Chapter 8 of The Poetaster is here in full — 398 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of The Poetaster is here in full — 398 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Cris. Pray you, master usher:--we'll stand close, here. Tuc. 'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth? Well said; be not out, stinkard.
Chapter 8 of The Poetaster is here in full — 398 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
Greek author of fables (circa 620-560 BC)
From this reading “'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?”
clothing in general
From this reading “'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?”
an old form of “have”, used with “thou”
From this reading “'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?”
address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
From this reading “Pray you, master usher:--we'll stand close, here.”
an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone
From this reading “'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?”
to a small degree or extent
From this reading “'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?”
plural of “ti” — a light strong grey lustrous corrosion-resistant metallic element used in strong lightweight alloys (as for airplane parts); the main sources are rutile and ilmenite
From this reading “'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?”
take (someone) to their seats, as in theaters or auditoriums
From this reading “Pray you, master usher:--we'll stand close, here.”
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 'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?
Greek author of fables (circa 620-560 BC)
From this reading 'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading 'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading Pray you, master usher:--we'll stand close, here.
clothing in general
From this reading 'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading 'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Cris.
a man of refinement
From this reading 'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?
an old form of “have”, used with “thou”
From this reading 'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading 'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading Pray you, master usher:--we'll stand close, here.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading 'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading 'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?
an artist of consummate skill
From this reading Pray you, master usher:--we'll stand close, here.
the opening through which food is taken in and vocalizations emerge
From this reading 'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading Well said; be not out, stinkard.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading 'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading 'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?
address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
From this reading Pray you, master usher:--we'll stand close, here.
an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone
From this reading 'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Well said; be not out, stinkard.
to a small degree or extent
From this reading 'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?
be standing; be upright
From this reading Pray you, master usher:--we'll stand close, here.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well said; be not out, stinkard.
express in words
From this reading 'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading 'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?
in spite of the fact that
From this reading 'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading 'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?
plural of “ti” — a light strong grey lustrous corrosion-resistant metallic element used in strong lightweight alloys (as for airplane parts); the main sources are rutile and ilmenite
From this reading 'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Tuc.
take (someone) to their seats, as in theaters or auditoriums
From this reading Pray you, master usher:--we'll stand close, here.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Pray you, master usher:--we'll stand close, here.
(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 said; be not out, stinkard.
an old word for “you”, speaking to more than one person
From this reading 'Tis a gentleman of quality, this; though he be somewhat out of clothes, I tell ye.--Come, AEsop, hast a bay-leaf in thy mouth?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Pray you, master usher:--we'll stand close, here.
Chapter 8 of The Poetaster by Ben Jonson holds 398 sentences, grouped into 80 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 8 holds 398 sentences of The Poetaster, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of The Poetaster by Ben Jonson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 398 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 8 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 Poetaster by Ben Jonson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3491 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5166 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5166, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 290 minutes of reading across 699 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Poetaster section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of The Poetaster 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 Poetaster, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
