Chapter 3 of Twelfth Night is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Twelfth Night is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Ol. Sure you haue some hiddeous matter to deliuer, when the curtesie of it is so fearefull. Speake your office Vio. It alone concernes your eare: I bring no ouerture of warre, no taxation of homage; I hold the Olyffe in my hand: my words are as full of peace, as matter Ol. Yet you began rudely.
Chapter 3 of Twelfth Night is here in full — 202 sentences across 41 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/40 · 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.
Having no one else present.
From this reading “It alone concernes your eare: I bring no ouerture of warre, no taxation of homage; I hold the Olyffe in my hand: my words are as full of peace, as matter Ol.”
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading “It alone concernes your eare: I bring no ouerture of warre, no taxation of homage; I hold the Olyffe in my hand: my words are as full of peace, as matter Ol.”
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading “It alone concernes your eare: I bring no ouerture of warre, no taxation of homage; I hold the Olyffe in my hand: my words are as full of peace, as matter Ol.”
respectful deference
From this reading “It alone concernes your eare: I bring no ouerture of warre, no taxation of homage; I hold the Olyffe in my hand: my words are as full of peace, as matter Ol.”
place of business where professional or clerical duties are performed
From this reading “Speake your office Vio.”
the state prevailing during the absence of war
From this reading “It alone concernes your eare: I bring no ouerture of warre, no taxation of homage; I hold the Olyffe in my hand: my words are as full of peace, as matter Ol.”
in an impolite manner
From this reading “Yet you began rudely.”
charge against a citizen's person or property or activity for the support of government
From this reading “It alone concernes your eare: I bring no ouerture of warre, no taxation of homage; I hold the Olyffe in my hand: my words are as full of peace, as matter Ol.”
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.
Having no one else present.
From this reading It alone concernes your eare: I bring no ouerture of warre, no taxation of homage; I hold the Olyffe in my hand: my words are as full of peace, as matter Ol.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading It alone concernes your eare: I bring no ouerture of warre, no taxation of homage; I hold the Olyffe in my hand: my words are as full of peace, as matter Ol.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading It alone concernes your eare: I bring no ouerture of warre, no taxation of homage; I hold the Olyffe in my hand: my words are as full of peace, as matter Ol.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Yet you began rudely.
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading It alone concernes your eare: I bring no ouerture of warre, no taxation of homage; I hold the Olyffe in my hand: my words are as full of peace, as matter Ol.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It alone concernes your eare: I bring no ouerture of warre, no taxation of homage; I hold the Olyffe in my hand: my words are as full of peace, as matter Ol.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sure you haue some hiddeous matter to deliuer, when the curtesie of it is so fearefull.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sure you haue some hiddeous matter to deliuer, when the curtesie of it is so fearefull.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It alone concernes your eare: I bring no ouerture of warre, no taxation of homage; I hold the Olyffe in my hand: my words are as full of peace, as matter Ol.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sure you haue some hiddeous matter to deliuer, when the curtesie of it is so fearefull.
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading It alone concernes your eare: I bring no ouerture of warre, no taxation of homage; I hold the Olyffe in my hand: my words are as full of peace, as matter Ol.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading It alone concernes your eare: I bring no ouerture of warre, no taxation of homage; I hold the Olyffe in my hand: my words are as full of peace, as matter Ol.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sure you haue some hiddeous matter to deliuer, when the curtesie of it is so fearefull.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Sure you haue some hiddeous matter to deliuer, when the curtesie of it is so fearefull.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading It alone concernes your eare: I bring no ouerture of warre, no taxation of homage; I hold the Olyffe in my hand: my words are as full of peace, as matter Ol.
respectful deference
From this reading It alone concernes your eare: I bring no ouerture of warre, no taxation of homage; I hold the Olyffe in my hand: my words are as full of peace, as matter Ol.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading It alone concernes your eare: I bring no ouerture of warre, no taxation of homage; I hold the Olyffe in my hand: my words are as full of peace, as matter Ol.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It alone concernes your eare: I bring no ouerture of warre, no taxation of homage; I hold the Olyffe in my hand: my words are as full of peace, as matter Ol.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Sure you haue some hiddeous matter to deliuer, when the curtesie of it is so fearefull.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Sure you haue some hiddeous matter to deliuer, when the curtesie of it is so fearefull.
a vaguely specified concern
From this reading Sure you haue some hiddeous matter to deliuer, when the curtesie of it is so fearefull.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading It alone concernes your eare: I bring no ouerture of warre, no taxation of homage; I hold the Olyffe in my hand: my words are as full of peace, as matter Ol.
not any; not one
From this reading It alone concernes your eare: I bring no ouerture of warre, no taxation of homage; I hold the Olyffe in my hand: my words are as full of peace, as matter Ol.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Sure you haue some hiddeous matter to deliuer, when the curtesie of it is so fearefull.
place of business where professional or clerical duties are performed
From this reading Speake your office Vio.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ol.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It alone concernes your eare: I bring no ouerture of warre, no taxation of homage; I hold the Olyffe in my hand: my words are as full of peace, as matter Ol.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It alone concernes your eare: I bring no ouerture of warre, no taxation of homage; I hold the Olyffe in my hand: my words are as full of peace, as matter Ol.
the state prevailing during the absence of war
From this reading It alone concernes your eare: I bring no ouerture of warre, no taxation of homage; I hold the Olyffe in my hand: my words are as full of peace, as matter Ol.
in an impolite manner
From this reading Yet you began rudely.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Sure you haue some hiddeous matter to deliuer, when the curtesie of it is so fearefull.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Sure you haue some hiddeous matter to deliuer, when the curtesie of it is so fearefull.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Speake your office Vio.
having or feeling no doubt or uncertainty; confident and assured
From this reading Sure you haue some hiddeous matter to deliuer, when the curtesie of it is so fearefull.
charge against a citizen's person or property or activity for the support of government
From this reading It alone concernes your eare: I bring no ouerture of warre, no taxation of homage; I hold the Olyffe in my hand: my words are as full of peace, as matter Ol.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Sure you haue some hiddeous matter to deliuer, when the curtesie of it is so fearefull.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Sure you haue some hiddeous matter to deliuer, when the curtesie of it is so fearefull.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Speake your office Vio.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It alone concernes your eare: I bring no ouerture of warre, no taxation of homage; I hold the Olyffe in my hand: my words are as full of peace, as matter Ol.
at the time that
From this reading Sure you haue some hiddeous matter to deliuer, when the curtesie of it is so fearefull.
the words that are spoken
From this reading It alone concernes your eare: I bring no ouerture of warre, no taxation of homage; I hold the Olyffe in my hand: my words are as full of peace, as matter Ol.
but in spite of that
From this reading Yet you began rudely.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Sure you haue some hiddeous matter to deliuer, when the curtesie of it is so fearefull.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Speake your office Vio.
Chapter 3 of Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare holds 202 sentences, grouped into 41 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 3 holds 202 sentences of Twelfth Night, unabridged, divided into 41 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 202 sentences, grouped into 41 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 41 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 41 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 3 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 Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1732 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1123 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1123, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 144 minutes of reading across 347 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Twelfth Night section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Twelfth Night 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 Twelfth Night, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
