Chapter 4 of The Taming of the Shrew is here in full — 175 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Taming of the Shrew is here in full — 175 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Bap. Well maist thou woo, and happy be thy speed: But be thou arm'd for some vnhappie words Pet. I to the proofe, as Mountaines are for windes, That shakes not, though they blow perpetually. Enter Hortensio with his head broke. Bap.
Chapter 4 of The Taming of the Shrew is here in full — 175 sentences across 35 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 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.
exhale hard
From this reading “I to the proofe, as Mountaines are for windes, That shakes not, though they blow perpetually.”
to come or go into
From this reading “Enter Hortensio with his head broke.”
everlastingly; for all time
From this reading “I to the proofe, as Mountaines are for windes, That shakes not, though they blow perpetually.”
a domesticated animal kept for companionship or amusement
From this reading “Well maist thou woo, and happy be thy speed: But be thou arm'd for some vnhappie words Pet.”
plural of “shake” — building material used as siding or roofing
From this reading “I to the proofe, as Mountaines are for windes, That shakes not, though they blow perpetually.”
move hurridly
From this reading “Well maist thou woo, and happy be thy speed: But be thou arm'd for some vnhappie words Pet.”
third-person singular of “wind” — to move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course
From this reading “I to the proofe, as Mountaines are for windes, That shakes not, though they blow perpetually.”
seek someone's favor
From this reading “Well maist thou woo, and happy be thy speed: But be thou arm'd for some vnhappie words Pet.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Well maist thou woo, and happy be thy speed: But be thou arm'd for some vnhappie words Pet.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading I to the proofe, as Mountaines are for windes, That shakes not, though they blow perpetually.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well maist thou woo, and happy be thy speed: But be thou arm'd for some vnhappie words Pet.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading I to the proofe, as Mountaines are for windes, That shakes not, though they blow perpetually.
a small loaf or roll of soft bread
From this reading Bap.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Well maist thou woo, and happy be thy speed: But be thou arm'd for some vnhappie words Pet.
exhale hard
From this reading I to the proofe, as Mountaines are for windes, That shakes not, though they blow perpetually.
lacking funds
From this reading Enter Hortensio with his head broke.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Well maist thou woo, and happy be thy speed: But be thou arm'd for some vnhappie words Pet.
to come or go into
From this reading Enter Hortensio with his head broke.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Well maist thou woo, and happy be thy speed: But be thou arm'd for some vnhappie words Pet.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading Well maist thou woo, and happy be thy speed: But be thou arm'd for some vnhappie words Pet.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Enter Hortensio with his head broke.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Enter Hortensio with his head broke.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Enter Hortensio with his head broke.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I to the proofe, as Mountaines are for windes, That shakes not, though they blow perpetually.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well maist thou woo, and happy be thy speed: But be thou arm'd for some vnhappie words Pet.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I to the proofe, as Mountaines are for windes, That shakes not, though they blow perpetually.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I to the proofe, as Mountaines are for windes, That shakes not, though they blow perpetually.
everlastingly; for all time
From this reading I to the proofe, as Mountaines are for windes, That shakes not, though they blow perpetually.
a domesticated animal kept for companionship or amusement
From this reading Well maist thou woo, and happy be thy speed: But be thou arm'd for some vnhappie words Pet.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I to the proofe, as Mountaines are for windes, That shakes not, though they blow perpetually.
plural of “shake” — building material used as siding or roofing
From this reading I to the proofe, as Mountaines are for windes, That shakes not, though they blow perpetually.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Well maist thou woo, and happy be thy speed: But be thou arm'd for some vnhappie words Pet.
move hurridly
From this reading Well maist thou woo, and happy be thy speed: But be thou arm'd for some vnhappie words Pet.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I to the proofe, as Mountaines are for windes, That shakes not, though they blow perpetually.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I to the proofe, as Mountaines are for windes, That shakes not, though they blow perpetually.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I to the proofe, as Mountaines are for windes, That shakes not, though they blow perpetually.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading Well maist thou woo, and happy be thy speed: But be thou arm'd for some vnhappie words Pet.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading I to the proofe, as Mountaines are for windes, That shakes not, though they blow perpetually.
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading Well maist thou woo, and happy be thy speed: But be thou arm'd for some vnhappie words Pet.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I to the proofe, as Mountaines are for windes, That shakes not, though they blow perpetually.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Well maist thou woo, and happy be thy speed: But be thou arm'd for some vnhappie words Pet.
(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 maist thou woo, and happy be thy speed: But be thou arm'd for some vnhappie words Pet.
third-person singular of “wind” — to move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course
From this reading I to the proofe, as Mountaines are for windes, That shakes not, though they blow perpetually.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Enter Hortensio with his head broke.
seek someone's favor
From this reading Well maist thou woo, and happy be thy speed: But be thou arm'd for some vnhappie words Pet.
the words that are spoken
From this reading Well maist thou woo, and happy be thy speed: But be thou arm'd for some vnhappie words Pet.
Chapter 4 of The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare holds 175 sentences, grouped into 35 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 175 sentences of The Taming of the Shrew, unabridged, divided into 35 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 175 sentences, grouped into 35 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 35 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 35 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 Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1437 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1107 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1107, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 119 minutes of reading across 288 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Taming of the Shrew section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of The Taming of the Shrew 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 Taming of the Shrew, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
