Chapter 1 of Washington Square Plays is here in full — 288 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of Washington Square Plays is here in full — 288 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Volume XX, The Drama League Series of Plays 1. The Clod. By Lewis Beach 2. Eugenically Speaking. By Edward Goodman 3.
Chapter 1 of Washington Square Plays is here in full — 288 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/57 · 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.
an area of sand sloping down to the water of a sea or lake
From this reading “By Lewis Beach 2.”
a dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage
From this reading “Volume XX, The Drama League Series of Plays 1.”
United States clarinetist who in 1934 formed a big band (including black as well as white musicians) and introduced a kind of jazz known as swing (1909-1986)
From this reading “By Edward Goodman 3.”
an association of sports teams that organizes matches for its members
From this reading “Volume XX, The Drama League Series of Plays 1.”
United States rock star singer and pianist (born in 1935)
From this reading “By Lewis Beach 2.”
plural of “play” — a dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage
From this reading “Volume XX, The Drama League Series of Plays 1.”
similar things placed in order or happening one after another
From this reading “Volume XX, The Drama League Series of Plays 1.”
the amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an object
From this reading “Volume XX, The Drama League Series of Plays 1.”
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 Volume XX, The Drama League Series of Plays 1.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By Lewis Beach 2.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By Edward Goodman 3.
an area of sand sloping down to the water of a sea or lake
From this reading By Lewis Beach 2.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By Lewis Beach 2.
a compact mass
From this reading The Clod.
a dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage
From this reading Volume XX, The Drama League Series of Plays 1.
King of England and Ireland in 1936; his marriage to Wallis Warfield Simpson created a constitutional crisis leading to his abdication (1894-1972)
From this reading By Edward Goodman 3.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Eugenically Speaking.
United States clarinetist who in 1934 formed a big band (including black as well as white musicians) and introduced a kind of jazz known as swing (1909-1986)
From this reading By Edward Goodman 3.
an association of sports teams that organizes matches for its members
From this reading Volume XX, The Drama League Series of Plays 1.
United States rock star singer and pianist (born in 1935)
From this reading By Lewis Beach 2.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Volume XX, The Drama League Series of Plays 1.
plural of “play” — a dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage
From this reading Volume XX, The Drama League Series of Plays 1.
similar things placed in order or happening one after another
From this reading Volume XX, The Drama League Series of Plays 1.
the utterance of intelligible speech
From this reading Eugenically Speaking.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Volume XX, The Drama League Series of Plays 1.
the amount of 3-dimensional space occupied by an object
From this reading Volume XX, The Drama League Series of Plays 1.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nineteen and one
From this reading Volume XX, The Drama League Series of Plays 1.
Chapter 1 of Washington Square Plays by Lewis Beach holds 288 sentences, grouped into 58 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 288 sentences of Washington Square Plays, unabridged, divided into 58 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of Washington Square Plays by Lewis Beach exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 288 sentences, grouped into 58 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 58 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 58 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 Washington Square Plays by Lewis Beach on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1815 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3068 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3068, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 151 minutes of reading across 363 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Washington Square Plays section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of Washington Square Plays 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 Washington Square Plays, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
