Chapter 1 of East and West: Poems is here in full — 294 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of East and West: Poems is here in full — 294 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Poems. Bret Harte. They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they. "Ho, Starbuck and Pinckney and Tenterden! Run for your shallops, gather your men, Scatter your boats on the lower bay."
Chapter 1 of East and West: Poems is here in full — 294 sentences across 59 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/58 · 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 “deck” — any of various platforms built into a vessel
From this reading “They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.”
assemble or get together
From this reading “Run for your shallops, gather your men, Scatter your boats on the lower bay."”
United States writer noted for his stories about life during the California gold rush (1836-1902)
From this reading “Bret Harte.”
past form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading “They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.”
plural of “poem” — a composition written in metrical feet forming rhythmical lines
From this reading “Poems.”
to cause to separate and go in different directions
From this reading “Run for your shallops, gather your men, Scatter your boats on the lower bay."”
a sheltered port where ships can take on or discharge cargo
From this reading “They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.”
changing to a lighter color
From this reading “They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Ho, Starbuck and Pinckney and Tenterden!
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.
an indentation of a shoreline larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf
From this reading Run for your shallops, gather your men, Scatter your boats on the lower bay."
plural of “boat” — a small vessel for travel on water
From this reading Run for your shallops, gather your men, Scatter your boats on the lower bay."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Bret Harte.
inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.
plural of “deck” — any of various platforms built into a vessel
From this reading They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Run for your shallops, gather your men, Scatter your boats on the lower bay."
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.
assemble or get together
From this reading Run for your shallops, gather your men, Scatter your boats on the lower bay."
United States writer noted for his stories about life during the California gold rush (1836-1902)
From this reading Bret Harte.
a trivalent metallic element of the rare earth group; occurs together with yttrium; forms highly magnetic compounds
From this reading "Ho, Starbuck and Pinckney and Tenterden!
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.
move something or somebody to a lower position
From this reading Run for your shallops, gather your men, Scatter your boats on the lower bay."
the force of workers available
From this reading Run for your shallops, gather your men, Scatter your boats on the lower bay."
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Run for your shallops, gather your men, Scatter your boats on the lower bay."
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.
past form of “peer” — look searchingly
From this reading They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ho, Starbuck and Pinckney and Tenterden!
plural of “poem” — a composition written in metrical feet forming rhythmical lines
From this reading Poems.
inflected form of “run” — move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading Run for your shallops, gather your men, Scatter your boats on the lower bay."
to cause to separate and go in different directions
From this reading Run for your shallops, gather your men, Scatter your boats on the lower bay."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.
a sheltered port where ships can take on or discharge cargo
From this reading They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Run for your shallops, gather your men, Scatter your boats on the lower bay."
plural of “ship” — a vessel that carries passengers or freight
From this reading They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ho, Starbuck and Pinckney and Tenterden!
plural of “street” — a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Ho, Starbuck and Pinckney and Tenterden!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.
an urban area with a fixed boundary that is smaller than a city
From this reading They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.
a Caucasian
From this reading They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.
changing to a lighter color
From this reading They ran through the streets of the seaport town; They peered from the decks of the ships that lay: The cold sea-fog that came whitening down Was never as cold or white as they.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Run for your shallops, gather your men, Scatter your boats on the lower bay."
Chapter 1 of East and West: Poems by Bret Harte holds 294 sentences, grouped into 59 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 294 sentences of East and West: Poems, unabridged, divided into 59 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of East and West: Poems by Bret Harte exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 294 sentences, grouped into 59 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 59 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 59 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 East and West: Poems by Bret Harte on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 588 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8402 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8402, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 49 minutes of reading across 118 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through East and West: Poems section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of East and West: Poems 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 East and West: Poems, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
