Chapter 1 of William Shakespeare as He Lived is here in full — 140 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of William Shakespeare as He Lived is here in full — 140 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
AS HE LIVED. An Historical Tale. AUTHOR OF "JOHN OF ENGLAND." "SOLDIER OF FORTUNE." "Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."
Chapter 1 of William Shakespeare as He Lived is here in full — 140 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/28 · 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.
Difficulties; misfortune and hardship faced with courage.
From this reading “"Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."”
of or relating to the study of history
From this reading “An Historical Tale.”
a precious or semiprecious stone incorporated into a piece of jewelry
From this reading “"Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."”
any of various tailless stout-bodied amphibians with long hind limbs for leaping; semiaquatic and terrestrial species
From this reading “"Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."”
displeasing to the senses
From this reading “"Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."”
plural of “use” — the act of using
From this reading “"Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."”
extremely poisonous or injurious; producing venom
From this reading “"Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."”
plural of “wear” — impairment resulting from long use
From this reading “"Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."”
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 “"Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."”
In this reading “"Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."”
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 "Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."
Difficulties; misfortune and hardship faced with courage.
From this reading "Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading An Historical Tale.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading AS HE LIVED.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading AUTHOR OF "JOHN OF ENGLAND."
a division of the United Kingdom
From this reading AUTHOR OF "JOHN OF ENGLAND."
an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
From this reading "SOLDIER OF FORTUNE."
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading AS HE LIVED.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading "Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading "Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."
of or relating to the study of history
From this reading An Historical Tale.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."
a precious or semiprecious stone incorporated into a piece of jewelry
From this reading "Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading AUTHOR OF "JOHN OF ENGLAND."
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading "Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."
past form of “live” — be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading AS HE LIVED.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading AUTHOR OF "JOHN OF ENGLAND."
characterized by feeling or showing fond affection for
From this reading "Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."
an enlisted man or woman who serves in an army
From this reading "SOLDIER OF FORTUNE."
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading "Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading An Historical Tale.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."
any of various tailless stout-bodied amphibians with long hind limbs for leaping; semiaquatic and terrestrial species
From this reading "Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."
displeasing to the senses
From this reading "Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."
plural of “use” — the act of using
From this reading "Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."
extremely poisonous or injurious; producing venom
From this reading "Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."
plural of “wear” — impairment resulting from long use
From this reading "Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading "Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."
but in spite of that
From this reading "Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head."
Chapter 1 of William Shakespeare as He Lived by Henry Curling holds 140 sentences, grouped into 28 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 1 holds 140 sentences of William Shakespeare as He Lived, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of William Shakespeare as He Lived by Henry Curling exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 140 sentences, grouped into 28 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 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 28 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 1 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 William Shakespeare as He Lived by Henry Curling on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6811 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #34796 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #34796, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 567 minutes of reading across 1363 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through William Shakespeare as He Lived section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in William Shakespeare as He Lived, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
