Chapter 12 of The Works of William Shakespeare — Vol. 2 is here in full — 366 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Works of William Shakespeare — Vol. 2 is here in full — 366 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Moth._ And three times as much more, and yet nothing at all. _Arm._ Fetch hither the swain: he must carry me a letter. 45 _Moth._ A message well sympathized; a horse to be ambassador for an ass. _Arm._ Ha, ha! what sayest thou? _Moth._ Marry, sir, you must send the ass upon the horse, for he is very slow-gaited.
Chapter 12 of The Works of William Shakespeare — Vol. 2 is here in full — 366 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/73 · 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 diplomat of the highest rank; accredited as representative from one country to another
From this reading “45 _Moth._ A message well sympathized; a horse to be ambassador for an ass.”
the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
From this reading “45 _Moth._ A message well sympathized; a horse to be ambassador for an ass.”
go or come after and bring or take back
From this reading “_Arm._ Fetch hither the swain: he must carry me a letter.”
an old word meaning “to this place”
From this reading “_Arm._ Fetch hither the swain: he must carry me a letter.”
a communication (usually brief) that is written or spoken or signaled
From this reading “45 _Moth._ A message well sympathized; a horse to be ambassador for an ass.”
typically crepuscular or nocturnal insect having a stout body and feathery or hairlike antennae
a man who is the lover of a man or woman
From this reading “_Arm._ Fetch hither the swain: he must carry me a letter.”
past form of “sympathize” — share the feelings of; understand the sentiments of
From this reading “45 _Moth._ A message well sympathized; a horse to be ambassador for an ass.”
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.
by a factor of three
In this reading “_Moth._ And three times as much more, and yet nothing at all.”
In this reading “_Moth._ And three times as much more, and yet nothing at all.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 45 _Moth._ A message well sympathized; a horse to be ambassador for an ass.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading _Arm._ Fetch hither the swain: he must carry me a letter.
(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 _Moth._ And three times as much more, and yet nothing at all.
a diplomat of the highest rank; accredited as representative from one country to another
From this reading 45 _Moth._ A message well sympathized; a horse to be ambassador for an ass.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading 45 _Moth._ A message well sympathized; a horse to be ambassador for an ass.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading _Moth._ And three times as much more, and yet nothing at all.
a human limb; technically the part of the superior limb between the shoulder and the elbow but commonly used to refer to the whole superior limb
From this reading _Arm._ Fetch hither the swain: he must carry me a letter.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading _Moth._ And three times as much more, and yet nothing at all.
the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on
From this reading 45 _Moth._ A message well sympathized; a horse to be ambassador for an ass.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading _Moth._ And three times as much more, and yet nothing at all.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading 45 _Moth._ A message well sympathized; a horse to be ambassador for an ass.
move while supporting, either in a vehicle or in one's hands or on one's body
From this reading _Arm._ Fetch hither the swain: he must carry me a letter.
go or come after and bring or take back
From this reading _Arm._ Fetch hither the swain: he must carry me a letter.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading 45 _Moth._ A message well sympathized; a horse to be ambassador for an ass.
(astronomy) the angular distance of a celestial point measured westward along the celestial equator from the zenith crossing; the right ascension for an observer at a particular location and time of day
From this reading _Arm._ Ha, ha! what sayest thou?
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading _Arm._ Fetch hither the swain: he must carry me a letter.
an old word meaning “to this place”
From this reading _Arm._ Fetch hither the swain: he must carry me a letter.
solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
From this reading 45 _Moth._ A message well sympathized; a horse to be ambassador for an ass.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading _Moth._ Marry, sir, you must send the ass upon the horse, for he is very slow-gaited.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading _Arm._ Fetch hither the swain: he must carry me a letter.
take in marriage
From this reading _Moth._ Marry, sir, you must send the ass upon the horse, for he is very slow-gaited.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading _Arm._ Fetch hither the swain: he must carry me a letter.
a communication (usually brief) that is written or spoken or signaled
From this reading 45 _Moth._ A message well sympathized; a horse to be ambassador for an ass.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading _Moth._ And three times as much more, and yet nothing at all.
typically crepuscular or nocturnal insect having a stout body and feathery or hairlike antennae
From this reading _Moth._ And three times as much more, and yet nothing at all.
to a great degree or extent
From this reading _Moth._ And three times as much more, and yet nothing at all.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading _Arm._ Fetch hither the swain: he must carry me a letter.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading _Moth._ And three times as much more, and yet nothing at all.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Arm._ Ha, ha! what sayest thou?
cause to go somewhere
From this reading _Moth._ Marry, sir, you must send the ass upon the horse, for he is very slow-gaited.
term of address for a man
From this reading _Moth._ Marry, sir, you must send the ass upon the horse, for he is very slow-gaited.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Moth._ Marry, sir, you must send the ass upon the horse, for he is very slow-gaited.
a man who is the lover of a man or woman
From this reading _Arm._ Fetch hither the swain: he must carry me a letter.
past form of “sympathize” — share the feelings of; understand the sentiments of
From this reading 45 _Moth._ A message well sympathized; a horse to be ambassador for an ass.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _Arm._ Fetch hither the swain: he must carry me a letter.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading _Arm._ Ha, ha! what sayest thou?
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading _Moth._ And three times as much more, and yet nothing at all.
a more or less definite period of time now or previously present
From this reading _Moth._ And three times as much more, and yet nothing at all.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading 45 _Moth._ A message well sympathized; a horse to be ambassador for an ass.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading _Moth._ Marry, sir, you must send the ass upon the horse, for he is very slow-gaited.
precisely as stated
From this reading _Moth._ Marry, sir, you must send the ass upon the horse, for he is very slow-gaited.
(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 45 _Moth._ A message well sympathized; a horse to be ambassador for an ass.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading _Arm._ Ha, ha! what sayest thou?
but in spite of that
From this reading _Moth._ And three times as much more, and yet nothing at all.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading _Moth._ Marry, sir, you must send the ass upon the horse, for he is very slow-gaited.
Chapter 12 of The Works of William Shakespeare — Vol. 2 by William Shakespeare holds 366 sentences, grouped into 74 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 12 holds 366 sentences of The Works of William Shakespeare — Vol. 2, unabridged, divided into 74 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Works of William Shakespeare — Vol. 2 by William Shakespeare exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 366 sentences, grouped into 74 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 74 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 74 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 12 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 Works of William Shakespeare — Vol. 2 by William Shakespeare on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 15252 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #45128 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #45128, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 3051 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Works of William Shakespeare — Vol. 2 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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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 Works of William Shakespeare — Vol. 2, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
