Chapter 1 of Seven Short Plays is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Seven Short Plays is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
First Series: The Tragedies Grania. Kincora. Dervorgilla Second Series: The Tragic Comedies The Canavans. The White Cockade. The Deliverer New Comedies The Bogie Men.
Chapter 1 of Seven Short Plays is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/85 · 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 evil spirit
From this reading “The Deliverer New Comedies The Bogie Men.”
plural of “comedy” — light and humorous drama with a happy ending
From this reading “Dervorgilla Second Series: The Tragic Comedies The Canavans.”
a teacher and prophet born in Bethlehem and active in Nazareth; his life and sermons form the basis for Christianity (circa 4 BC - AD 29)
From this reading “The Deliverer New Comedies The Bogie Men.”
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading “Dervorgilla Second Series: The Tragic Comedies The Canavans.”
similar things placed in order or happening one after another
From this reading “First Series: The Tragedies Grania.”
plural of “tragedy” — an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
From this reading “First Series: The Tragedies Grania.”
very sad; especially involving grief or death or destruction
From this reading “Dervorgilla Second Series: The Tragic Comedies The Canavans.”
a Caucasian
From this reading “The White Cockade.”
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.
In this reading “Dervorgilla Second Series: The Tragic Comedies The Canavans.”
In this reading “The Deliverer New Comedies The Bogie Men.”
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.
an evil spirit
From this reading The Deliverer New Comedies The Bogie Men.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dervorgilla Second Series: The Tragic Comedies The Canavans.
an ornament (such as a knot of ribbon or a rosette) usually worn on the hat
From this reading The White Cockade.
plural of “comedy” — light and humorous drama with a happy ending
From this reading Dervorgilla Second Series: The Tragic Comedies The Canavans.
a teacher and prophet born in Bethlehem and active in Nazareth; his life and sermons form the basis for Christianity (circa 4 BC - AD 29)
From this reading The Deliverer New Comedies The Bogie Men.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Dervorgilla Second Series: The Tragic Comedies The Canavans.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading First Series: The Tragedies Grania.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading First Series: The Tragedies Grania.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Kincora.
the force of workers available
From this reading The Deliverer New Comedies The Bogie Men.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading The Deliverer New Comedies The Bogie Men.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading Dervorgilla Second Series: The Tragic Comedies The Canavans.
similar things placed in order or happening one after another
From this reading First Series: The Tragedies Grania.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading First Series: The Tragedies Grania.
plural of “tragedy” — an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
From this reading First Series: The Tragedies Grania.
very sad; especially involving grief or death or destruction
From this reading Dervorgilla Second Series: The Tragic Comedies The Canavans.
a Caucasian
From this reading The White Cockade.
Chapter 1 of Seven Short Plays by Lady Gregory holds 425 sentences, grouped into 85 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 425 sentences of Seven Short Plays, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Seven Short Plays by Lady Gregory exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 425 sentences, grouped into 85 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 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 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 Seven Short Plays by Lady Gregory on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2916 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #41653 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #41653, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 243 minutes of reading across 584 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Seven Short Plays section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Seven Short Plays 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 Seven Short Plays, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
