Chapter 26 of The Works of William Shakespeare — Vol. 2 is here in full — 381 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXVI
Chapter 26 of The Works of William Shakespeare — Vol. 2 is here in full — 381 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
PORTIA, a rich heiress. NERISSA, her waiting-maid. JESSICA, daughter to Shylock. Magnificoes of Venice, Officers of the Court of Justice, Gaoler, Servants to Portia, and other Attendants. SCENE[5]—_Partly at Venice, and partly at Belmont, the seat of Portia, on the Continent._ ~~~~~ Footnotes:
Chapter 26 of The Works of William Shakespeare — Vol. 2 is here in full — 381 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/76 · 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 “attendant” — someone who waits on or tends to or attends to the needs of another
From this reading “Magnificoes of Venice, Officers of the Court of Justice, Gaoler, Servants to Portia, and other Attendants.”
a racetrack for thoroughbred racing in Elmont on Long Island; site of the Belmont Stakes
From this reading “SCENE[5]—_Partly at Venice, and partly at Belmont, the seat of Portia, on the Continent._ ~~~~~ Footnotes:”
one of the large landmasses of the earth
From this reading “SCENE[5]—_Partly at Venice, and partly at Belmont, the seat of Portia, on the Continent._ ~~~~~ Footnotes:”
plural of “footnote” — a printed note placed below the text on a printed page
From this reading “SCENE[5]—_Partly at Venice, and partly at Belmont, the seat of Portia, on the Continent._ ~~~~~ Footnotes:”
a female heir
From this reading “PORTIA, a rich heiress.”
to some extent; in some degree; not wholly
From this reading “SCENE[5]—_Partly at Venice, and partly at Belmont, the seat of Portia, on the Continent._ ~~~~~ Footnotes:”
someone who lends money at excessive rates of interest
From this reading “JESSICA, daughter to Shylock.”
the provincial capital of Veneto; built on 118 islands within a lagoon in the Gulf of Venice; has canals instead of streets; one of Italy's major ports and a famous tourist attraction
From this reading “Magnificoes of Venice, Officers of the Court of Justice, Gaoler, Servants to Portia, and other Attendants.”
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.
In this reading “PORTIA, a rich heiress.”
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 SCENE[5]—_Partly at Venice, and partly at Belmont, the seat of Portia, on the Continent._ ~~~~~ Footnotes:
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading PORTIA, a rich heiress.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Magnificoes of Venice, Officers of the Court of Justice, Gaoler, Servants to Portia, and other Attendants.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading SCENE[5]—_Partly at Venice, and partly at Belmont, the seat of Portia, on the Continent._ ~~~~~ Footnotes:
plural of “attendant” — someone who waits on or tends to or attends to the needs of another
From this reading Magnificoes of Venice, Officers of the Court of Justice, Gaoler, Servants to Portia, and other Attendants.
a racetrack for thoroughbred racing in Elmont on Long Island; site of the Belmont Stakes
From this reading SCENE[5]—_Partly at Venice, and partly at Belmont, the seat of Portia, on the Continent._ ~~~~~ Footnotes:
one of the large landmasses of the earth
From this reading SCENE[5]—_Partly at Venice, and partly at Belmont, the seat of Portia, on the Continent._ ~~~~~ Footnotes:
an assembly (including one or more judges) to conduct judicial business
From this reading Magnificoes of Venice, Officers of the Court of Justice, Gaoler, Servants to Portia, and other Attendants.
a female human offspring
From this reading JESSICA, daughter to Shylock.
plural of “footnote” — a printed note placed below the text on a printed page
From this reading SCENE[5]—_Partly at Venice, and partly at Belmont, the seat of Portia, on the Continent._ ~~~~~ Footnotes:
someone who guards prisoners
From this reading Magnificoes of Venice, Officers of the Court of Justice, Gaoler, Servants to Portia, and other Attendants.
a female heir
From this reading PORTIA, a rich heiress.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading NERISSA, her waiting-maid.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading JESSICA, daughter to Shylock.
the quality of being just or fair
From this reading Magnificoes of Venice, Officers of the Court of Justice, Gaoler, Servants to Portia, and other Attendants.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Magnificoes of Venice, Officers of the Court of Justice, Gaoler, Servants to Portia, and other Attendants.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NERISSA, her waiting-maid.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Magnificoes of Venice, Officers of the Court of Justice, Gaoler, Servants to Portia, and other Attendants.
plural of “officer” — any person in the armed services who holds a position of authority or command
From this reading Magnificoes of Venice, Officers of the Court of Justice, Gaoler, Servants to Portia, and other Attendants.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading SCENE[5]—_Partly at Venice, and partly at Belmont, the seat of Portia, on the Continent._ ~~~~~ Footnotes:
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Magnificoes of Venice, Officers of the Court of Justice, Gaoler, Servants to Portia, and other Attendants.
to some extent; in some degree; not wholly
From this reading SCENE[5]—_Partly at Venice, and partly at Belmont, the seat of Portia, on the Continent._ ~~~~~ Footnotes:
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading PORTIA, a rich heiress.
possessing material wealth
From this reading PORTIA, a rich heiress.
the place where some action occurs
From this reading SCENE[5]—_Partly at Venice, and partly at Belmont, the seat of Portia, on the Continent._ ~~~~~ Footnotes:
a space reserved for sitting (as in a theater or on a train or airplane)
From this reading SCENE[5]—_Partly at Venice, and partly at Belmont, the seat of Portia, on the Continent._ ~~~~~ Footnotes:
plural of “servant” — a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading Magnificoes of Venice, Officers of the Court of Justice, Gaoler, Servants to Portia, and other Attendants.
someone who lends money at excessive rates of interest
From this reading JESSICA, daughter to Shylock.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Magnificoes of Venice, Officers of the Court of Justice, Gaoler, Servants to Portia, and other Attendants.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading JESSICA, daughter to Shylock.
the provincial capital of Veneto; built on 118 islands within a lagoon in the Gulf of Venice; has canals instead of streets; one of Italy's major ports and a famous tourist attraction
From this reading Magnificoes of Venice, Officers of the Court of Justice, Gaoler, Servants to Portia, and other Attendants.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NERISSA, her waiting-maid.
Chapter 26 of The Works of William Shakespeare — Vol. 2 by William Shakespeare holds 381 sentences, grouped into 77 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 26 holds 381 sentences of The Works of William Shakespeare — Vol. 2, unabridged, divided into 77 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 26 of The Works of William Shakespeare — Vol. 2 by William Shakespeare exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 381 sentences, grouped into 77 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 77 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 77 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 26 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.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Works of William Shakespeare — Vol. 2 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 Works of William Shakespeare — Vol. 2, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
