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Lives of the English Poets — Prior, Congreve, Blackmore
Lives of the English Poets — Prior, Congreve, Blackmore

Chapter I · Chapter 1

Chapter 1 of Lives of the English Poets — Prior, Congreve, Blackmore is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for Lives of the English Poets — Prior, Congreve, Blackmore
Context Illustration Reading 1/80 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
CASSELL’S NATIONAL LIBRARY.
BY SAMUEL JOHNSON, LL.D.
CASSELL & COMPANY.
LIMITED: _LONDON_, _PARIS_ & _MELBOURNE_.
1891.
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.

Lives of the English Poets — Prior, Congreve, Blackmore

Chapter I · Chapter 1

Chapter 1 of Lives of the English Poets — Prior, Congreve, Blackmore is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/80 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
CASSELL’S NATIONAL LIBRARY.
Line 2
BY SAMUEL JOHNSON, LL.D.
Line 3
CASSELL & COMPANY.
Line 4
LIMITED: _LONDON_, _PARIS_ & _MELBOURNE_.
/ˈlɪmətəd ˈlʌndən ˈperɪs ˈmelbərn/
Line 5
1891.

Learner Dictionary

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.

johnson noun US /ˈdʒɑːnsən/

English writer and lexicographer (1709-1784)

From this reading “BY SAMUEL JOHNSON, LL.D.”

library noun US /ˈlaɪbreriː/

a room where books are kept

From this reading “CASSELL’S NATIONAL LIBRARY.”

limited adjective US /ˈlɪmətəd/

small in range or scope

From this reading “LIMITED: _LONDON_, _PARIS_ & _MELBOURNE_.”

london noun US /ˈlʌndən/

the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center

melbourne noun US /ˈmelbərn/

a resort town in east central Florida

national adjective US /ˈnæʃənəl/

of or relating to or belonging to a nation or country

From this reading “CASSELL’S NATIONAL LIBRARY.”

paris noun US /ˈperɪs/

the capital and largest city of France; and international center of culture and commerce

samuel noun US /ˈsæmjuːl/

(Old Testament) Hebrew prophet and judge who anointed Saul as king

From this reading “BY SAMUEL JOHNSON, LL.D.”

All words in this reading · 15

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.

1891

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

From this reading 1891.

BYprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading BY SAMUEL JOHNSON, LL.D.

CASSELL

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

From this reading CASSELL & COMPANY.

CASSELL'S

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

From this reading CASSELL’S NATIONAL LIBRARY.

COMPANYnounUS /ˈkʌmpəniː/

an institution created to conduct business

From this reading CASSELL & COMPANY.

DnounUS /diː/

a fat-soluble vitamin that prevents rickets

From this reading BY SAMUEL JOHNSON, LL.D.

JOHNSONnounUS /ˈdʒɑːnsən/

English writer and lexicographer (1709-1784)

From this reading BY SAMUEL JOHNSON, LL.D.

LIBRARYnounUS /ˈlaɪbreriː/

a room where books are kept

From this reading CASSELL’S NATIONAL LIBRARY.

LIMITEDadjectiveUS /ˈlɪmətəd/

small in range or scope

From this reading LIMITED: _LONDON_, _PARIS_ & _MELBOURNE_.

LL

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

From this reading BY SAMUEL JOHNSON, LL.D.

LONDONnounUS /ˈlʌndən/

the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center

From this reading LIMITED: _LONDON_, _PARIS_ & _MELBOURNE_.

MELBOURNEnounUS /ˈmelbərn/

a resort town in east central Florida

From this reading LIMITED: _LONDON_, _PARIS_ & _MELBOURNE_.

NATIONALadjectiveUS /ˈnæʃənəl/

of or relating to or belonging to a nation or country

From this reading CASSELL’S NATIONAL LIBRARY.

PARISnounUS /ˈperɪs/

the capital and largest city of France; and international center of culture and commerce

From this reading LIMITED: _LONDON_, _PARIS_ & _MELBOURNE_.

SAMUELnounUS /ˈsæmjuːl/

(Old Testament) Hebrew prophet and judge who anointed Saul as king

From this reading BY SAMUEL JOHNSON, LL.D.

Chapter 1 of Lives of the English Poets — Prior, Congreve, Blackmore by Samuel Johnson holds 403 sentences, grouped into 81 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 1 of Lives of the English Poets — Prior, Congreve, Blackmore contain?

Chapter 1 holds 403 sentences of Lives of the English Poets — Prior, Congreve, Blackmore, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 1 of Lives of the English Poets — Prior, Congreve, Blackmore by Samuel Johnson exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 403 sentences, grouped into 81 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 1 of Lives of the English Poets — Prior, Congreve, Blackmore?

Work through the 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 81 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 1 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading Lives of the English Poets — Prior, Congreve, Blackmore

Common questions about reading Lives of the English Poets — Prior, Congreve, Blackmore by Samuel Johnson on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Lives of the English Poets — Prior, Congreve, Blackmore?

Yes. All 1990 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5101 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Lives of the English Poets — Prior, Congreve, Blackmore is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #5101, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Lives of the English Poets — Prior, Congreve, Blackmore take to read?

About 165 minutes of reading across 398 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Lives of the English Poets — Prior, Congreve, Blackmore section by section

How to work through Lives of the English Poets — Prior, Congreve, Blackmore section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 5 chapters of Lives of the English Poets — Prior, Congreve, Blackmore 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 Lives of the English Poets — Prior, Congreve, Blackmore

Words and structures a reader meets early in Lives of the English Poets — Prior, Congreve, Blackmore, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Cassell
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Lives of the English Poets — Prior, Congreve, Blackmore; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
National
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Lives of the English Poets — Prior, Congreve, Blackmore; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Library
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Lives of the English Poets — Prior, Congreve, Blackmore; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Samuel
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Lives of the English Poets — Prior, Congreve, Blackmore; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.