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.
Lodo. I am ever bound to you. This is the world's alms; pray make use of it. Great men sell sheep, thus to be cut in pieces, When first they have shorn them bare, and sold their fleeces. [Exeunt SCENE II Enter Brachiano, Camillo, Flamineo, Vittoria Brach.
Chapter 1 of The White Devil is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 17/80 · 5 reading units · Lines 81–85
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.
money or goods contributed to the poor
From this reading “This is the world's alms; pray make use of it.”
completely unclothed
From this reading “Great men sell sheep, thus to be cut in pieces, When first they have shorn them bare, and sold their fleeces.”
plural of “fleece” — the wool of a sheep or similar animal
From this reading “Great men sell sheep, thus to be cut in pieces, When first they have shorn them bare, and sold their fleeces.”
exchange or deliver for money or its equivalent
From this reading “Great men sell sheep, thus to be cut in pieces, When first they have shorn them bare, and sold their fleeces.”
woolly usually horned ruminant mammal related to the goat
From this reading “Great men sell sheep, thus to be cut in pieces, When first they have shorn them bare, and sold their fleeces.”
having the hair or wool cut or clipped off as if with shears or clippers
From this reading “Great men sell sheep, thus to be cut in pieces, When first they have shorn them bare, and sold their fleeces.”
disposed of to a purchaser
From this reading “Great men sell sheep, thus to be cut in pieces, When first they have shorn them bare, and sold their fleeces.”
possessive form of “world” — everything that exists anywhere
From this reading “This is the world's alms; pray make use of it.”
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.
money or goods contributed to the poor
From this reading This is the world's alms; pray make use of it.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading I am ever bound to you.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Great men sell sheep, thus to be cut in pieces, When first they have shorn them bare, and sold their fleeces.
completely unclothed
From this reading Great men sell sheep, thus to be cut in pieces, When first they have shorn them bare, and sold their fleeces.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Great men sell sheep, thus to be cut in pieces, When first they have shorn them bare, and sold their fleeces.
confined by bonds
From this reading I am ever bound to you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [Exeunt SCENE II Enter Brachiano, Camillo, Flamineo, Vittoria Brach.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [Exeunt SCENE II Enter Brachiano, Camillo, Flamineo, Vittoria Brach.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [Exeunt SCENE II Enter Brachiano, Camillo, Flamineo, Vittoria Brach.
separate with or as if with an instrument
From this reading Great men sell sheep, thus to be cut in pieces, When first they have shorn them bare, and sold their fleeces.
to come or go into
From this reading [Exeunt SCENE II Enter Brachiano, Camillo, Flamineo, Vittoria Brach.
at any time
From this reading I am ever bound to you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [Exeunt SCENE II Enter Brachiano, Camillo, Flamineo, Vittoria Brach.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Great men sell sheep, thus to be cut in pieces, When first they have shorn them bare, and sold their fleeces.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [Exeunt SCENE II Enter Brachiano, Camillo, Flamineo, Vittoria Brach.
plural of “fleece” — the wool of a sheep or similar animal
From this reading Great men sell sheep, thus to be cut in pieces, When first they have shorn them bare, and sold their fleeces.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading Great men sell sheep, thus to be cut in pieces, When first they have shorn them bare, and sold their fleeces.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Great men sell sheep, thus to be cut in pieces, When first they have shorn them bare, and sold their fleeces.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I am ever bound to you.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading [Exeunt SCENE II Enter Brachiano, Camillo, Flamineo, Vittoria Brach.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Great men sell sheep, thus to be cut in pieces, When first they have shorn them bare, and sold their fleeces.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading This is the world's alms; pray make use of it.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading This is the world's alms; pray make use of it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lodo.
engage in
From this reading This is the world's alms; pray make use of it.
the force of workers available
From this reading Great men sell sheep, thus to be cut in pieces, When first they have shorn them bare, and sold their fleeces.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading This is the world's alms; pray make use of it.
plural of “piece” — a separate part of a whole
From this reading Great men sell sheep, thus to be cut in pieces, When first they have shorn them bare, and sold their fleeces.
address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
From this reading This is the world's alms; pray make use of it.
the place where some action occurs
From this reading [Exeunt SCENE II Enter Brachiano, Camillo, Flamineo, Vittoria Brach.
exchange or deliver for money or its equivalent
From this reading Great men sell sheep, thus to be cut in pieces, When first they have shorn them bare, and sold their fleeces.
woolly usually horned ruminant mammal related to the goat
From this reading Great men sell sheep, thus to be cut in pieces, When first they have shorn them bare, and sold their fleeces.
having the hair or wool cut or clipped off as if with shears or clippers
From this reading Great men sell sheep, thus to be cut in pieces, When first they have shorn them bare, and sold their fleeces.
disposed of to a purchaser
From this reading Great men sell sheep, thus to be cut in pieces, When first they have shorn them bare, and sold their fleeces.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading This is the world's alms; pray make use of it.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Great men sell sheep, thus to be cut in pieces, When first they have shorn them bare, and sold their fleeces.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Great men sell sheep, thus to be cut in pieces, When first they have shorn them bare, and sold their fleeces.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Great men sell sheep, thus to be cut in pieces, When first they have shorn them bare, and sold their fleeces.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This is the world's alms; pray make use of it.
(used to introduce a logical conclusion) from that fact or reason or as a result
From this reading Great men sell sheep, thus to be cut in pieces, When first they have shorn them bare, and sold their fleeces.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I am ever bound to you.
the act of using
From this reading This is the world's alms; pray make use of it.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [Exeunt SCENE II Enter Brachiano, Camillo, Flamineo, Vittoria Brach.
at the time that
From this reading Great men sell sheep, thus to be cut in pieces, When first they have shorn them bare, and sold their fleeces.
possessive form of “world” — everything that exists anywhere
From this reading This is the world's alms; pray make use of it.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I am ever bound to you.
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.
