Chapter 1 of The plant-lore & garden-craft of Shakespeare is here in full — 119 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The plant-lore & garden-craft of Shakespeare is here in full — 119 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_THE PLANT-LORE AND GARDEN-CRAFT OF SHAKESPEARE._ "It would be hard to name a better commonplace book for summer lawns. The lover of poetry, the lover of gardening, and the lover of quaint, out-of-the-way knowledge will each find something to please him.
Chapter 1 of The plant-lore & garden-craft of Shakespeare is here in full — 119 sentences across 24 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/606 · 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.
completely ordinary and unremarkable
From this reading “_THE PLANT-LORE AND GARDEN-CRAFT OF SHAKESPEARE._ "It would be hard to name a better commonplace book for summer lawns.”
the cultivation of plants
From this reading “The lover of poetry, the lover of gardening, and the lover of quaint, out-of-the-way knowledge will each find something to please him.”
plural of “lawn” — a field of cultivated and mowed grass
From this reading “_THE PLANT-LORE AND GARDEN-CRAFT OF SHAKESPEARE._ "It would be hard to name a better commonplace book for summer lawns.”
a person who loves someone or is loved by someone
From this reading “The lover of poetry, the lover of gardening, and the lover of quaint, out-of-the-way knowledge will each find something to please him.”
literature in metrical form
From this reading “The lover of poetry, the lover of gardening, and the lover of quaint, out-of-the-way knowledge will each find something to please him.”
strange in an interesting or pleasing way
From this reading “The lover of poetry, the lover of gardening, and the lover of quaint, out-of-the-way knowledge will each find something to please him.”
English poet and dramatist considered one of the greatest English writers (1564-1616)
From this reading “_THE PLANT-LORE AND GARDEN-CRAFT OF SHAKESPEARE._ "It would be hard to name a better commonplace book for summer lawns.”
the warmest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox
From this reading “_THE PLANT-LORE AND GARDEN-CRAFT OF SHAKESPEARE._ "It would be hard to name a better commonplace book for summer lawns.”
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 _THE PLANT-LORE AND GARDEN-CRAFT OF SHAKESPEARE._ "It would be hard to name a better commonplace book for summer lawns.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading _THE PLANT-LORE AND GARDEN-CRAFT OF SHAKESPEARE._ "It would be hard to name a better commonplace book for summer lawns.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading _THE PLANT-LORE AND GARDEN-CRAFT OF SHAKESPEARE._ "It would be hard to name a better commonplace book for summer lawns.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading _THE PLANT-LORE AND GARDEN-CRAFT OF SHAKESPEARE._ "It would be hard to name a better commonplace book for summer lawns.
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading _THE PLANT-LORE AND GARDEN-CRAFT OF SHAKESPEARE._ "It would be hard to name a better commonplace book for summer lawns.
completely ordinary and unremarkable
From this reading _THE PLANT-LORE AND GARDEN-CRAFT OF SHAKESPEARE._ "It would be hard to name a better commonplace book for summer lawns.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading The lover of poetry, the lover of gardening, and the lover of quaint, out-of-the-way knowledge will each find something to please him.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading The lover of poetry, the lover of gardening, and the lover of quaint, out-of-the-way knowledge will each find something to please him.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading _THE PLANT-LORE AND GARDEN-CRAFT OF SHAKESPEARE._ "It would be hard to name a better commonplace book for summer lawns.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _THE PLANT-LORE AND GARDEN-CRAFT OF SHAKESPEARE._ "It would be hard to name a better commonplace book for summer lawns.
the cultivation of plants
From this reading The lover of poetry, the lover of gardening, and the lover of quaint, out-of-the-way knowledge will each find something to please him.
not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure
From this reading _THE PLANT-LORE AND GARDEN-CRAFT OF SHAKESPEARE._ "It would be hard to name a better commonplace book for summer lawns.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The lover of poetry, the lover of gardening, and the lover of quaint, out-of-the-way knowledge will each find something to please him.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading _THE PLANT-LORE AND GARDEN-CRAFT OF SHAKESPEARE._ "It would be hard to name a better commonplace book for summer lawns.
the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning
From this reading The lover of poetry, the lover of gardening, and the lover of quaint, out-of-the-way knowledge will each find something to please him.
plural of “lawn” — a field of cultivated and mowed grass
From this reading _THE PLANT-LORE AND GARDEN-CRAFT OF SHAKESPEARE._ "It would be hard to name a better commonplace book for summer lawns.
a person who loves someone or is loved by someone
From this reading The lover of poetry, the lover of gardening, and the lover of quaint, out-of-the-way knowledge will each find something to please him.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading _THE PLANT-LORE AND GARDEN-CRAFT OF SHAKESPEARE._ "It would be hard to name a better commonplace book for summer lawns.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading _THE PLANT-LORE AND GARDEN-CRAFT OF SHAKESPEARE._ "It would be hard to name a better commonplace book for summer lawns.
exceptional, unusual, or remarkable
From this reading The lover of poetry, the lover of gardening, and the lover of quaint, out-of-the-way knowledge will each find something to please him.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _THE PLANT-LORE AND GARDEN-CRAFT OF SHAKESPEARE._ "It would be hard to name a better commonplace book for summer lawns.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading The lover of poetry, the lover of gardening, and the lover of quaint, out-of-the-way knowledge will each find something to please him.
literature in metrical form
From this reading The lover of poetry, the lover of gardening, and the lover of quaint, out-of-the-way knowledge will each find something to please him.
strange in an interesting or pleasing way
From this reading The lover of poetry, the lover of gardening, and the lover of quaint, out-of-the-way knowledge will each find something to please him.
English poet and dramatist considered one of the greatest English writers (1564-1616)
From this reading _THE PLANT-LORE AND GARDEN-CRAFT OF SHAKESPEARE._ "It would be hard to name a better commonplace book for summer lawns.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading The lover of poetry, the lover of gardening, and the lover of quaint, out-of-the-way knowledge will each find something to please him.
the warmest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox
From this reading _THE PLANT-LORE AND GARDEN-CRAFT OF SHAKESPEARE._ "It would be hard to name a better commonplace book for summer lawns.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _THE PLANT-LORE AND GARDEN-CRAFT OF SHAKESPEARE._ "It would be hard to name a better commonplace book for summer lawns.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading _THE PLANT-LORE AND GARDEN-CRAFT OF SHAKESPEARE._ "It would be hard to name a better commonplace book for summer lawns.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading The lover of poetry, the lover of gardening, and the lover of quaint, out-of-the-way knowledge will each find something to please him.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading _THE PLANT-LORE AND GARDEN-CRAFT OF SHAKESPEARE._ "It would be hard to name a better commonplace book for summer lawns.
Chapter 1 of The plant-lore & garden-craft of Shakespeare by Henry Nicholson Ellacombe holds 119 sentences, grouped into 24 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, 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 1 holds 119 sentences of The plant-lore & garden-craft of Shakespeare, unabridged, divided into 24 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The plant-lore & garden-craft of Shakespeare by Henry Nicholson Ellacombe exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 119 sentences, grouped into 24 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 24 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 24 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 1 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 plant-lore & garden-craft of Shakespeare by Henry Nicholson Ellacombe on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6063 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #28407 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #28407, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 505 minutes of reading across 1213 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The plant-lore & garden-craft of Shakespeare section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of The plant-lore & garden-craft of Shakespeare 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 plant-lore & garden-craft of Shakespeare, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
