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.
Vit. 'Tis the ornament of a weak fortune. Brach. In sooth, I 'll have it; nay, I will but change My jewel for your jewel. Flam.
Chapter 1 of The White Devil is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 59/80 · 5 reading units · Lines 291–295
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.
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
From this reading “In sooth, I 'll have it; nay, I will but change My jewel for your jewel.”
an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
From this reading “'Tis the ornament of a weak fortune.”
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading “In sooth, I 'll have it; nay, I will but change My jewel for your jewel.”
a precious or semiprecious stone incorporated into a piece of jewelry
From this reading “In sooth, I 'll have it; nay, I will but change My jewel for your jewel.”
an old word for “no”
From this reading “In sooth, I 'll have it; nay, I will but change My jewel for your jewel.”
make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.
From this reading “'Tis the ornament of a weak fortune.”
plural of “ti” — a light strong grey lustrous corrosion-resistant metallic element used in strong lightweight alloys (as for airplane parts); the main sources are rutile and ilmenite
From this reading “'Tis the ornament of a weak fortune.”
wanting in physical strength
From this reading “'Tis the ornament of a weak fortune.”
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 'Tis the ornament of a weak fortune.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Brach.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading In sooth, I 'll have it; nay, I will but change My jewel for your jewel.
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation
From this reading In sooth, I 'll have it; nay, I will but change My jewel for your jewel.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Flam.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading In sooth, I 'll have it; nay, I will but change My jewel for your jewel.
an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
From this reading 'Tis the ornament of a weak fortune.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading In sooth, I 'll have it; nay, I will but change My jewel for your jewel.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading In sooth, I 'll have it; nay, I will but change My jewel for your jewel.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In sooth, I 'll have it; nay, I will but change My jewel for your jewel.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading In sooth, I 'll have it; nay, I will but change My jewel for your jewel.
a precious or semiprecious stone incorporated into a piece of jewelry
From this reading In sooth, I 'll have it; nay, I will but change My jewel for your jewel.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading In sooth, I 'll have it; nay, I will but change My jewel for your jewel.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading In sooth, I 'll have it; nay, I will but change My jewel for your jewel.
an old word for “no”
From this reading In sooth, I 'll have it; nay, I will but change My jewel for your jewel.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading 'Tis the ornament of a weak fortune.
make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.
From this reading 'Tis the ornament of a weak fortune.
truth or reality
From this reading In sooth, I 'll have it; nay, I will but change My jewel for your jewel.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading 'Tis the ornament of a weak fortune.
plural of “ti” — a light strong grey lustrous corrosion-resistant metallic element used in strong lightweight alloys (as for airplane parts); the main sources are rutile and ilmenite
From this reading 'Tis the ornament of a weak fortune.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Vit.
wanting in physical strength
From this reading 'Tis the ornament of a weak fortune.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading In sooth, I 'll have it; nay, I will but change My jewel for your jewel.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading In sooth, I 'll have it; nay, I will but change My jewel for your jewel.
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.
