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.
The Full Moon. Coats. Damer’s Gold. McDonough’s Wife Our Irish Theatre A Chapter of Autobiography Seven Short Plays Spreading the News. Hyacinth Halvey.
Chapter 1 of Seven Short Plays is here in full — 425 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 2/85 · 5 reading units · Lines 6–10
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.
a biography of yourself
From this reading “McDonough’s Wife Our Irish Theatre A Chapter of Autobiography Seven Short Plays Spreading the News.”
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading “McDonough’s Wife Our Irish Theatre A Chapter of Autobiography Seven Short Plays Spreading the News.”
plural of “coat” — an outer garment that has sleeves and covers the body from shoulder down; worn outdoors
From this reading “Coats.”
a red transparent variety of zircon used as a gemstone
From this reading “Hyacinth Halvey.”
people of Ireland or of Irish extraction
From this reading “McDonough’s Wife Our Irish Theatre A Chapter of Autobiography Seven Short Plays Spreading the News.”
plural of “play” — a dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage
From this reading “McDonough’s Wife Our Irish Theatre A Chapter of Autobiography Seven Short Plays Spreading the News.”
process or result of distributing or extending over a wide expanse of space
From this reading “McDonough’s Wife Our Irish Theatre A Chapter of Autobiography Seven Short Plays Spreading the News.”
a building where theatrical performances or motion-picture shows can be presented
From this reading “McDonough’s Wife Our Irish Theatre A Chapter of Autobiography Seven Short Plays Spreading the News.”
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.
the time when the Moon is fully illuminated
In this reading “The Full Moon.”
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 McDonough’s Wife Our Irish Theatre A Chapter of Autobiography Seven Short Plays Spreading the News.
a biography of yourself
From this reading McDonough’s Wife Our Irish Theatre A Chapter of Autobiography Seven Short Plays Spreading the News.
a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
From this reading McDonough’s Wife Our Irish Theatre A Chapter of Autobiography Seven Short Plays Spreading the News.
plural of “coat” — an outer garment that has sleeves and covers the body from shoulder down; worn outdoors
From this reading Coats.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Damer’s Gold.
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading The Full Moon.
coins made of gold
From this reading Damer’s Gold.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hyacinth Halvey.
a red transparent variety of zircon used as a gemstone
From this reading Hyacinth Halvey.
people of Ireland or of Irish extraction
From this reading McDonough’s Wife Our Irish Theatre A Chapter of Autobiography Seven Short Plays Spreading the News.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading McDonough’s Wife Our Irish Theatre A Chapter of Autobiography Seven Short Plays Spreading the News.
the natural satellite of the Earth
From this reading The Full Moon.
information about recent and important events
From this reading McDonough’s Wife Our Irish Theatre A Chapter of Autobiography Seven Short Plays Spreading the News.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading McDonough’s Wife Our Irish Theatre A Chapter of Autobiography Seven Short Plays Spreading the News.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading McDonough’s Wife Our Irish Theatre A Chapter of Autobiography Seven Short Plays Spreading the News.
plural of “play” — a dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage
From this reading McDonough’s Wife Our Irish Theatre A Chapter of Autobiography Seven Short Plays Spreading the News.
the cardinal number that is the sum of six and one
From this reading McDonough’s Wife Our Irish Theatre A Chapter of Autobiography Seven Short Plays Spreading the News.
primarily temporal sense; indicating or being or seeming to be limited in duration
From this reading McDonough’s Wife Our Irish Theatre A Chapter of Autobiography Seven Short Plays Spreading the News.
process or result of distributing or extending over a wide expanse of space
From this reading McDonough’s Wife Our Irish Theatre A Chapter of Autobiography Seven Short Plays Spreading the News.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Full Moon.
a building where theatrical performances or motion-picture shows can be presented
From this reading McDonough’s Wife Our Irish Theatre A Chapter of Autobiography Seven Short Plays Spreading the News.
a married woman; a man's partner in marriage
From this reading McDonough’s Wife Our Irish Theatre A Chapter of Autobiography Seven Short Plays Spreading the News.
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.
