Chapter 1 of Multitude and Solitude is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Multitude and Solitude is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Author of "The Everlasting Mercy," "The Widow in the Bye Street," "The Daffodil Fields," "Captain Margaret," etc. What play do they play? Some confounded play or other. Let's send for some cards. I ne'er saw a play had anything in't.
Chapter 1 of Multitude and Solitude is here in full — 415 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
an automatic advance to the next round in a tournament without playing an opponent
From this reading “Author of "The Everlasting Mercy," "The Widow in the Bye Street," "The Daffodil Fields," "Captain Margaret," etc.”
a game played with playing cards
From this reading “Let's send for some cards.”
perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements; filled with bewilderment
From this reading “Some confounded play or other.”
any of numerous varieties of Narcissus plants having showy often yellow flowers with a trumpet-shaped central crown
From this reading “Author of "The Everlasting Mercy," "The Widow in the Bye Street," "The Daffodil Fields," "Captain Margaret," etc.”
continuing forever or indefinitely
From this reading “Author of "The Everlasting Mercy," "The Widow in the Bye Street," "The Daffodil Fields," "Captain Margaret," etc.”
leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice
From this reading “Author of "The Everlasting Mercy," "The Widow in the Bye Street," "The Daffodil Fields," "Captain Margaret," etc.”
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading “I ne'er saw a play had anything in't.”
a woman whose husband is dead especially one who has not remarried
From this reading “Author of "The Everlasting Mercy," "The Widow in the Bye Street," "The Daffodil Fields," "Captain Margaret," etc.”
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.
order, request, or command to come
In this reading “Let's send for some cards.”
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 I ne'er saw a play had anything in't.
any thing at all
From this reading I ne'er saw a play had anything in't.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading Author of "The Everlasting Mercy," "The Widow in the Bye Street," "The Daffodil Fields," "Captain Margaret," etc.
an automatic advance to the next round in a tournament without playing an opponent
From this reading Author of "The Everlasting Mercy," "The Widow in the Bye Street," "The Daffodil Fields," "Captain Margaret," etc.
an officer holding a rank below a major but above a lieutenant
From this reading Author of "The Everlasting Mercy," "The Widow in the Bye Street," "The Daffodil Fields," "Captain Margaret," etc.
a game played with playing cards
From this reading Let's send for some cards.
perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements; filled with bewilderment
From this reading Some confounded play or other.
any of numerous varieties of Narcissus plants having showy often yellow flowers with a trumpet-shaped central crown
From this reading Author of "The Everlasting Mercy," "The Widow in the Bye Street," "The Daffodil Fields," "Captain Margaret," etc.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading What play do they play?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Author of "The Everlasting Mercy," "The Widow in the Bye Street," "The Daffodil Fields," "Captain Margaret," etc.
continuing forever or indefinitely
From this reading Author of "The Everlasting Mercy," "The Widow in the Bye Street," "The Daffodil Fields," "Captain Margaret," etc.
United States comedian and film actor (1880-1946)
From this reading Author of "The Everlasting Mercy," "The Widow in the Bye Street," "The Daffodil Fields," "Captain Margaret," etc.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Let's send for some cards.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I ne'er saw a play had anything in't.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I ne'er saw a play had anything in't.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Author of "The Everlasting Mercy," "The Widow in the Bye Street," "The Daffodil Fields," "Captain Margaret," etc.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I ne'er saw a play had anything in't.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Let's send for some cards.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Author of "The Everlasting Mercy," "The Widow in the Bye Street," "The Daffodil Fields," "Captain Margaret," etc.
leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice
From this reading Author of "The Everlasting Mercy," "The Widow in the Bye Street," "The Daffodil Fields," "Captain Margaret," etc.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading I ne'er saw a play had anything in't.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Author of "The Everlasting Mercy," "The Widow in the Bye Street," "The Daffodil Fields," "Captain Margaret," etc.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Some confounded play or other.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Some confounded play or other.
participate in games or sport
From this reading What play do they play?
cut with a saw
From this reading I ne'er saw a play had anything in't.
cause to go somewhere
From this reading Let's send for some cards.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Some confounded play or other.
a thoroughfare (usually including sidewalks) that is lined with buildings
From this reading Author of "The Everlasting Mercy," "The Widow in the Bye Street," "The Daffodil Fields," "Captain Margaret," etc.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Author of "The Everlasting Mercy," "The Widow in the Bye Street," "The Daffodil Fields," "Captain Margaret," etc.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading What play do they play?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What play do they play?
a woman whose husband is dead especially one who has not remarried
From this reading Author of "The Everlasting Mercy," "The Widow in the Bye Street," "The Daffodil Fields," "Captain Margaret," etc.
Chapter 1 of Multitude and Solitude by John Masefield holds 415 sentences, grouped into 83 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 415 sentences of Multitude and Solitude, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Multitude and Solitude by John Masefield exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 415 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 Multitude and Solitude by John Masefield on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7061 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #58436 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #58436, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 588 minutes of reading across 1413 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Multitude and Solitude section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of Multitude and Solitude 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 Multitude and Solitude, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
