Chapter 4 of The Open Sea is here in full — 336 sentences across 68 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Open Sea is here in full — 336 sentences across 68 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Scene XII. On the stage._ BOOTH _Sic semper Tyrannis!_ The South is avenged! (_He rushes off. Great confusion._) BOOTH’S PHILIPPI (_Garrett’s Tobacco House, Bowling Green, Virginia, April 26th, 1865. Booth and Harrold._) SCENE I BOOTH If this must be, I take it.
Chapter 4 of The Open Sea is here in full — 336 sentences across 68 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/67 · 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.
for which vengeance has been taken
From this reading “On the stage._ BOOTH _Sic semper Tyrannis!_ The South is avenged!”
a table (in a restaurant or bar) surrounded by two high-backed benches
From this reading “On the stage._ BOOTH _Sic semper Tyrannis!_ The South is avenged!”
a game in which balls are rolled at an object or group of objects with the aim of knocking them over or moving them
From this reading “Great confusion._) BOOTH’S PHILIPPI (_Garrett’s Tobacco House, Bowling Green, Virginia, April 26th, 1865.”
a city in ancient Macedonia that was important in early Christianity
From this reading “Great confusion._) BOOTH’S PHILIPPI (_Garrett’s Tobacco House, Bowling Green, Virginia, April 26th, 1865.”
plural of “rush” — the act of moving hurriedly and in a careless manner
From this reading “(_He rushes off.”
intentionally so written (used after a printed word or phrase)
leaves of the tobacco plant dried and prepared for smoking or ingestion
From this reading “Great confusion._) BOOTH’S PHILIPPI (_Garrett’s Tobacco House, Bowling Green, Virginia, April 26th, 1865.”
a state in the eastern United States; one of the original 13 colonies; one of the Confederate States in the American Civil War
From this reading “Great confusion._) BOOTH’S PHILIPPI (_Garrett’s Tobacco House, Bowling Green, Virginia, April 26th, 1865.”
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 “On the stage._ BOOTH _Sic semper Tyrannis!_ The South is avenged!”
In this reading “Great confusion._) BOOTH’S PHILIPPI (_Garrett’s Tobacco House, Bowling Green, Virginia, April 26th, 1865.”
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 Great confusion._) BOOTH’S PHILIPPI (_Garrett’s Tobacco House, Bowling Green, Virginia, April 26th, 1865.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Great confusion._) BOOTH’S PHILIPPI (_Garrett’s Tobacco House, Bowling Green, Virginia, April 26th, 1865.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Booth and Harrold._) SCENE I BOOTH If this must be, I take it.
the month following March and preceding May
From this reading Great confusion._) BOOTH’S PHILIPPI (_Garrett’s Tobacco House, Bowling Green, Virginia, April 26th, 1865.
for which vengeance has been taken
From this reading On the stage._ BOOTH _Sic semper Tyrannis!_ The South is avenged!
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Booth and Harrold._) SCENE I BOOTH If this must be, I take it.
a table (in a restaurant or bar) surrounded by two high-backed benches
From this reading On the stage._ BOOTH _Sic semper Tyrannis!_ The South is avenged!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Great confusion._) BOOTH’S PHILIPPI (_Garrett’s Tobacco House, Bowling Green, Virginia, April 26th, 1865.
a game in which balls are rolled at an object or group of objects with the aim of knocking them over or moving them
From this reading Great confusion._) BOOTH’S PHILIPPI (_Garrett’s Tobacco House, Bowling Green, Virginia, April 26th, 1865.
disorder resulting from a failure to behave predictably
From this reading Great confusion._) BOOTH’S PHILIPPI (_Garrett’s Tobacco House, Bowling Green, Virginia, April 26th, 1865.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Great confusion._) BOOTH’S PHILIPPI (_Garrett’s Tobacco House, Bowling Green, Virginia, April 26th, 1865.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading Great confusion._) BOOTH’S PHILIPPI (_Garrett’s Tobacco House, Bowling Green, Virginia, April 26th, 1865.
green color or pigment; resembling the color of growing grass
From this reading Great confusion._) BOOTH’S PHILIPPI (_Garrett’s Tobacco House, Bowling Green, Virginia, April 26th, 1865.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Booth and Harrold._) SCENE I BOOTH If this must be, I take it.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading (_He rushes off.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading Great confusion._) BOOTH’S PHILIPPI (_Garrett’s Tobacco House, Bowling Green, Virginia, April 26th, 1865.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Booth and Harrold._) SCENE I BOOTH If this must be, I take it.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Booth and Harrold._) SCENE I BOOTH If this must be, I take it.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading On the stage._ BOOTH _Sic semper Tyrannis!_ The South is avenged!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Booth and Harrold._) SCENE I BOOTH If this must be, I take it.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading Booth and Harrold._) SCENE I BOOTH If this must be, I take it.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading (_He rushes off.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On the stage._ BOOTH _Sic semper Tyrannis!_ The South is avenged!
a city in ancient Macedonia that was important in early Christianity
From this reading Great confusion._) BOOTH’S PHILIPPI (_Garrett’s Tobacco House, Bowling Green, Virginia, April 26th, 1865.
plural of “rush” — the act of moving hurriedly and in a careless manner
From this reading (_He rushes off.
the place where some action occurs
From this reading _Scene XII.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading On the stage._ BOOTH _Sic semper Tyrannis!_ The South is avenged!
intentionally so written (used after a printed word or phrase)
From this reading On the stage._ BOOTH _Sic semper Tyrannis!_ The South is avenged!
the region of the United States lying to the south of the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading On the stage._ BOOTH _Sic semper Tyrannis!_ The South is avenged!
any distinct time period in a sequence of events
From this reading On the stage._ BOOTH _Sic semper Tyrannis!_ The South is avenged!
carry out
From this reading Booth and Harrold._) SCENE I BOOTH If this must be, I take it.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading On the stage._ BOOTH _Sic semper Tyrannis!_ The South is avenged!
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Booth and Harrold._) SCENE I BOOTH If this must be, I take it.
leaves of the tobacco plant dried and prepared for smoking or ingestion
From this reading Great confusion._) BOOTH’S PHILIPPI (_Garrett’s Tobacco House, Bowling Green, Virginia, April 26th, 1865.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading On the stage._ BOOTH _Sic semper Tyrannis!_ The South is avenged!
a state in the eastern United States; one of the original 13 colonies; one of the Confederate States in the American Civil War
From this reading Great confusion._) BOOTH’S PHILIPPI (_Garrett’s Tobacco House, Bowling Green, Virginia, April 26th, 1865.
the cardinal number that is the sum of eleven and one
From this reading _Scene XII.
Chapter 4 of The Open Sea by Edgar Lee Masters holds 336 sentences, grouped into 68 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 4 holds 336 sentences of The Open Sea, unabridged, divided into 68 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Open Sea by Edgar Lee Masters exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 336 sentences, grouped into 68 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 68 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 68 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 4 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.
