Chapter 1 of The White Devil is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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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.
Zanche brings out a carpet, spreads it, and lays on it two fair cushions. Enter Cornelia listening, but unperceived. Brach. Give credit: I could wish time would stand still, And never end this interview, this hour; But all delight doth itself soon'st devour. Let me into your bosom, happy lady, Pour out, instead of eloquence, my vows.
Chapter 1 of The White Devil is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 54/80 · 5 reading units · Lines 266–270
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.
floor covering consisting of a piece of thick heavy fabric (usually with nap or pile)
From this reading “Zanche brings out a carpet, spreads it, and lays on it two fair cushions.”
plural of “cushion” — a mechanical damper; absorbs energy of sudden impulses
From this reading “Zanche brings out a carpet, spreads it, and lays on it two fair cushions.”
destroy completely
From this reading “Give credit: I could wish time would stand still, And never end this interview, this hour; But all delight doth itself soon'st devour.”
Fluent, persuasive, and graceful speaking or writing. (Sự hùng biện, tài ăn nói lưu loát.)
From this reading “Let me into your bosom, happy lady, Pour out, instead of eloquence, my vows.”
plural of “lay” — a narrative song with a recurrent refrain
From this reading “Zanche brings out a carpet, spreads it, and lays on it two fair cushions.”
cause to run
From this reading “Let me into your bosom, happy lady, Pour out, instead of eloquence, my vows.”
plural of “spread” — process or result of distributing or extending over a wide expanse of space
From this reading “Zanche brings out a carpet, spreads it, and lays on it two fair cushions.”
plural of “vow” — a solemn pledge (to oneself or to another or to a deity) to do something or to behave in a certain manner
From this reading “Let me into your bosom, happy lady, Pour out, instead of eloquence, my vows.”
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 Zanche brings out a carpet, spreads it, and lays on it two fair cushions.
(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 Give credit: I could wish time would stand still, And never end this interview, this hour; But all delight doth itself soon'st devour.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Zanche brings out a carpet, spreads it, and lays on it two fair cushions.
the chest considered as the place where secret thoughts are kept
From this reading Let me into your bosom, happy lady, Pour out, instead of eloquence, my vows.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Brach.
third-person singular of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading Zanche brings out a carpet, spreads it, and lays on it two fair cushions.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Enter Cornelia listening, but unperceived.
floor covering consisting of a piece of thick heavy fabric (usually with nap or pile)
From this reading Zanche brings out a carpet, spreads it, and lays on it two fair cushions.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Enter Cornelia listening, but unperceived.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading Give credit: I could wish time would stand still, And never end this interview, this hour; But all delight doth itself soon'st devour.
approval
From this reading Give credit: I could wish time would stand still, And never end this interview, this hour; But all delight doth itself soon'st devour.
plural of “cushion” — a mechanical damper; absorbs energy of sudden impulses
From this reading Zanche brings out a carpet, spreads it, and lays on it two fair cushions.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading Give credit: I could wish time would stand still, And never end this interview, this hour; But all delight doth itself soon'st devour.
destroy completely
From this reading Give credit: I could wish time would stand still, And never end this interview, this hour; But all delight doth itself soon'st devour.
an old form of “does”
From this reading Give credit: I could wish time would stand still, And never end this interview, this hour; But all delight doth itself soon'st devour.
Fluent, persuasive, and graceful speaking or writing. (Sự hùng biện, tài ăn nói lưu loát.)
From this reading Let me into your bosom, happy lady, Pour out, instead of eloquence, my vows.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading Give credit: I could wish time would stand still, And never end this interview, this hour; But all delight doth itself soon'st devour.
to come or go into
From this reading Enter Cornelia listening, but unperceived.
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading Zanche brings out a carpet, spreads it, and lays on it two fair cushions.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading Give credit: I could wish time would stand still, And never end this interview, this hour; But all delight doth itself soon'st devour.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading Let me into your bosom, happy lady, Pour out, instead of eloquence, my vows.
a period of time equal to 1/24th of a day
From this reading Give credit: I could wish time would stand still, And never end this interview, this hour; But all delight doth itself soon'st devour.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Give credit: I could wish time would stand still, And never end this interview, this hour; But all delight doth itself soon'st devour.
in place of, or as an alternative to
From this reading Let me into your bosom, happy lady, Pour out, instead of eloquence, my vows.
conduct an interview in television, newspaper, and radio reporting
From this reading Give credit: I could wish time would stand still, And never end this interview, this hour; But all delight doth itself soon'st devour.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Let me into your bosom, happy lady, Pour out, instead of eloquence, my vows.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Zanche brings out a carpet, spreads it, and lays on it two fair cushions.
used when the thing doing the action is also its object
From this reading Give credit: I could wish time would stand still, And never end this interview, this hour; But all delight doth itself soon'st devour.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading Let me into your bosom, happy lady, Pour out, instead of eloquence, my vows.
plural of “lay” — a narrative song with a recurrent refrain
From this reading Zanche brings out a carpet, spreads it, and lays on it two fair cushions.
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Let me into your bosom, happy lady, Pour out, instead of eloquence, my vows.
the act of hearing attentively
From this reading Enter Cornelia listening, but unperceived.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Let me into your bosom, happy lady, Pour out, instead of eloquence, my vows.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Let me into your bosom, happy lady, Pour out, instead of eloquence, my vows.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Give credit: I could wish time would stand still, And never end this interview, this hour; But all delight doth itself soon'st devour.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Let me into your bosom, happy lady, Pour out, instead of eloquence, my vows.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Zanche brings out a carpet, spreads it, and lays on it two fair cushions.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Zanche brings out a carpet, spreads it, and lays on it two fair cushions.
cause to run
From this reading Let me into your bosom, happy lady, Pour out, instead of eloquence, my vows.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Give credit: I could wish time would stand still, And never end this interview, this hour; But all delight doth itself soon'st devour.
plural of “spread” — process or result of distributing or extending over a wide expanse of space
From this reading Zanche brings out a carpet, spreads it, and lays on it two fair cushions.
be standing; be upright
From this reading Give credit: I could wish time would stand still, And never end this interview, this hour; But all delight doth itself soon'st devour.
not in physical motion
From this reading Give credit: I could wish time would stand still, And never end this interview, this hour; But all delight doth itself soon'st devour.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Give credit: I could wish time would stand still, And never end this interview, this hour; But all delight doth itself soon'st devour.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading Give credit: I could wish time would stand still, And never end this interview, this hour; But all delight doth itself soon'st devour.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading Zanche brings out a carpet, spreads it, and lays on it two fair cushions.
not perceived or commented on
From this reading Enter Cornelia listening, but unperceived.
plural of “vow” — a solemn pledge (to oneself or to another or to a deity) to do something or to behave in a certain manner
From this reading Let me into your bosom, happy lady, Pour out, instead of eloquence, my vows.
hope for; have a wish
From this reading Give credit: I could wish time would stand still, And never end this interview, this hour; But all delight doth itself soon'st devour.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading Give credit: I could wish time would stand still, And never end this interview, this hour; But all delight doth itself soon'st devour.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Let me into your bosom, happy lady, Pour out, instead of eloquence, my vows.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Zanche brings out a carpet, spreads it, and lays on it two fair cushions.
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.
