Chapter 1 of The White Devil is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The White Devil is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
You have acted certain murders here in Rome, Bloody and full of horror. Lodo. 'Las, they were flea-bitings: Why took they not my head then? Gas. O, my lord!
Chapter 1 of The White Devil is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 13/80 · 5 reading units · Lines 61–65
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.
past form of “act” — perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading “You have acted certain murders here in Rome, Bloody and full of horror.”
having or covered with or accompanied by blood
From this reading “You have acted certain murders here in Rome, Bloody and full of horror.”
definite but not specified or identified
From this reading “You have acted certain murders here in Rome, Bloody and full of horror.”
the state of matter distinguished from the solid and liquid states by: relatively low density and viscosity
From this reading “Gas.”
intense and profound fear
From this reading “You have acted certain murders here in Rome, Bloody and full of horror.”
plural of “la” — a white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily; occurs in rare earth minerals and is usually classified as a rare earth
From this reading “'Las, they were flea-bitings: Why took they not my head then?”
plural of “murder” — unlawful premeditated killing of a human being by a human being
From this reading “You have acted certain murders here in Rome, Bloody and full of horror.”
capital and largest city of Italy; on the Tiber; seat of the Roman Catholic Church; formerly the capital of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire
From this reading “You have acted certain murders here in Rome, Bloody and full of horror.”
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.
past form of “act” — perform an action, or work out or perform (an action)
From this reading You have acted certain murders here in Rome, Bloody and full of horror.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading You have acted certain murders here in Rome, Bloody and full of horror.
having or covered with or accompanied by blood
From this reading You have acted certain murders here in Rome, Bloody and full of horror.
definite but not specified or identified
From this reading You have acted certain murders here in Rome, Bloody and full of horror.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 'Las, they were flea-bitings: Why took they not my head then?
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading You have acted certain murders here in Rome, Bloody and full of horror.
the state of matter distinguished from the solid and liquid states by: relatively low density and viscosity
From this reading Gas.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading You have acted certain murders here in Rome, Bloody and full of horror.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading 'Las, they were flea-bitings: Why took they not my head then?
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading You have acted certain murders here in Rome, Bloody and full of horror.
intense and profound fear
From this reading You have acted certain murders here in Rome, Bloody and full of horror.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading You have acted certain murders here in Rome, Bloody and full of horror.
plural of “la” — a white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily; occurs in rare earth minerals and is usually classified as a rare earth
From this reading 'Las, they were flea-bitings: Why took they not my head then?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lodo.
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading O, my lord!
plural of “murder” — unlawful premeditated killing of a human being by a human being
From this reading You have acted certain murders here in Rome, Bloody and full of horror.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading 'Las, they were flea-bitings: Why took they not my head then?
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading 'Las, they were flea-bitings: Why took they not my head then?
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading O, my lord!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading You have acted certain murders here in Rome, Bloody and full of horror.
capital and largest city of Italy; on the Tiber; seat of the Roman Catholic Church; formerly the capital of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire
From this reading You have acted certain murders here in Rome, Bloody and full of horror.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading 'Las, they were flea-bitings: Why took they not my head then?
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading 'Las, they were flea-bitings: Why took they not my head then?
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading 'Las, they were flea-bitings: Why took they not my head then?
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading 'Las, they were flea-bitings: Why took they not my head then?
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading 'Las, they were flea-bitings: Why took they not my head then?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You have acted certain murders here in Rome, Bloody and full of horror.
Chapter 1 of The White Devil by John Webster holds 403 sentences, grouped into 81 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 403 sentences of The White Devil, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The White Devil by John Webster exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 403 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 White Devil by John Webster on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3118 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12915 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12915, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 259 minutes of reading across 624 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The White Devil section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of The White Devil 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 White Devil, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
