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.
So, now you are safe. Ha, ha, ha, thou entanglest thyself in thine own work like a silkworm. [Enter Brachiano.] Come, sister, darkness hides your blush. Women are like cursed dogs: civility keeps them tied all daytime, but they are let loose at midnight; then they do most good, or most mischief. My lord, 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 53/80 · 5 reading units · Lines 261–265
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.
turn red, as if in embarrassment or shame
From this reading “[Enter Brachiano.] Come, sister, darkness hides your blush.”
formal or perfunctory politeness
From this reading “Women are like cursed dogs: civility keeps them tied all daytime, but they are let loose at midnight; then they do most good, or most mischief.”
deserving a curse; sometimes used as an intensifier
From this reading “Women are like cursed dogs: civility keeps them tied all daytime, but they are let loose at midnight; then they do most good, or most mischief.”
the time after sunrise and before sunset while it is light outside
From this reading “Women are like cursed dogs: civility keeps them tied all daytime, but they are let loose at midnight; then they do most good, or most mischief.”
plural of “hide” — the dressed skin of an animal (especially a large animal)
From this reading “[Enter Brachiano.] Come, sister, darkness hides your blush.”
plural of “keep” — the financial means whereby one lives
From this reading “Women are like cursed dogs: civility keeps them tied all daytime, but they are let loose at midnight; then they do most good, or most mischief.”
reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or annoyance in others
From this reading “Women are like cursed dogs: civility keeps them tied all daytime, but they are let loose at midnight; then they do most good, or most mischief.”
the commercially bred hairless white caterpillar of the domestic silkworm moth which spins a cocoon that can be processed to yield silk fiber; the principal source of commercial silk
From this reading “Ha, ha, ha, thou entanglest thyself in thine own work like a silkworm.”
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.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Ha, ha, ha, thou entanglest thyself in thine own work like a silkworm.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Women are like cursed dogs: civility keeps them tied all daytime, but they are let loose at midnight; then they do most good, or most mischief.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading So, now you are safe.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Women are like cursed dogs: civility keeps them tied all daytime, but they are let loose at midnight; then they do most good, or most mischief.
turn red, as if in embarrassment or shame
From this reading [Enter Brachiano.] Come, sister, darkness hides your blush.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [Enter Brachiano.] Come, sister, darkness hides your blush.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Women are like cursed dogs: civility keeps them tied all daytime, but they are let loose at midnight; then they do most good, or most mischief.
formal or perfunctory politeness
From this reading Women are like cursed dogs: civility keeps them tied all daytime, but they are let loose at midnight; then they do most good, or most mischief.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading [Enter Brachiano.] Come, sister, darkness hides your blush.
deserving a curse; sometimes used as an intensifier
From this reading Women are like cursed dogs: civility keeps them tied all daytime, but they are let loose at midnight; then they do most good, or most mischief.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading [Enter Brachiano.] Come, sister, darkness hides your blush.
the time after sunrise and before sunset while it is light outside
From this reading Women are like cursed dogs: civility keeps them tied all daytime, but they are let loose at midnight; then they do most good, or most mischief.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Women are like cursed dogs: civility keeps them tied all daytime, but they are let loose at midnight; then they do most good, or most mischief.
plural of “dog” — a member of the genus Canis (probably descended from the common wolf) that has been domesticated by man since prehistoric times; occurs in many breeds
From this reading Women are like cursed dogs: civility keeps them tied all daytime, but they are let loose at midnight; then they do most good, or most mischief.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ha, ha, ha, thou entanglest thyself in thine own work like a silkworm.
to come or go into
From this reading [Enter Brachiano.] Come, sister, darkness hides your blush.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading Women are like cursed dogs: civility keeps them tied all daytime, but they are let loose at midnight; then they do most good, or most mischief.
(astronomy) the angular distance of a celestial point measured westward along the celestial equator from the zenith crossing; the right ascension for an observer at a particular location and time of day
From this reading Ha, ha, ha, thou entanglest thyself in thine own work like a silkworm.
plural of “hide” — the dressed skin of an animal (especially a large animal)
From this reading [Enter Brachiano.] Come, sister, darkness hides your blush.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Ha, ha, ha, thou entanglest thyself in thine own work like a silkworm.
plural of “keep” — the financial means whereby one lives
From this reading Women are like cursed dogs: civility keeps them tied all daytime, but they are let loose at midnight; then they do most good, or most mischief.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Women are like cursed dogs: civility keeps them tied all daytime, but they are let loose at midnight; then they do most good, or most mischief.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Ha, ha, ha, thou entanglest thyself in thine own work like a silkworm.
not compact or dense in structure or arrangement
From this reading Women are like cursed dogs: civility keeps them tied all daytime, but they are let loose at midnight; then they do most good, or most mischief.
terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading My lord, my lord!
12 o'clock at night; the middle of the night
From this reading Women are like cursed dogs: civility keeps them tied all daytime, but they are let loose at midnight; then they do most good, or most mischief.
reckless or malicious behavior that causes discomfort or annoyance in others
From this reading Women are like cursed dogs: civility keeps them tied all daytime, but they are let loose at midnight; then they do most good, or most mischief.
used to form the superlative
From this reading Women are like cursed dogs: civility keeps them tied all daytime, but they are let loose at midnight; then they do most good, or most mischief.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My lord, my lord!
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading So, now you are safe.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Women are like cursed dogs: civility keeps them tied all daytime, but they are let loose at midnight; then they do most good, or most mischief.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading Ha, ha, ha, thou entanglest thyself in thine own work like a silkworm.
free from danger or the risk of harm
From this reading So, now you are safe.
the commercially bred hairless white caterpillar of the domestic silkworm moth which spins a cocoon that can be processed to yield silk fiber; the principal source of commercial silk
From this reading Ha, ha, ha, thou entanglest thyself in thine own work like a silkworm.
a female person who has the same parents as another person
From this reading [Enter Brachiano.] Come, sister, darkness hides your blush.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading So, now you are safe.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Women are like cursed dogs: civility keeps them tied all daytime, but they are let loose at midnight; then they do most good, or most mischief.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading Women are like cursed dogs: civility keeps them tied all daytime, but they are let loose at midnight; then they do most good, or most mischief.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Women are like cursed dogs: civility keeps them tied all daytime, but they are let loose at midnight; then they do most good, or most mischief.
an old word for “yours”
From this reading Ha, ha, ha, thou entanglest thyself in thine own work like a silkworm.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading Ha, ha, ha, thou entanglest thyself in thine own work like a silkworm.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ha, ha, ha, thou entanglest thyself in thine own work like a silkworm.
bound or secured closely
From this reading Women are like cursed dogs: civility keeps them tied all daytime, but they are let loose at midnight; then they do most good, or most mischief.
plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
From this reading Women are like cursed dogs: civility keeps them tied all daytime, but they are let loose at midnight; then they do most good, or most mischief.
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading Ha, ha, ha, thou entanglest thyself in thine own work like a silkworm.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading So, now you are safe.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading [Enter Brachiano.] Come, sister, darkness hides your blush.
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.
