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.
Excellent devil! She hath taught him in a dream To make away his duchess and her husband. Brach. Sweetly shall I interpret this your dream. You are lodg'd within his arms who shall protect you From all the fevers of a jealous husband, From the poor envy of our phlegmatic duchess.
Chapter 1 of The White Devil is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 65/80 · 5 reading units · Lines 321–325
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.
the wife of a duke or a woman holding ducal title in her own right
From this reading “She hath taught him in a dream To make away his duchess and her husband.”
a feeling of grudging admiration and desire to have something that is possessed by another
From this reading “You are lodg'd within his arms who shall protect you From all the fevers of a jealous husband, From the poor envy of our phlegmatic duchess.”
plural of “fever” — a rise in the temperature of the body; frequently a symptom of infection
From this reading “You are lodg'd within his arms who shall protect you From all the fevers of a jealous husband, From the poor envy of our phlegmatic duchess.”
make sense of; assign a meaning to
From this reading “Sweetly shall I interpret this your dream.”
showing extreme cupidity; painfully desirous of another's advantages
From this reading “You are lodg'd within his arms who shall protect you From all the fevers of a jealous husband, From the poor envy of our phlegmatic duchess.”
showing little emotion
From this reading “You are lodg'd within his arms who shall protect you From all the fevers of a jealous husband, From the poor envy of our phlegmatic duchess.”
shield from danger, injury, destruction, or damage
From this reading “You are lodg'd within his arms who shall protect you From all the fevers of a jealous husband, From the poor envy of our phlegmatic duchess.”
in an affectionate or loving manner (“sweet” is sometimes a poetic or informal variant of “sweetly”)
From this reading “Sweetly shall I interpret this your dream.”
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 She hath taught him in a dream To make away his duchess and her husband.
(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 You are lodg'd within his arms who shall protect you From all the fevers of a jealous husband, From the poor envy of our phlegmatic duchess.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She hath taught him in a dream To make away his duchess and her husband.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading You are lodg'd within his arms who shall protect you From all the fevers of a jealous husband, From the poor envy of our phlegmatic duchess.
weapons considered collectively
From this reading You are lodg'd within his arms who shall protect you From all the fevers of a jealous husband, From the poor envy of our phlegmatic duchess.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading She hath taught him in a dream To make away his duchess and her husband.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Brach.
(Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions) chief spirit of evil and adversary of God; tempter of mankind; master of Hell
From this reading Excellent devil!
A series of thoughts, images, or emotions during sleep.
From this reading She hath taught him in a dream To make away his duchess and her husband.
the wife of a duke or a woman holding ducal title in her own right
From this reading She hath taught him in a dream To make away his duchess and her husband.
a feeling of grudging admiration and desire to have something that is possessed by another
From this reading You are lodg'd within his arms who shall protect you From all the fevers of a jealous husband, From the poor envy of our phlegmatic duchess.
very good; of the highest quality
From this reading Excellent devil!
plural of “fever” — a rise in the temperature of the body; frequently a symptom of infection
From this reading You are lodg'd within his arms who shall protect you From all the fevers of a jealous husband, From the poor envy of our phlegmatic duchess.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading You are lodg'd within his arms who shall protect you From all the fevers of a jealous husband, From the poor envy of our phlegmatic duchess.
an old form of “has”
From this reading She hath taught him in a dream To make away his duchess and her husband.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading She hath taught him in a dream To make away his duchess and her husband.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She hath taught him in a dream To make away his duchess and her husband.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading She hath taught him in a dream To make away his duchess and her husband.
a married man; a woman's partner in marriage
From this reading She hath taught him in a dream To make away his duchess and her husband.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Sweetly shall I interpret this your dream.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading She hath taught him in a dream To make away his duchess and her husband.
make sense of; assign a meaning to
From this reading Sweetly shall I interpret this your dream.
showing extreme cupidity; painfully desirous of another's advantages
From this reading You are lodg'd within his arms who shall protect you From all the fevers of a jealous husband, From the poor envy of our phlegmatic duchess.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You are lodg'd within his arms who shall protect you From all the fevers of a jealous husband, From the poor envy of our phlegmatic duchess.
engage in
From this reading She hath taught him in a dream To make away his duchess and her husband.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading You are lodg'd within his arms who shall protect you From all the fevers of a jealous husband, From the poor envy of our phlegmatic duchess.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading You are lodg'd within his arms who shall protect you From all the fevers of a jealous husband, From the poor envy of our phlegmatic duchess.
showing little emotion
From this reading You are lodg'd within his arms who shall protect you From all the fevers of a jealous husband, From the poor envy of our phlegmatic duchess.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading You are lodg'd within his arms who shall protect you From all the fevers of a jealous husband, From the poor envy of our phlegmatic duchess.
shield from danger, injury, destruction, or damage
From this reading You are lodg'd within his arms who shall protect you From all the fevers of a jealous husband, From the poor envy of our phlegmatic duchess.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading Sweetly shall I interpret this your dream.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She hath taught him in a dream To make away his duchess and her husband.
in an affectionate or loving manner (“sweet” is sometimes a poetic or informal variant of “sweetly”)
From this reading Sweetly shall I interpret this your dream.
inflected form of “teach” — impart skills or knowledge to
From this reading She hath taught him in a dream To make away his duchess and her husband.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading You are lodg'd within his arms who shall protect you From all the fevers of a jealous husband, From the poor envy of our phlegmatic duchess.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Sweetly shall I interpret this your dream.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading She hath taught him in a dream To make away his duchess and her husband.
which person or people
From this reading You are lodg'd within his arms who shall protect you From all the fevers of a jealous husband, From the poor envy of our phlegmatic duchess.
inside; before a period of time has passed
From this reading You are lodg'd within his arms who shall protect you From all the fevers of a jealous husband, From the poor envy of our phlegmatic duchess.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You are lodg'd within his arms who shall protect you From all the fevers of a jealous husband, From the poor envy of our phlegmatic duchess.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Sweetly shall I interpret this your dream.
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.
