Chapter 2 of The Puritan Widow is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Puritan Widow is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
NICHOLAS. That were rare indeed, la: pray, let me know how. PYE. Nay, tis very necessary thou shouldst know, because thou must be employed as an Actor. NICHOLAS.
Chapter 2 of The Puritan Widow is here in full — 428 sentences across 86 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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 theatrical performer
From this reading “Nay, tis very necessary thou shouldst know, because thou must be employed as an Actor.”
having your services engaged for; or having a job especially one that pays wages or a salary
From this reading “Nay, tis very necessary thou shouldst know, because thou must be employed as an Actor.”
an old word for “no”
From this reading “Nay, tis very necessary thou shouldst know, because thou must be employed as an Actor.”
a bishop in Asia Minor who is associated with Santa Claus (4th century)
From this reading “NICHOLAS.”
address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
From this reading “That were rare indeed, la: pray, let me know how.”
not widely known; especially valued for its uncommonness
From this reading “That were rare indeed, la: pray, let me know how.”
an old form of “should”, used with “thou”
From this reading “Nay, tis very necessary thou shouldst know, because thou must be employed as an Actor.”
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 “Nay, tis very necessary thou shouldst know, because thou must be employed as an Actor.”
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.
a theatrical performer
From this reading Nay, tis very necessary thou shouldst know, because thou must be employed as an Actor.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Nay, tis very necessary thou shouldst know, because thou must be employed as an Actor.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Nay, tis very necessary thou shouldst know, because thou must be employed as an Actor.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Nay, tis very necessary thou shouldst know, because thou must be employed as an Actor.
for the reason that
From this reading Nay, tis very necessary thou shouldst know, because thou must be employed as an Actor.
having your services engaged for; or having a job especially one that pays wages or a salary
From this reading Nay, tis very necessary thou shouldst know, because thou must be employed as an Actor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading That were rare indeed, la: pray, let me know how.
in truth (often tends to intensify)
From this reading That were rare indeed, la: pray, let me know how.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading That were rare indeed, la: pray, let me know how.
a white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily; occurs in rare earth minerals and is usually classified as a rare earth
From this reading That were rare indeed, la: pray, let me know how.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading That were rare indeed, la: pray, let me know how.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading That were rare indeed, la: pray, let me know how.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Nay, tis very necessary thou shouldst know, because thou must be employed as an Actor.
an old word for “no”
From this reading Nay, tis very necessary thou shouldst know, because thou must be employed as an Actor.
absolutely essential
From this reading Nay, tis very necessary thou shouldst know, because thou must be employed as an Actor.
a bishop in Asia Minor who is associated with Santa Claus (4th century)
From this reading NICHOLAS.
address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
From this reading That were rare indeed, la: pray, let me know how.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading PYE.
not widely known; especially valued for its uncommonness
From this reading That were rare indeed, la: pray, let me know how.
an old form of “should”, used with “thou”
From this reading Nay, tis very necessary thou shouldst know, because thou must be employed as an Actor.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That were rare indeed, la: pray, let me know how.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading Nay, tis very necessary thou shouldst know, because thou must be employed as an Actor.
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 Nay, tis very necessary thou shouldst know, because thou must be employed as an Actor.
precisely as stated
From this reading Nay, tis very necessary thou shouldst know, because thou must be employed as an Actor.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading That were rare indeed, la: pray, let me know how.
Chapter 2 of The Puritan Widow by William [Dubious author] Shakespeare holds 428 sentences, grouped into 86 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 428 sentences of The Puritan Widow, unabridged, divided into 86 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Puritan Widow by William [Dubious author] Shakespeare exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 428 sentences, grouped into 86 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 86 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 86 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 Puritan Widow by William [Dubious author] Shakespeare on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1700 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4214 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4214, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 141 minutes of reading across 340 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Puritan Widow section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of The Puritan Widow 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 Puritan Widow, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
