Chapter 1 of Verses is here in full — 165 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Verses is here in full — 165 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
VERSES. VERSES. “_Be friendly, pray, to these fancies of mine._” --BETTINE BRENTANO. NEWPORT, R. I., C. E. HAMMETT, JR., 1878. Sonnets.
Chapter 1 of Verses is here in full — 165 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
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.
plural of “fancy” — something many people believe that is false
From this reading ““_Be friendly, pray, to these fancies of mine._” --BETTINE BRENTANO.”
characteristic of or befitting a friend
From this reading ““_Be friendly, pray, to these fancies of mine._” --BETTINE BRENTANO.”
United States writer of hard-boiled detective fiction (1894-1961)
From this reading “NEWPORT, R. I., C. E. HAMMETT, JR., 1878.”
the one or ones belonging to the person speaking
From this reading ““_Be friendly, pray, to these fancies of mine._” --BETTINE BRENTANO.”
a port city in southeastern Wales
From this reading “NEWPORT, R. I., C. E. HAMMETT, JR., 1878.”
address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
From this reading ““_Be friendly, pray, to these fancies of mine._” --BETTINE BRENTANO.”
plural of “sonnet” — a verse form consisting of 14 lines with a fixed rhyme scheme
From this reading “Sonnets.”
plural of “verse” — literature in metrical form
From this reading “VERSES.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NEWPORT, R. I., C. E. HAMMETT, JR., 1878.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading “_Be friendly, pray, to these fancies of mine._” --BETTINE BRENTANO.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “_Be friendly, pray, to these fancies of mine._” --BETTINE BRENTANO.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “_Be friendly, pray, to these fancies of mine._” --BETTINE BRENTANO.
a degree on the centigrade scale of temperature
From this reading NEWPORT, R. I., C. E. HAMMETT, JR., 1878.
a fat-soluble vitamin that is essential for normal reproduction; an important antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals in the body
From this reading NEWPORT, R. I., C. E. HAMMETT, JR., 1878.
plural of “fancy” — something many people believe that is false
From this reading “_Be friendly, pray, to these fancies of mine._” --BETTINE BRENTANO.
characteristic of or befitting a friend
From this reading “_Be friendly, pray, to these fancies of mine._” --BETTINE BRENTANO.
United States writer of hard-boiled detective fiction (1894-1961)
From this reading NEWPORT, R. I., C. E. HAMMETT, JR., 1878.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading NEWPORT, R. I., C. E. HAMMETT, JR., 1878.
a son who has the same first name as his father
From this reading NEWPORT, R. I., C. E. HAMMETT, JR., 1878.
the one or ones belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “_Be friendly, pray, to these fancies of mine._” --BETTINE BRENTANO.
a port city in southeastern Wales
From this reading NEWPORT, R. I., C. E. HAMMETT, JR., 1878.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading “_Be friendly, pray, to these fancies of mine._” --BETTINE BRENTANO.
address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
From this reading “_Be friendly, pray, to these fancies of mine._” --BETTINE BRENTANO.
a unit of radiation exposure; the dose of ionizing radiation that will produce 1 electrostatic unit of electricity in 1 cc of dry air
From this reading NEWPORT, R. I., C. E. HAMMETT, JR., 1878.
plural of “sonnet” — a verse form consisting of 14 lines with a fixed rhyme scheme
From this reading Sonnets.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading “_Be friendly, pray, to these fancies of mine._” --BETTINE BRENTANO.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “_Be friendly, pray, to these fancies of mine._” --BETTINE BRENTANO.
plural of “verse” — literature in metrical form
From this reading VERSES.
Chapter 1 of Verses by Edith Wharton holds 165 sentences, grouped into 33 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 165 sentences of Verses, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Verses by Edith Wharton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 165 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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 Verses by Edith Wharton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 165 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #55807 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #55807, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 13 minutes of reading across 33 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Verses section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 1 chapters of Verses 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 Verses, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
