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The Praise of Shakespeare
The Praise of Shakespeare

Chapter II

Chapter 2 of The Praise of Shakespeare is here in full — 1336 sentences across 268 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Praise of Shakespeare
Context Illustration Reading 1/267 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
THESE THREE HUNDRED YEARS Any time these three hundred years.
_Merry Wives_, I. i.
13.
When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.
Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room, Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Praise of Shakespeare

Chapter II

Chapter 2 of The Praise of Shakespeare is here in full — 1336 sentences across 268 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/267 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
THESE THREE HUNDRED YEARSAny time these three hundred years.
/ðiːz θriː ˈhʌndrəd jɪrz ˈeni taɪm ðiːz θriː ˈhʌndrəd jɪrz/
Line 2
_Merry Wives_, I. i.
/ˈmeri waɪvz aɪ aɪ/
Line 3
13.
Line 4
When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.
Line 5
Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room, Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom.

Learner Dictionary

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.

enmity noun US /ˈenməti/

a state of deep-seated ill-will

From this reading “’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room, Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom.”

Mars noun US /mɑːrz/

a small reddish planet that is the 4th from the sun and is periodically visible to the naked eye; minerals rich in iron cover its surface and are responsible for its characteristic color

From this reading “When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.”

masonry noun US /ˈmeɪsənri/

structure built of stone or brick by a mason

From this reading “When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.”

overturn verb US /ˈoʊvərtɜːrn/

turn from an upright or normal position

From this reading “When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.”

posterity noun US /pɑːˈsterəti/

all of the offspring of a given progenitor

From this reading “’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room, Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom.”

statues noun US /ˈstætʃuːz/

plural of “statue” — a sculpture representing a human or animal

From this reading “When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.”

war's noun US /wɔːrz/

possessive form of “war” — the waging of armed conflict against an enemy

wasteful adjective US /ˈweɪstfəl/

inefficient in use of time and effort and materials

From this reading “When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.”

Word partnerships in these lines

English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.

Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.

THREE HUNDRED noun + noun

being one hundred more than two hundred

In this reading ““THESE THREE HUNDRED YEARS” Any time these three hundred years.”

HUNDRED YEARS noun + noun

In this reading ““THESE THREE HUNDRED YEARS” Any time these three hundred years.”

of masonry preposition + noun

In this reading “When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.”

Any time adjective + noun

In this reading ““THESE THREE HUNDRED YEARS” Any time these three hundred years.”

All words in this reading · 59

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.

13

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading 13.

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(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 ’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room, Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom.

all-oblivious

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading ’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room, Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom.

AndconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.

AnyadjectiveUS /ˈeni/

one or some or every or all without specification

From this reading “THESE THREE HUNDRED YEARS” Any time these three hundred years.

broils

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.

burnverbUS /bɜːrn/

To consume or be consumed by fire.

From this reading When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.

deathnounUS /deθ/

the event of dying or departure from life

From this reading ’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room, Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom.

doomverbUS /duːm/

decree or designate beforehand

From this reading ’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room, Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom.

endingnounUS /ˈendɪŋ/

the end of a word (a suffix or inflectional ending or final morpheme)

From this reading ’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room, Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom.

enmitynounUS /ˈenməti/

a state of deep-seated ill-will

From this reading ’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room, Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom.

EvenadjectiveUS /ˈiːvɪn/

divisible by two

From this reading ’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room, Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom.

eyesnounUS /aɪz/

opinion or judgment

From this reading ’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room, Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom.

findverbUS /faɪnd/

come upon, as if by accident; meet with

From this reading ’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room, Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom.

fireverbUS /ˈfaɪər/

start firing a weapon

From this reading When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.

forthadverbUS /fɔːrθ/

from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)

From this reading ’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room, Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom.

Gainst

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading ’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room, Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.

HUNDREDnounUS /ˈhʌndrəd/

ten 10s

From this reading “THESE THREE HUNDRED YEARS” Any time these three hundred years.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading _Merry Wives_, I. i.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading ’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room, Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom.

livingnounUS /ˈlɪvɪŋ/

the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities

From this reading When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.

MarsnounUS /mɑːrz/

a small reddish planet that is the 4th from the sun and is periodically visible to the naked eye; minerals rich in iron cover its surface and are responsible for its characteristic color

From this reading When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.

masonrynounUS /ˈmeɪsənri/

structure built of stone or brick by a mason

From this reading When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.

memorynounUS /ˈmem.ər.i/

The faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information and knowledge.

From this reading When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.

MerryadjectiveUS /ˈmeri/

full of or showing high-spirited merriment

From this reading _Merry Wives_, I. i.

NorconjunctionUS /nɔːr/

and not; used after a negative to add a second negative

From this reading When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.

outadjectiveUS /aʊt/

not allowed to continue to bat or run

From this reading When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.

overturnverbUS /ˈoʊvərtɜːrn/

turn from an upright or normal position

From this reading When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.

pacenounUS /peɪs/

the rate of moving (especially walking or running)

From this reading ’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room, Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom.

posteritynounUS /pɑːˈsterəti/

all of the offspring of a given progenitor

From this reading ’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room, Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom.

praisenounUS /preɪz/

an expression of approval and commendation

From this reading ’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room, Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom.

quickadjectiveUS /kwɪk/

accomplished rapidly and without delay

From this reading When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.

recordnounUS /rəˈkɔːrd/

anything (such as a document or a phonograph record or a photograph) providing permanent evidence of or information about past events

From this reading When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.

roomnounUS /ruːm/

an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling

From this reading ’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room, Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom.

rootnounUS /ruːt/

(botany) the usually underground organ that lacks buds or leaves or nodes; absorbs water and mineral salts; usually it anchors the plant to the ground

From this reading When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.

shallmodal verbUS /ʃæl/

used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest

From this reading When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.

statuesnounUS /ˈstætʃuːz/

plural of “statue” — a sculpture representing a human or animal

From this reading When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.

stilladjectiveUS /stɪl/

not in physical motion

From this reading ’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room, Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom.

swordnounUS /sɔːrd/

a cutting or thrusting weapon that has a long metal blade and a hilt with a hand guard

From this reading When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.

ThatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

From this reading ’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room, Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.

THESEdeterminerUS /ðiːz/

the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned

From this reading “THESE THREE HUNDRED YEARS” Any time these three hundred years.

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading ’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room, Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom.

THREEnounUS /θriː/

the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one

From this reading “THESE THREE HUNDRED YEARS” Any time these three hundred years.

timenounUS /taɪm/

an instance or single occasion for some event

From this reading “THESE THREE HUNDRED YEARS” Any time these three hundred years.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading ’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room, Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom.

warnounUS /wɔːr/

the waging of armed conflict against an enemy

From this reading When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.

war'snounUS /wɔːrz/

possessive form of “war” — the waging of armed conflict against an enemy

From this reading When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.

wastefuladjectiveUS /ˈweɪstfəl/

inefficient in use of time and effort and materials

From this reading When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.

wearverbUS /wer/

be dressed in

From this reading ’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room, Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom.

WhenconjunctionUS /wen/

at the time that

From this reading When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.

WivesnounUS /waɪvz/

plural of “wife” — a married woman; a man's partner in marriage

From this reading _Merry Wives_, I. i.

workverbUS /wɜːrk/

exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity

From this reading When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.

worldnounUS /wɜːrld/

everything that exists anywhere

From this reading ’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room, Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom.

YEARSnounUS /jɪrz/

a late time of life

From this reading “THESE THREE HUNDRED YEARS” Any time these three hundred years.

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading ’Gainst death and all-oblivious enmity Shall you pace forth; your praise shall still find room, Even in the eyes of all posterity That wear this world out to the ending doom.

yourdeterminerUS /jɔːr/

belonging to the person or people being spoken to

From this reading When wasteful war shall statues overturn, And broils root out the work of masonry, Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn The living record of your memory.

Chapter 2 of The Praise of Shakespeare by C. E. (Cecil Eldred) [Compiler] Hughes holds 1336 sentences, grouped into 268 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.

What does chapter 2 of The Praise of Shakespeare contain?

Chapter 2 holds 1336 sentences of The Praise of Shakespeare, unabridged, divided into 268 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 2 of The Praise of Shakespeare by C. E. (Cecil Eldred) [Compiler] Hughes exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 1336 sentences, grouped into 268 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.

How do I study chapter 2 of The Praise of Shakespeare?

Work through the 268 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 268 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.

Can chapter 2 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading The Praise of Shakespeare

Common questions about reading The Praise of Shakespeare by C. E. (Cecil Eldred) [Compiler] Hughes on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Praise of Shakespeare?

Yes. All 2087 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #57863 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Praise of Shakespeare is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #57863, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Praise of Shakespeare take to read?

About 173 minutes of reading across 418 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Praise of Shakespeare section by section

How to work through The Praise of Shakespeare section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 3 chapters of The Praise of Shakespeare to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Praise of Shakespeare

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Praise of Shakespeare, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Words
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Praise of Shakespeare; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Italics
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Praise of Shakespeare; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Original
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Praise of Shakespeare; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Surrounded
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Praise of Shakespeare; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.