will save charges, Master Weathercock.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Defence me no defence! let your swords rust, I’ll have no fighting: Aye, let blows alone; bid Delia see all things be in readiness against the wedding.
Chapter 2 of The London Prodigal by William [Dubious author] Shakespeare holds 405 sentences, grouped into 81 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 2 holds 405 sentences of The London Prodigal, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The London Prodigal by William [Dubious author] Shakespeare exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 405 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 2 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 London Prodigal by William [Dubious author] Shakespeare on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 803 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4031 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4031, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 66 minutes of reading across 161 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The London Prodigal section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of The London Prodigal 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 London Prodigal, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
