Chapter 17 of Thomas Heywood is here in full — 389 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Thomas Heywood is here in full — 389 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Old Lionel. What madness doth possess thee, honest friend, To touch that hammer’s handle? Clown. What madness doth possess thee, honest friend, To ask me such a question? Old Lionel.
Chapter 17 of Thomas Heywood is here in full — 389 sentences across 78 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/77 · 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 rude or vulgar fool
From this reading “Clown.”
an old form of “does”
From this reading “What madness doth possess thee, honest friend, To touch that hammer’s handle?”
possessive form of “hammer” — the part of a gunlock that strikes the percussion cap when the trigger is pulled
be in charge of, act on, or dispose of
From this reading “What madness doth possess thee, honest friend, To touch that hammer’s handle?”
not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent
From this reading “What madness doth possess thee, honest friend, To touch that hammer’s handle?”
obsolete terms for legal insanity
From this reading “What madness doth possess thee, honest friend, To touch that hammer’s handle?”
have as an attribute, knowledge, or skill
From this reading “What madness doth possess thee, honest friend, To touch that hammer’s handle?”
make physical contact with, come in contact with
From this reading “What madness doth possess thee, honest friend, To touch that hammer’s handle?”
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.
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 What madness doth possess thee, honest friend, To ask me such a question?
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading What madness doth possess thee, honest friend, To ask me such a question?
a rude or vulgar fool
From this reading Clown.
an old form of “does”
From this reading What madness doth possess thee, honest friend, To touch that hammer’s handle?
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading What madness doth possess thee, honest friend, To touch that hammer’s handle?
possessive form of “hammer” — the part of a gunlock that strikes the percussion cap when the trigger is pulled
From this reading What madness doth possess thee, honest friend, To touch that hammer’s handle?
be in charge of, act on, or dispose of
From this reading What madness doth possess thee, honest friend, To touch that hammer’s handle?
not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent
From this reading What madness doth possess thee, honest friend, To touch that hammer’s handle?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Old Lionel.
obsolete terms for legal insanity
From this reading What madness doth possess thee, honest friend, To touch that hammer’s handle?
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading What madness doth possess thee, honest friend, To ask me such a question?
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading Old Lionel.
have as an attribute, knowledge, or skill
From this reading What madness doth possess thee, honest friend, To touch that hammer’s handle?
challenge the accuracy, probity, or propriety of
From this reading What madness doth possess thee, honest friend, To ask me such a question?
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading What madness doth possess thee, honest friend, To ask me such a question?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading What madness doth possess thee, honest friend, To touch that hammer’s handle?
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading What madness doth possess thee, honest friend, To touch that hammer’s handle?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading What madness doth possess thee, honest friend, To touch that hammer’s handle?
make physical contact with, come in contact with
From this reading What madness doth possess thee, honest friend, To touch that hammer’s handle?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What madness doth possess thee, honest friend, To touch that hammer’s handle?
Chapter 17 of Thomas Heywood by Thomas Heywood holds 389 sentences, grouped into 78 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 17 holds 389 sentences of Thomas Heywood, unabridged, divided into 78 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Thomas Heywood by Thomas Heywood exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 389 sentences, grouped into 78 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 78 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 78 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 17 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 Thomas Heywood by Thomas Heywood on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 11883 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #67267 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #67267, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2377 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Thomas Heywood section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 31 chapters of Thomas Heywood 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 Thomas Heywood, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
