Chapter 5 of The Taming of the Shrew is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Taming of the Shrew is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Curt. Who is that calls so coldly? Gru. A piece of Ice: if thou doubt it, thou maist slide from my shoulder to my heele, with no greater a run but my head and my necke. A fire good Curtis Cur.
Chapter 5 of The Taming of the Shrew is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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.
plural of “call” — a telephone connection
From this reading “Who is that calls so coldly?”
lacking warmth of feeling; in a cold, unemotional manner
From this reading “Who is that calls so coldly?”
an inferior dog or one of mixed breed
From this reading “A fire good Curtis Cur.”
marked by rude or peremptory shortness
From this reading “Curt.”
English botanical writer and publisher (1746-1799)
From this reading “A fire good Curtis Cur.”
greater in size or importance or degree
From this reading “A piece of Ice: if thou doubt it, thou maist slide from my shoulder to my heele, with no greater a run but my head and my necke.”
water frozen in the solid state
From this reading “A piece of Ice: if thou doubt it, thou maist slide from my shoulder to my heele, with no greater a run but my head and my necke.”
a small flat rectangular piece of glass on which specimens can be mounted for microscopic study
From this reading “A piece of Ice: if thou doubt it, thou maist slide from my shoulder to my heele, with no greater a run but my head and my necke.”
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 A piece of Ice: if thou doubt it, thou maist slide from my shoulder to my heele, with no greater a run but my head and my necke.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading A piece of Ice: if thou doubt it, thou maist slide from my shoulder to my heele, with no greater a run but my head and my necke.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading A piece of Ice: if thou doubt it, thou maist slide from my shoulder to my heele, with no greater a run but my head and my necke.
plural of “call” — a telephone connection
From this reading Who is that calls so coldly?
lacking warmth of feeling; in a cold, unemotional manner
From this reading Who is that calls so coldly?
an inferior dog or one of mixed breed
From this reading A fire good Curtis Cur.
marked by rude or peremptory shortness
From this reading Curt.
English botanical writer and publisher (1746-1799)
From this reading A fire good Curtis Cur.
the state of being unsure of something
From this reading A piece of Ice: if thou doubt it, thou maist slide from my shoulder to my heele, with no greater a run but my head and my necke.
start firing a weapon
From this reading A fire good Curtis Cur.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading A piece of Ice: if thou doubt it, thou maist slide from my shoulder to my heele, with no greater a run but my head and my necke.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading A fire good Curtis Cur.
greater in size or importance or degree
From this reading A piece of Ice: if thou doubt it, thou maist slide from my shoulder to my heele, with no greater a run but my head and my necke.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Gru.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading A piece of Ice: if thou doubt it, thou maist slide from my shoulder to my heele, with no greater a run but my head and my necke.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A piece of Ice: if thou doubt it, thou maist slide from my shoulder to my heele, with no greater a run but my head and my necke.
water frozen in the solid state
From this reading A piece of Ice: if thou doubt it, thou maist slide from my shoulder to my heele, with no greater a run but my head and my necke.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading A piece of Ice: if thou doubt it, thou maist slide from my shoulder to my heele, with no greater a run but my head and my necke.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Who is that calls so coldly?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading A piece of Ice: if thou doubt it, thou maist slide from my shoulder to my heele, with no greater a run but my head and my necke.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A piece of Ice: if thou doubt it, thou maist slide from my shoulder to my heele, with no greater a run but my head and my necke.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading A piece of Ice: if thou doubt it, thou maist slide from my shoulder to my heele, with no greater a run but my head and my necke.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading A piece of Ice: if thou doubt it, thou maist slide from my shoulder to my heele, with no greater a run but my head and my necke.
not any; not one
From this reading A piece of Ice: if thou doubt it, thou maist slide from my shoulder to my heele, with no greater a run but my head and my necke.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading A piece of Ice: if thou doubt it, thou maist slide from my shoulder to my heele, with no greater a run but my head and my necke.
a separate part of a whole
From this reading A piece of Ice: if thou doubt it, thou maist slide from my shoulder to my heele, with no greater a run but my head and my necke.
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading A piece of Ice: if thou doubt it, thou maist slide from my shoulder to my heele, with no greater a run but my head and my necke.
lift onto one's shoulders
From this reading A piece of Ice: if thou doubt it, thou maist slide from my shoulder to my heele, with no greater a run but my head and my necke.
a small flat rectangular piece of glass on which specimens can be mounted for microscopic study
From this reading A piece of Ice: if thou doubt it, thou maist slide from my shoulder to my heele, with no greater a run but my head and my necke.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Who is that calls so coldly?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Who is that calls so coldly?
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading A piece of Ice: if thou doubt it, thou maist slide from my shoulder to my heele, with no greater a run but my head and my necke.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A piece of Ice: if thou doubt it, thou maist slide from my shoulder to my heele, with no greater a run but my head and my necke.
which person or people
From this reading Who is that calls so coldly?
in the company of; together with
From this reading A piece of Ice: if thou doubt it, thou maist slide from my shoulder to my heele, with no greater a run but my head and my necke.
Chapter 5 of The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare holds 185 sentences, grouped into 37 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 5 holds 185 sentences of The Taming of the Shrew, unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 185 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 5 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.
