Chapter 1 of Right Royal is here in full — 341 sentences across 69 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Right Royal is here in full — 341 sentences across 69 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The persons, horses and events described in this poem are imaginary. No reference is made to any living person or horse. JOHN MASEFIELD. An hour before the race they talked together A pair of lovers in the mild March weather, Charles Cothill and the golden lady, Em. Beautiful England's hands had fashioned them.
Chapter 1 of Right Royal is here in full — 341 sentences across 69 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/68 · 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.
possessive form of “england” — a division of the United Kingdom
From this reading “Beautiful England's hands had fashioned them.”
planned and made or fashioned artistically
From this reading “Beautiful England's hands had fashioned them.”
not based on fact; existing only in the imagination
From this reading “The persons, horses and events described in this poem are imaginary.”
plural of “lover” — a person who loves someone or is loved by someone
From this reading “An hour before the race they talked together A pair of lovers in the mild March weather, Charles Cothill and the golden lady, Em.”
English poet (1878-1967)
From this reading “JOHN MASEFIELD.”
moderate in type or degree or effect or force; far from extreme
From this reading “An hour before the race they talked together A pair of lovers in the mild March weather, Charles Cothill and the golden lady, Em.”
a composition written in metrical feet forming rhythmical lines
From this reading “The persons, horses and events described in this poem are imaginary.”
a remark that calls attention to something or someone
From this reading “No reference is made to any living person or horse.”
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 An hour before the race they talked together A pair of lovers in the mild March weather, Charles Cothill and the golden lady, Em.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading An hour before the race they talked together A pair of lovers in the mild March weather, Charles Cothill and the golden lady, Em.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The persons, horses and events described in this poem are imaginary.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading No reference is made to any living person or horse.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The persons, horses and events described in this poem are imaginary.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading Beautiful England's hands had fashioned them.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading An hour before the race they talked together A pair of lovers in the mild March weather, Charles Cothill and the golden lady, Em.
King of France from 1560 to 1574 whose reign was dominated by his mother Catherine de Medicis (1550-1574)
From this reading An hour before the race they talked together A pair of lovers in the mild March weather, Charles Cothill and the golden lady, Em.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading An hour before the race they talked together A pair of lovers in the mild March weather, Charles Cothill and the golden lady, Em.
represented in words especially with sharpness and detail
From this reading The persons, horses and events described in this poem are imaginary.
a quad with a square body
From this reading An hour before the race they talked together A pair of lovers in the mild March weather, Charles Cothill and the golden lady, Em.
possessive form of “england” — a division of the United Kingdom
From this reading Beautiful England's hands had fashioned them.
plural of “event” — something that happens at a given place and time
From this reading The persons, horses and events described in this poem are imaginary.
planned and made or fashioned artistically
From this reading Beautiful England's hands had fashioned them.
having the deep slightly brownish color of gold
From this reading An hour before the race they talked together A pair of lovers in the mild March weather, Charles Cothill and the golden lady, Em.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading Beautiful England's hands had fashioned them.
(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child
From this reading Beautiful England's hands had fashioned them.
solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
From this reading No reference is made to any living person or horse.
plural of “horse” — solid-hoofed herbivorous quadruped domesticated since prehistoric times
From this reading The persons, horses and events described in this poem are imaginary.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading An hour before the race they talked together A pair of lovers in the mild March weather, Charles Cothill and the golden lady, Em.
not based on fact; existing only in the imagination
From this reading The persons, horses and events described in this poem are imaginary.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The persons, horses and events described in this poem are imaginary.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading No reference is made to any living person or horse.
a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
From this reading JOHN MASEFIELD.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading An hour before the race they talked together A pair of lovers in the mild March weather, Charles Cothill and the golden lady, Em.
the experience of being alive; the course of human events and activities
From this reading No reference is made to any living person or horse.
plural of “lover” — a person who loves someone or is loved by someone
From this reading An hour before the race they talked together A pair of lovers in the mild March weather, Charles Cothill and the golden lady, Em.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading No reference is made to any living person or horse.
march in a procession
From this reading An hour before the race they talked together A pair of lovers in the mild March weather, Charles Cothill and the golden lady, Em.
English poet (1878-1967)
From this reading JOHN MASEFIELD.
moderate in type or degree or effect or force; far from extreme
From this reading An hour before the race they talked together A pair of lovers in the mild March weather, Charles Cothill and the golden lady, Em.
not any; not one
From this reading No reference is made to any living person or horse.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading An hour before the race they talked together A pair of lovers in the mild March weather, Charles Cothill and the golden lady, Em.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading No reference is made to any living person or horse.
a set of two similar things considered as a unit
From this reading An hour before the race they talked together A pair of lovers in the mild March weather, Charles Cothill and the golden lady, Em.
a human being
From this reading No reference is made to any living person or horse.
plural of “person” — a human being
From this reading The persons, horses and events described in this poem are imaginary.
a composition written in metrical feet forming rhythmical lines
From this reading The persons, horses and events described in this poem are imaginary.
any competition
From this reading An hour before the race they talked together A pair of lovers in the mild March weather, Charles Cothill and the golden lady, Em.
a remark that calls attention to something or someone
From this reading No reference is made to any living person or horse.
past form of “talk” — exchange thoughts; talk with
From this reading An hour before the race they talked together A pair of lovers in the mild March weather, Charles Cothill and the golden lady, Em.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The persons, horses and events described in this poem are imaginary.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Beautiful England's hands had fashioned them.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading An hour before the race they talked together A pair of lovers in the mild March weather, Charles Cothill and the golden lady, Em.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading The persons, horses and events described in this poem are imaginary.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading No reference is made to any living person or horse.
in contact with each other or in proximity
From this reading An hour before the race they talked together A pair of lovers in the mild March weather, Charles Cothill and the golden lady, Em.
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
From this reading An hour before the race they talked together A pair of lovers in the mild March weather, Charles Cothill and the golden lady, Em.
Chapter 1 of Right Royal by John Masefield holds 341 sentences, grouped into 69 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.
Chapter 1 holds 341 sentences of Right Royal, unabridged, divided into 69 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Right Royal by John Masefield exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 341 sentences, grouped into 69 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 69 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 69 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 Right Royal by John Masefield on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 663 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #6452 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #6452, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 55 minutes of reading across 133 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Right Royal section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of Right Royal 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 Right Royal, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
