Chapter 6 of Billy Budd is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of Billy Budd is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
They were dead. The cock shook his plumage over them. The cock crew. It was now like a Bravo! like a Hurrah! like a Three-times-three! hip! hip! He strode out of the shanty.
Chapter 6 of Billy Budd is here in full — 432 sentences across 87 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/86 · 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 murderer (especially one who kills a prominent political figure) who kills by a surprise attack and often is hired to do the deed
From this reading “It was now like a Bravo! like a Hurrah! like a Three-times-three! hip! hip!”
tilt or slant to one side
From this reading “The cock shook his plumage over them.”
the men and women who man a vehicle (ship, aircraft, etc.)
From this reading “The cock crew.”
either side of the body below the waist and above the thigh
From this reading “It was now like a Bravo! like a Hurrah! like a Three-times-three! hip! hip!”
a victory cheer
From this reading “It was now like a Bravo! like a Hurrah! like a Three-times-three! hip! hip!”
the light horny waterproof structure forming the external covering of birds
From this reading “The cock shook his plumage over them.”
small crude shelter used as a dwelling
From this reading “He strode out of the shanty.”
inflected form of “stride” — walk with long steps
From this reading “He strode out of the shanty.”
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 “The cock crew.”
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 It was now like a Bravo! like a Hurrah! like a Three-times-three! hip! hip!
a murderer (especially one who kills a prominent political figure) who kills by a surprise attack and often is hired to do the deed
From this reading It was now like a Bravo! like a Hurrah! like a Three-times-three! hip! hip!
tilt or slant to one side
From this reading The cock shook his plumage over them.
the men and women who man a vehicle (ship, aircraft, etc.)
From this reading The cock crew.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading They were dead.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He strode out of the shanty.
either side of the body below the waist and above the thigh
From this reading It was now like a Bravo! like a Hurrah! like a Three-times-three! hip! hip!
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The cock shook his plumage over them.
a victory cheer
From this reading It was now like a Bravo! like a Hurrah! like a Three-times-three! hip! hip!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It was now like a Bravo! like a Hurrah! like a Three-times-three! hip! hip!
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading It was now like a Bravo! like a Hurrah! like a Three-times-three! hip! hip!
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading It was now like a Bravo! like a Hurrah! like a Three-times-three! hip! hip!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He strode out of the shanty.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading He strode out of the shanty.
above and across; more than
From this reading The cock shook his plumage over them.
the light horny waterproof structure forming the external covering of birds
From this reading The cock shook his plumage over them.
small crude shelter used as a dwelling
From this reading He strode out of the shanty.
a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
From this reading The cock shook his plumage over them.
inflected form of “stride” — walk with long steps
From this reading He strode out of the shanty.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The cock shook his plumage over them.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading The cock shook his plumage over them.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They were dead.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It was now like a Bravo! like a Hurrah! like a Three-times-three! hip! hip!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It was now like a Bravo! like a Hurrah! like a Three-times-three! hip! hip!
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading They were dead.
Chapter 6 of Billy Budd by Herman Melville holds 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 6 holds 432 sentences of Billy Budd, unabridged, divided into 87 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of Billy Budd by Herman Melville exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 432 sentences, grouped into 87 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 87 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 87 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 6 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 Billy Budd by Herman Melville on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5450 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #76513 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #76513, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 454 minutes of reading across 1090 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Billy Budd section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of Billy Budd 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 Billy Budd, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
