Chapter 1 of The sound and the fury is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The sound and the fury is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Through the fence, between the curling flower spaces, I could see them hitting. They were coming toward where the flag was and I went along the fence. Luster was hunting in the grass by the flower tree. They took the flag out, and they were hitting. Then they put the flag back and they went to the table, and he hit and the other hit.
Chapter 1 of The sound and the fury is here in full — 411 sentences across 83 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
a game played on ice in which heavy stones with handles are slid toward a target
From this reading “Through the fence, between the curling flower spaces, I could see them hitting.”
enclose with a fence
From this reading “Through the fence, between the curling flower spaces, I could see them hitting.”
emblem usually consisting of a rectangular piece of cloth of distinctive design
From this reading “They were coming toward where the flag was and I went along the fence.”
a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading “Through the fence, between the curling flower spaces, I could see them hitting.”
the act of contacting one thing with another
From this reading “Through the fence, between the curling flower spaces, I could see them hitting.”
the pursuit and killing or capture of wild animals regarded as a sport
From this reading “Luster was hunting in the grass by the flower tree.”
a quality that outshines the usual
From this reading “Luster was hunting in the grass by the flower tree.”
plural of “space” — the unlimited expanse in which everything is located
From this reading “Through the fence, between the curling flower spaces, I could see them hitting.”
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.
cooperate or pretend to cooperate
In this reading “They were coming toward where the flag was and I went along the fence.”
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.
following the length of something from one end toward the other
From this reading They were coming toward where the flag was and I went along the fence.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading They were coming toward where the flag was and I went along the fence.
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading Then they put the flag back and they went to the table, and he hit and the other hit.
in the space, time, or range separating two things
From this reading Through the fence, between the curling flower spaces, I could see them hitting.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Luster was hunting in the grass by the flower tree.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading They were coming toward where the flag was and I went along the fence.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Through the fence, between the curling flower spaces, I could see them hitting.
a game played on ice in which heavy stones with handles are slid toward a target
From this reading Through the fence, between the curling flower spaces, I could see them hitting.
enclose with a fence
From this reading Through the fence, between the curling flower spaces, I could see them hitting.
emblem usually consisting of a rectangular piece of cloth of distinctive design
From this reading They were coming toward where the flag was and I went along the fence.
a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading Through the fence, between the curling flower spaces, I could see them hitting.
shoot down, of birds
From this reading Luster was hunting in the grass by the flower tree.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Then they put the flag back and they went to the table, and he hit and the other hit.
cause to move by striking
From this reading Then they put the flag back and they went to the table, and he hit and the other hit.
the act of contacting one thing with another
From this reading Through the fence, between the curling flower spaces, I could see them hitting.
the pursuit and killing or capture of wild animals regarded as a sport
From this reading Luster was hunting in the grass by the flower tree.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Through the fence, between the curling flower spaces, I could see them hitting.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Luster was hunting in the grass by the flower tree.
a quality that outshines the usual
From this reading Luster was hunting in the grass by the flower tree.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading Then they put the flag back and they went to the table, and he hit and the other hit.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading They took the flag out, and they were hitting.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Then they put the flag back and they went to the table, and he hit and the other hit.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Through the fence, between the curling flower spaces, I could see them hitting.
plural of “space” — the unlimited expanse in which everything is located
From this reading Through the fence, between the curling flower spaces, I could see them hitting.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading Then they put the flag back and they went to the table, and he hit and the other hit.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Through the fence, between the curling flower spaces, I could see them hitting.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Through the fence, between the curling flower spaces, I could see them hitting.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Then they put the flag back and they went to the table, and he hit and the other hit.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They were coming toward where the flag was and I went along the fence.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading Through the fence, between the curling flower spaces, I could see them hitting.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Then they put the flag back and they went to the table, and he hit and the other hit.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading They took the flag out, and they were hitting.
in the direction of
From this reading They were coming toward where the flag was and I went along the fence.
a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
From this reading Luster was hunting in the grass by the flower tree.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading They were coming toward where the flag was and I went along the fence.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading They were coming toward where the flag was and I went along the fence.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading They were coming toward where the flag was and I went along the fence.
in or at the place that
From this reading They were coming toward where the flag was and I went along the fence.
Chapter 1 of The sound and the fury by William Faulkner holds 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 411 sentences of The sound and the fury, unabridged, divided into 83 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The sound and the fury by William Faulkner exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 411 sentences, grouped into 83 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 83 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 83 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 sound and the fury by William Faulkner on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9292 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #75170 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #75170, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1859 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The sound and the fury section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 23 chapters of The sound and the fury 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 sound and the fury, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
