Chapter 1 of The Rape of the Lock, and Other Poems is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Rape of the Lock, and Other Poems is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Introduction. That 'tis as great a fault to judge ill, as to write v. 1. ill, and a more dangerous one to the public, v. 9 to 18 That a true Taste is as rare to be found, as a true Genius. v. 19 to 25 That most men are born with some Taste, but spoiled by false Education. v.
Chapter 1 of The Rape of the Lock, and Other Poems is here in full — 399 sentences across 80 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
involving or causing danger or risk; liable to hurt or harm
From this reading “1. ill, and a more dangerous one to the public, v.”
the activities of educating or instructing; activities that impart knowledge or skill
From this reading “19 to 25 That most men are born with some Taste, but spoiled by false Education. v.”
not in accordance with the fact or reality or actuality
From this reading “19 to 25 That most men are born with some Taste, but spoiled by false Education. v.”
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading “That 'tis as great a fault to judge ill, as to write v.”
someone who has exceptional intellectual ability and originality
From this reading “9 to 18 That a true Taste is as rare to be found, as a true Genius. v.”
the act of beginning something new
From this reading “Introduction.”
not widely known; especially valued for its uncommonness
From this reading “9 to 18 That a true Taste is as rare to be found, as a true Genius. v.”
having the character or disposition harmed by pampering or oversolicitous attention
From this reading “19 to 25 That most men are born with some Taste, but spoiled by false Education. v.”
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 1. ill, and a more dangerous one to the public, v.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 9 to 18 That a true Taste is as rare to be found, as a true Genius. v.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 19 to 25 That most men are born with some Taste, but spoiled by false Education. v.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 19 to 25 That most men are born with some Taste, but spoiled by false Education. v.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 9 to 18 That a true Taste is as rare to be found, as a true Genius. v.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading That 'tis as great a fault to judge ill, as to write v.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading 1. ill, and a more dangerous one to the public, v.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading 19 to 25 That most men are born with some Taste, but spoiled by false Education. v.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading That 'tis as great a fault to judge ill, as to write v.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading 9 to 18 That a true Taste is as rare to be found, as a true Genius. v.
brought into existence
From this reading 19 to 25 That most men are born with some Taste, but spoiled by false Education. v.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading 19 to 25 That most men are born with some Taste, but spoiled by false Education. v.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading 19 to 25 That most men are born with some Taste, but spoiled by false Education. v.
involving or causing danger or risk; liable to hurt or harm
From this reading 1. ill, and a more dangerous one to the public, v.
the activities of educating or instructing; activities that impart knowledge or skill
From this reading 19 to 25 That most men are born with some Taste, but spoiled by false Education. v.
not in accordance with the fact or reality or actuality
From this reading 19 to 25 That most men are born with some Taste, but spoiled by false Education. v.
a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention
From this reading That 'tis as great a fault to judge ill, as to write v.
set up or found
From this reading 9 to 18 That a true Taste is as rare to be found, as a true Genius. v.
someone who has exceptional intellectual ability and originality
From this reading 9 to 18 That a true Taste is as rare to be found, as a true Genius. v.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading That 'tis as great a fault to judge ill, as to write v.
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading That 'tis as great a fault to judge ill, as to write v.
the act of beginning something new
From this reading Introduction.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading 9 to 18 That a true Taste is as rare to be found, as a true Genius. v.
determine the result of (a competition)
From this reading That 'tis as great a fault to judge ill, as to write v.
the force of workers available
From this reading 19 to 25 That most men are born with some Taste, but spoiled by false Education. v.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading 1. ill, and a more dangerous one to the public, v.
used to form the superlative
From this reading 19 to 25 That most men are born with some Taste, but spoiled by false Education. v.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading 1. ill, and a more dangerous one to the public, v.
people in general considered as a whole
From this reading 1. ill, and a more dangerous one to the public, v.
not widely known; especially valued for its uncommonness
From this reading 9 to 18 That a true Taste is as rare to be found, as a true Genius. v.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading 19 to 25 That most men are born with some Taste, but spoiled by false Education. v.
having the character or disposition harmed by pampering or oversolicitous attention
From this reading 19 to 25 That most men are born with some Taste, but spoiled by false Education. v.
To perceive flavor through the mouth.
From this reading 9 to 18 That a true Taste is as rare to be found, as a true Genius. v.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That 'tis as great a fault to judge ill, as to write v.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading 1. ill, and a more dangerous one to the public, v.
plural of “ti” — a light strong grey lustrous corrosion-resistant metallic element used in strong lightweight alloys (as for airplane parts); the main sources are rutile and ilmenite
From this reading That 'tis as great a fault to judge ill, as to write v.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading That 'tis as great a fault to judge ill, as to write v.
consistent with fact or reality; not false
From this reading 9 to 18 That a true Taste is as rare to be found, as a true Genius. v.
a unit of potential equal to the potential difference between two points on a conductor carrying a current of 1 ampere when the power dissipated between the two points is 1 watt
From this reading That 'tis as great a fault to judge ill, as to write v.
in the company of; together with
From this reading 19 to 25 That most men are born with some Taste, but spoiled by false Education. v.
produce a literary work
From this reading That 'tis as great a fault to judge ill, as to write v.
Chapter 1 of The Rape of the Lock, and Other Poems by Alexander Pope holds 399 sentences, grouped into 80 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 399 sentences of The Rape of the Lock, and Other Poems, unabridged, divided into 80 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Rape of the Lock, and Other Poems by Alexander Pope exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 399 sentences, grouped into 80 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 80 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 80 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 Rape of the Lock, and Other Poems by Alexander Pope on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1989 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #9800 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #9800, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 165 minutes of reading across 398 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Rape of the Lock, and Other Poems section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The Rape of the Lock, and Other Poems 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 Rape of the Lock, and Other Poems, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
