Chapter 4 of The Merry Wives of Windsor is here in full — 162 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Merry Wives of Windsor is here in full — 162 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Host. Hast thou no suit against my Knight? my guest-Caualeire? Shal. None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host. My hand, (Bully:) thou shalt haue egresse and regresse, (said I well?) and thy name shall be Broome.
Chapter 4 of The Merry Wives of Windsor 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 cruel and brutal fellow
From this reading “My hand, (Bully:) thou shalt haue egresse and regresse, (said I well?) and thy name shall be Broome.”
an old form of “have”, used with “thou”
From this reading “Hast thou no suit against my Knight? my guest-Caualeire?”
a person who invites guests to a social event (such as a party in his or her own home) and who is responsible for them while they are there
From this reading “Host.”
a pot that holds 2 quarts
From this reading “None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host.”
a formal and solemn declaration of objection
From this reading “None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host.”
act of turning to for assistance
From this reading “None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host.”
an old form of “shall”, used with “thou”
From this reading “My hand, (Bully:) thou shalt haue egresse and regresse, (said I well?) and thy name shall be Broome.”
be agreeable or acceptable to
From this reading “Hast thou no suit against my Knight? my guest-Caualeire?”
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 None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host.
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading Hast thou no suit against my Knight? my guest-Caualeire?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading My hand, (Bully:) thou shalt haue egresse and regresse, (said I well?) and thy name shall be Broome.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host.
a cruel and brutal fellow
From this reading My hand, (Bully:) thou shalt haue egresse and regresse, (said I well?) and thy name shall be Broome.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading My hand, (Bully:) thou shalt haue egresse and regresse, (said I well?) and thy name shall be Broome.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hast thou no suit against my Knight? my guest-Caualeire?
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading My hand, (Bully:) thou shalt haue egresse and regresse, (said I well?) and thy name shall be Broome.
an old form of “have”, used with “thou”
From this reading Hast thou no suit against my Knight? my guest-Caualeire?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading My hand, (Bully:) thou shalt haue egresse and regresse, (said I well?) and thy name shall be Broome.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host.
a person who invites guests to a social event (such as a party in his or her own home) and who is responsible for them while they are there
From this reading Host.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host.
originally a person of noble birth trained to arms and chivalry; today in Great Britain a person honored by the sovereign for personal merit
From this reading Hast thou no suit against my Knight? my guest-Caualeire?
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Hast thou no suit against my Knight? my guest-Caualeire?
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host.
not any; not one
From this reading Hast thou no suit against my Knight? my guest-Caualeire?
not one, and not any
From this reading None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host.
a pot that holds 2 quarts
From this reading None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host.
a formal and solemn declaration of objection
From this reading None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host.
act of turning to for assistance
From this reading None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading My hand, (Bully:) thou shalt haue egresse and regresse, (said I well?) and thy name shall be Broome.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading My hand, (Bully:) thou shalt haue egresse and regresse, (said I well?) and thy name shall be Broome.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Shal.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading My hand, (Bully:) thou shalt haue egresse and regresse, (said I well?) and thy name shall be Broome.
an old form of “shall”, used with “thou”
From this reading My hand, (Bully:) thou shalt haue egresse and regresse, (said I well?) and thy name shall be Broome.
be agreeable or acceptable to
From this reading Hast thou no suit against my Knight? my guest-Caualeire?
express in words
From this reading None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading Hast thou no suit against my Knight? my guest-Caualeire?
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading My hand, (Bully:) thou shalt haue egresse and regresse, (said I well?) and thy name shall be Broome.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host.
(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 My hand, (Bully:) thou shalt haue egresse and regresse, (said I well?) and thy name shall be Broome.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading None, I protest: but Ile giue you a pottle of burn'd sacke, to giue me recourse to him, and tell him my name is Broome: onely for a iest Host.
Chapter 4 of The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare 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 4 holds 162 sentences of The Merry Wives of Windsor, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare 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 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 Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1521 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1116 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1116, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 126 minutes of reading across 305 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Merry Wives of Windsor section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of The Merry Wives of Windsor 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 Merry Wives of Windsor, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
