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John Barleycorn
John Barleycorn

Chapter VI · Chapter 6

Chapter 6 of John Barleycorn is here in full — 179 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for John Barleycorn
Context Illustration Reading 1/35 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
But the time was rapidly drawing near when I was to begin my second series of bouts with John Barleycorn.
When I was fourteen, my head filled with the tales of the old voyagers, my vision with tropic isles and far sea-rims, I was sailing a small centreboard skiff around San Francisco Bay and on the Oakland Estuary.
I wanted to go to sea.
I wanted to get away from monotony and the commonplace.
I was in the flower of my adolescence, a-thrill with romance and adventure, dreaming of wild life in the wild man-world.
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

John Barleycorn

Chapter VI · Chapter 6

Chapter 6 of John Barleycorn is here in full — 179 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/35 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
But the time was rapidly drawing near when I was to begin my second series of bouts with John Barleycorn.
Line 2
When I was fourteen, my head filled with the tales of the old voyagers, my vision with tropic isles and far sea-rims, I was sailing a small centreboard skiff around San Francisco Bay and on the Oakland Estuary.
Line 3
I wanted to go to sea.
Line 4
I wanted to get away from monotony and the commonplace.
Line 5
I was in the flower of my adolescence, a-thrill with romance and adventure, dreaming of wild life in the wild man-world.

All words in this reading · 61

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.

a

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When I was fourteen, my head filled with the tales of the old voyagers, my vision with tropic isles and far sea-rims, I was sailing a small centreboard skiff around San Francisco Bay and on the Oakland Estuary.

a-thrill

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I was in the flower of my adolescence, a-thrill with romance and adventure, dreaming of wild life in the wild man-world.

adolescence

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I was in the flower of my adolescence, a-thrill with romance and adventure, dreaming of wild life in the wild man-world.

adventure

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I was in the flower of my adolescence, a-thrill with romance and adventure, dreaming of wild life in the wild man-world.

and

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When I was fourteen, my head filled with the tales of the old voyagers, my vision with tropic isles and far sea-rims, I was sailing a small centreboard skiff around San Francisco Bay and on the Oakland Estuary.

around

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When I was fourteen, my head filled with the tales of the old voyagers, my vision with tropic isles and far sea-rims, I was sailing a small centreboard skiff around San Francisco Bay and on the Oakland Estuary.

away

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I wanted to get away from monotony and the commonplace.

Barleycorn

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But the time was rapidly drawing near when I was to begin my second series of bouts with John Barleycorn.

Bay

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When I was fourteen, my head filled with the tales of the old voyagers, my vision with tropic isles and far sea-rims, I was sailing a small centreboard skiff around San Francisco Bay and on the Oakland Estuary.

begin

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But the time was rapidly drawing near when I was to begin my second series of bouts with John Barleycorn.

bouts

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But the time was rapidly drawing near when I was to begin my second series of bouts with John Barleycorn.

But

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But the time was rapidly drawing near when I was to begin my second series of bouts with John Barleycorn.

centreboard

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When I was fourteen, my head filled with the tales of the old voyagers, my vision with tropic isles and far sea-rims, I was sailing a small centreboard skiff around San Francisco Bay and on the Oakland Estuary.

commonplace

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I wanted to get away from monotony and the commonplace.

drawing

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But the time was rapidly drawing near when I was to begin my second series of bouts with John Barleycorn.

dreaming

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I was in the flower of my adolescence, a-thrill with romance and adventure, dreaming of wild life in the wild man-world.

Estuary

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When I was fourteen, my head filled with the tales of the old voyagers, my vision with tropic isles and far sea-rims, I was sailing a small centreboard skiff around San Francisco Bay and on the Oakland Estuary.

far

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When I was fourteen, my head filled with the tales of the old voyagers, my vision with tropic isles and far sea-rims, I was sailing a small centreboard skiff around San Francisco Bay and on the Oakland Estuary.

filled

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When I was fourteen, my head filled with the tales of the old voyagers, my vision with tropic isles and far sea-rims, I was sailing a small centreboard skiff around San Francisco Bay and on the Oakland Estuary.

flower

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I was in the flower of my adolescence, a-thrill with romance and adventure, dreaming of wild life in the wild man-world.

fourteen

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When I was fourteen, my head filled with the tales of the old voyagers, my vision with tropic isles and far sea-rims, I was sailing a small centreboard skiff around San Francisco Bay and on the Oakland Estuary.

Francisco

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When I was fourteen, my head filled with the tales of the old voyagers, my vision with tropic isles and far sea-rims, I was sailing a small centreboard skiff around San Francisco Bay and on the Oakland Estuary.

from

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I wanted to get away from monotony and the commonplace.

get

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I wanted to get away from monotony and the commonplace.

go

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I wanted to go to sea.

head

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When I was fourteen, my head filled with the tales of the old voyagers, my vision with tropic isles and far sea-rims, I was sailing a small centreboard skiff around San Francisco Bay and on the Oakland Estuary.

I

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But the time was rapidly drawing near when I was to begin my second series of bouts with John Barleycorn.

in

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I was in the flower of my adolescence, a-thrill with romance and adventure, dreaming of wild life in the wild man-world.

isles

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When I was fourteen, my head filled with the tales of the old voyagers, my vision with tropic isles and far sea-rims, I was sailing a small centreboard skiff around San Francisco Bay and on the Oakland Estuary.

John

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But the time was rapidly drawing near when I was to begin my second series of bouts with John Barleycorn.

life

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I was in the flower of my adolescence, a-thrill with romance and adventure, dreaming of wild life in the wild man-world.

man-world

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I was in the flower of my adolescence, a-thrill with romance and adventure, dreaming of wild life in the wild man-world.

monotony

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I wanted to get away from monotony and the commonplace.

my

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But the time was rapidly drawing near when I was to begin my second series of bouts with John Barleycorn.

near

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But the time was rapidly drawing near when I was to begin my second series of bouts with John Barleycorn.

Oakland

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When I was fourteen, my head filled with the tales of the old voyagers, my vision with tropic isles and far sea-rims, I was sailing a small centreboard skiff around San Francisco Bay and on the Oakland Estuary.

of

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But the time was rapidly drawing near when I was to begin my second series of bouts with John Barleycorn.

old

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When I was fourteen, my head filled with the tales of the old voyagers, my vision with tropic isles and far sea-rims, I was sailing a small centreboard skiff around San Francisco Bay and on the Oakland Estuary.

on

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When I was fourteen, my head filled with the tales of the old voyagers, my vision with tropic isles and far sea-rims, I was sailing a small centreboard skiff around San Francisco Bay and on the Oakland Estuary.

rapidly

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But the time was rapidly drawing near when I was to begin my second series of bouts with John Barleycorn.

romance

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I was in the flower of my adolescence, a-thrill with romance and adventure, dreaming of wild life in the wild man-world.

sailing

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When I was fourteen, my head filled with the tales of the old voyagers, my vision with tropic isles and far sea-rims, I was sailing a small centreboard skiff around San Francisco Bay and on the Oakland Estuary.

San

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When I was fourteen, my head filled with the tales of the old voyagers, my vision with tropic isles and far sea-rims, I was sailing a small centreboard skiff around San Francisco Bay and on the Oakland Estuary.

sea

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I wanted to go to sea.

sea-rims

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When I was fourteen, my head filled with the tales of the old voyagers, my vision with tropic isles and far sea-rims, I was sailing a small centreboard skiff around San Francisco Bay and on the Oakland Estuary.

second

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But the time was rapidly drawing near when I was to begin my second series of bouts with John Barleycorn.

series

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But the time was rapidly drawing near when I was to begin my second series of bouts with John Barleycorn.

skiff

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When I was fourteen, my head filled with the tales of the old voyagers, my vision with tropic isles and far sea-rims, I was sailing a small centreboard skiff around San Francisco Bay and on the Oakland Estuary.

small

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When I was fourteen, my head filled with the tales of the old voyagers, my vision with tropic isles and far sea-rims, I was sailing a small centreboard skiff around San Francisco Bay and on the Oakland Estuary.

tales

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When I was fourteen, my head filled with the tales of the old voyagers, my vision with tropic isles and far sea-rims, I was sailing a small centreboard skiff around San Francisco Bay and on the Oakland Estuary.

the

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But the time was rapidly drawing near when I was to begin my second series of bouts with John Barleycorn.

time

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But the time was rapidly drawing near when I was to begin my second series of bouts with John Barleycorn.

to

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But the time was rapidly drawing near when I was to begin my second series of bouts with John Barleycorn.

tropic

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When I was fourteen, my head filled with the tales of the old voyagers, my vision with tropic isles and far sea-rims, I was sailing a small centreboard skiff around San Francisco Bay and on the Oakland Estuary.

vision

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When I was fourteen, my head filled with the tales of the old voyagers, my vision with tropic isles and far sea-rims, I was sailing a small centreboard skiff around San Francisco Bay and on the Oakland Estuary.

voyagers

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading When I was fourteen, my head filled with the tales of the old voyagers, my vision with tropic isles and far sea-rims, I was sailing a small centreboard skiff around San Francisco Bay and on the Oakland Estuary.

wanted

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I wanted to go to sea.

was

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But the time was rapidly drawing near when I was to begin my second series of bouts with John Barleycorn.

when

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But the time was rapidly drawing near when I was to begin my second series of bouts with John Barleycorn.

wild

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading I was in the flower of my adolescence, a-thrill with romance and adventure, dreaming of wild life in the wild man-world.

with

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading But the time was rapidly drawing near when I was to begin my second series of bouts with John Barleycorn.

Chapter 6 of John Barleycorn by Jack London holds 179 sentences, grouped into 36 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.

What does chapter 6 of John Barleycorn contain?

Chapter 6 holds 179 sentences of John Barleycorn, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 6 of John Barleycorn by Jack London exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 179 sentences, grouped into 36 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.

How do I study chapter 6 of John Barleycorn?

Work through the 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 36 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.

Can chapter 6 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading John Barleycorn

Common questions about reading John Barleycorn by Jack London on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of John Barleycorn?

Yes. All 3960 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #318 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of John Barleycorn is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #318, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does John Barleycorn take to read?

About 330 minutes of reading across 792 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read John Barleycorn section by section

How to work through John Barleycorn section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 39 chapters of John Barleycorn to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in John Barleycorn

Words and structures a reader meets early in John Barleycorn, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Election
A word that appears in the opening chapter of John Barleycorn; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
California
A word that appears in the opening chapter of John Barleycorn; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Afternoon
A word that appears in the opening chapter of John Barleycorn; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Ridden
A word that appears in the opening chapter of John Barleycorn; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.