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.
I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup. Corn. What! because we are poor Shall we be vicious? Flam. Pray, what means have you To keep me from the galleys, or the gallows?
Chapter 1 of The White Devil is here in full — 403 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 77/80 · 5 reading units · Lines 381–385
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.
having made preparations
From this reading “I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.”
plural of “galley” — a large medieval vessel with a single deck propelled by sails and oars with guns at stern and prow; a complement of 1,000 men; used mainly in the Mediterranean for war and trading
From this reading “Pray, what means have you To keep me from the galleys, or the gallows?”
an instrument of execution consisting of a wooden frame from which a condemned person is executed by hanging
From this reading “Pray, what means have you To keep me from the galleys, or the gallows?”
past form of “hoard” — save up as for future use
From this reading “I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.”
possessive form of “lord” — terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading “I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.”
activity involved in maintaining something in good working order
From this reading “I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.”
support consisting of metal loops into which rider's feet go
From this reading “I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.”
(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
From this reading “What! because we are poor Shall we be vicious?”
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.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading What! because we are poor Shall we be vicious?
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading What! because we are poor Shall we be vicious?
have
From this reading I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.
the hair growing on the lower part of a man's face
From this reading I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.
for the reason that
From this reading What! because we are poor Shall we be vicious?
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.
having made preparations
From this reading I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.
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 I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Pray, what means have you To keep me from the galleys, or the gallows?
plural of “galley” — a large medieval vessel with a single deck propelled by sails and oars with guns at stern and prow; a complement of 1,000 men; used mainly in the Mediterranean for war and trading
From this reading Pray, what means have you To keep me from the galleys, or the gallows?
an instrument of execution consisting of a wooden frame from which a condemned person is executed by hanging
From this reading Pray, what means have you To keep me from the galleys, or the gallows?
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.
past form of “hoard” — save up as for future use
From this reading I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading Pray, what means have you To keep me from the galleys, or the gallows?
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.
a position on a scale of intensity or amount or quality
From this reading I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.
plural of “lie” — a statement that deviates from or perverts the truth
From this reading I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.
possessive form of “lord” — terms referring to the Judeo-Christian God
From this reading I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.
activity involved in maintaining something in good working order
From this reading I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.
the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field
From this reading I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Pray, what means have you To keep me from the galleys, or the gallows?
thing or person that acts to produce a particular effect or achieve an end
From this reading Pray, what means have you To keep me from the galleys, or the gallows?
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Pray, what means have you To keep me from the galleys, or the gallows?
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading What! because we are poor Shall we be vicious?
address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
From this reading Pray, what means have you To keep me from the galleys, or the gallows?
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading What! because we are poor Shall we be vicious?
support consisting of metal loops into which rider's feet go
From this reading I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Pray, what means have you To keep me from the galleys, or the gallows?
(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
From this reading What! because we are poor Shall we be vicious?
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading What! because we are poor Shall we be vicious?
the state of being rich and affluent; having a plentiful supply of material goods and money
From this reading I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading What! because we are poor Shall we be vicious?
in or at the place that
From this reading I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I would fain know where lies the mass of wealth Which you have hoarded for my maintenance, That I may bear my beard out of the level Of my lord's stirrup.
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.
