Chapter 1 of A History of English Literature is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of A History of English Literature is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
PERIOD I. THE BRITONS AND THE ANGLO-SAXONS. TO A. D. 1066. FOREWORD. The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
Chapter 1 of A History of English Literature is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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 “briton” — a native or inhabitant of Great Britain
From this reading “PERIOD I. THE BRITONS AND THE ANGLO-SAXONS.”
made or joined or united into one
From this reading “The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.”
plural of “division” — an army unit large enough to sustain combat
From this reading “The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.”
(comparative and superlative of “early”) more early than; most early
From this reading “The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.”
a short introductory essay preceding the text of a book
From this reading “FOREWORD.”
creative writing of recognized artistic value
From this reading “The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.”
for the most time
From this reading “The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.”
most important element
From this reading “The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.”
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 1066.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading TO A. D.
(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 The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading PERIOD I. THE BRITONS AND THE ANGLO-SAXONS.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading PERIOD I. THE BRITONS AND THE ANGLO-SAXONS.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
plural of “briton” — a native or inhabitant of Great Britain
From this reading PERIOD I. THE BRITONS AND THE ANGLO-SAXONS.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
made or joined or united into one
From this reading The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
a fat-soluble vitamin that prevents rickets
From this reading TO A. D.
plural of “division” — an army unit large enough to sustain combat
From this reading The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
(comparative and superlative of “early”) more early than; most early
From this reading The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
an Indo-European language belonging to the West Germanic branch; the official language of Britain and the United States and most of the commonwealth countries
From this reading The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
a short introductory essay preceding the text of a book
From this reading FOREWORD.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading PERIOD I. THE BRITONS AND THE ANGLO-SAXONS.
creative writing of recognized artistic value
From this reading The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
for more time
From this reading The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
for the most time
From this reading The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
most important element
From this reading The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
the cardinal number that is the sum of eight and one
From this reading The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
above and across; more than
From this reading The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
go across or through
From this reading The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
an amount of time
From this reading PERIOD I. THE BRITONS AND THE ANGLO-SAXONS.
with speed
From this reading The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
on the contrary
From this reading The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
understood in a certain way; made sense of
From this reading The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading PERIOD I. THE BRITONS AND THE ANGLO-SAXONS.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading TO A. D.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading The two earliest of the nine main divisions of English Literature are by far the longest--taken together are longer than all the others combined--but we shall pass rather rapidly over them.
Chapter 1 of A History of English Literature by Robert Huntington Fletcher holds 168 sentences, grouped into 34 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 168 sentences of A History of English Literature, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of A History of English Literature by Robert Huntington Fletcher exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 168 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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.
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Yes. All 5100 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #7201 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #7201, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 425 minutes of reading across 1020 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in A History of English Literature, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
