Chapter 1 of The Open Sea is here in full — 851 sentences across 171 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Open Sea is here in full — 851 sentences across 171 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Set up and electrotyped. Published November, 1921. Press of J. J. Little & Ives Company New York, U. S. A. How shall I write this out? I do not write.
Chapter 1 of The Open Sea is here in full — 851 sentences across 171 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/170 · 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 institution created to conduct business
From this reading “Press of J. J. Little & Ives Company New York, U. S. A.”
United States composer noted for his innovative use of polytonality (1874-1954)
From this reading “Press of J. J. Little & Ives Company New York, U. S. A.”
the month following October and preceding December
From this reading “Published November, 1921.”
exert pressure or force to or upon
From this reading “Press of J. J. Little & Ives Company New York, U. S. A.”
prepared and printed for distribution and sale
From this reading “Published November, 1921.”
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading “Set up and electrotyped.”
produce a literary work
From this reading “How shall I write this out?”
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading “Press of J. J. Little & Ives Company New York, U. S. A.”
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.
set up or found
In this reading “Set up and electrotyped.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Published November, 1921.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Press of J. J. Little & Ives Company New York, U. S. A.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Set up and electrotyped.
an institution created to conduct business
From this reading Press of J. J. Little & Ives Company New York, U. S. A.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading I do not write.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Set up and electrotyped.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How shall I write this out?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading How shall I write this out?
United States composer noted for his innovative use of polytonality (1874-1954)
From this reading Press of J. J. Little & Ives Company New York, U. S. A.
a unit of electrical energy equal to the work done when a current of one ampere passes through a resistance of one ohm for one second
From this reading Press of J. J. Little & Ives Company New York, U. S. A.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Press of J. J. Little & Ives Company New York, U. S. A.
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading Press of J. J. Little & Ives Company New York, U. S. A.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I do not write.
the month following October and preceding December
From this reading Published November, 1921.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Press of J. J. Little & Ives Company New York, U. S. A.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading How shall I write this out?
exert pressure or force to or upon
From this reading Press of J. J. Little & Ives Company New York, U. S. A.
prepared and printed for distribution and sale
From this reading Published November, 1921.
1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites
From this reading Press of J. J. Little & Ives Company New York, U. S. A.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Set up and electrotyped.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading How shall I write this out?
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading How shall I write this out?
a base containing nitrogen that is found in RNA (but not in DNA) and derived from pyrimidine; pairs with adenine
From this reading Press of J. J. Little & Ives Company New York, U. S. A.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading Set up and electrotyped.
produce a literary work
From this reading How shall I write this out?
the English royal house (a branch of the Plantagenet line) that reigned from 1461 to 1485; its emblem was a white rose
From this reading Press of J. J. Little & Ives Company New York, U. S. A.
Chapter 1 of The Open Sea by Edgar Lee Masters holds 851 sentences, grouped into 171 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 851 sentences of The Open Sea, unabridged, divided into 171 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Open Sea by Edgar Lee Masters exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 851 sentences, grouped into 171 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 171 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 171 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 The Open Sea by Edgar Lee Masters on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3075 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #52786 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #52786, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 256 minutes of reading across 615 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Open Sea section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of The Open Sea 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 The Open Sea, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
