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.
Corn. O, thou dost make my brow bend to the earth. Sooner than nature! See the curse of children! In life they keep us frequently in tears; And in the cold grave leave us in pale fears.
Chapter 1 of The White Devil is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 69/80 · 5 reading units · Lines 341–345
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.
form a curve
From this reading “O, thou dost make my brow bend to the earth.”
the part of the face above the eyes
From this reading “O, thou dost make my brow bend to the earth.”
tall annual cereal grass bearing kernels on large ears: widely cultivated in America in many varieties; the principal cereal in Mexico and Central and South America since pre-Columbian times
From this reading “Corn.”
profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger
From this reading “See the curse of children!”
an old form of “do”, used with “thou”
From this reading “O, thou dost make my brow bend to the earth.”
plural of “fear” — an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight)
From this reading “In life they keep us frequently in tears; And in the cold grave leave us in pale fears.”
many times at short intervals
From this reading “In life they keep us frequently in tears; And in the cold grave leave us in pale fears.”
comparatives of “soon” or “early”
From this reading “Sooner than nature!”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading In life they keep us frequently in tears; And in the cold grave leave us in pale fears.
form a curve
From this reading O, thou dost make my brow bend to the earth.
the part of the face above the eyes
From this reading O, thou dost make my brow bend to the earth.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading See the curse of children!
having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration
From this reading In life they keep us frequently in tears; And in the cold grave leave us in pale fears.
tall annual cereal grass bearing kernels on large ears: widely cultivated in America in many varieties; the principal cereal in Mexico and Central and South America since pre-Columbian times
From this reading Corn.
profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger
From this reading See the curse of children!
an old form of “do”, used with “thou”
From this reading O, thou dost make my brow bend to the earth.
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading O, thou dost make my brow bend to the earth.
plural of “fear” — an emotion experienced in anticipation of some specific pain or danger (usually accompanied by a desire to flee or fight)
From this reading In life they keep us frequently in tears; And in the cold grave leave us in pale fears.
many times at short intervals
From this reading In life they keep us frequently in tears; And in the cold grave leave us in pale fears.
death of a person
From this reading In life they keep us frequently in tears; And in the cold grave leave us in pale fears.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In life they keep us frequently in tears; And in the cold grave leave us in pale fears.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading In life they keep us frequently in tears; And in the cold grave leave us in pale fears.
go away from a place
From this reading In life they keep us frequently in tears; And in the cold grave leave us in pale fears.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading In life they keep us frequently in tears; And in the cold grave leave us in pale fears.
engage in
From this reading O, thou dost make my brow bend to the earth.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading O, thou dost make my brow bend to the earth.
the essential qualities or characteristics by which something is recognized
From this reading Sooner than nature!
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading O, thou dost make my brow bend to the earth.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading See the curse of children!
very light colored; highly diluted with white
From this reading In life they keep us frequently in tears; And in the cold grave leave us in pale fears.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading See the curse of children!
comparatives of “soon” or “early”
From this reading Sooner than nature!
the process of shedding tears (usually accompanied by sobs or other inarticulate sounds)
From this reading In life they keep us frequently in tears; And in the cold grave leave us in pale fears.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Sooner than nature!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading O, thou dost make my brow bend to the earth.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading In life they keep us frequently in tears; And in the cold grave leave us in pale fears.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading O, thou dost make my brow bend to the earth.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading O, thou dost make my brow bend to the earth.
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading In life they keep us frequently in tears; And in the cold grave leave us in pale fears.
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.
