Chapter 4 of A Book of Burlesques is here in full — 385 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of A Book of Burlesques is here in full — 385 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
In all humility of spirit I set it down. The words burn the paper; the fact haunts me like an evil dream. I yielded to that soulless and abominable creature. I _kissed her_.... And then she laughed, making a mock of me in my weakness, burning me with the hot iron of her scorn, piercing my heart with the daggers of her reviling.
Chapter 4 of A Book of Burlesques is here in full — 385 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/77 · 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.
unequivocally detestable
From this reading “I yielded to that soulless and abominable creature.”
plural of “dagger” — a short knife with a pointed blade used for piercing or stabbing
From this reading “And then she laughed, making a mock of me in my weakness, burning me with the hot iron of her scorn, piercing my heart with the daggers of her reviling.”
plural of “haunt” — a frequently visited place
From this reading “The words burn the paper; the fact haunts me like an evil dream.”
a disposition to be humble; a lack of false pride
From this reading “In all humility of spirit I set it down.”
treat with contempt
From this reading “And then she laughed, making a mock of me in my weakness, burning me with the hot iron of her scorn, piercing my heart with the daggers of her reviling.”
having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions
From this reading “And then she laughed, making a mock of me in my weakness, burning me with the hot iron of her scorn, piercing my heart with the daggers of her reviling.”
lacking sensitivity or the capacity for deep feeling
From this reading “I yielded to that soulless and abominable creature.”
past form of “yield” — be the cause or source of
From this reading “I yielded to that soulless and abominable creature.”
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 And then she laughed, making a mock of me in my weakness, burning me with the hot iron of her scorn, piercing my heart with the daggers of her reviling.
unequivocally detestable
From this reading I yielded to that soulless and abominable creature.
(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 In all humility of spirit I set it down.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading The words burn the paper; the fact haunts me like an evil dream.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I yielded to that soulless and abominable creature.
To consume or be consumed by fire.
From this reading The words burn the paper; the fact haunts me like an evil dream.
the act of burning something
From this reading And then she laughed, making a mock of me in my weakness, burning me with the hot iron of her scorn, piercing my heart with the daggers of her reviling.
a living organism characterized by voluntary movement
From this reading I yielded to that soulless and abominable creature.
plural of “dagger” — a short knife with a pointed blade used for piercing or stabbing
From this reading And then she laughed, making a mock of me in my weakness, burning me with the hot iron of her scorn, piercing my heart with the daggers of her reviling.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading In all humility of spirit I set it down.
A series of thoughts, images, or emotions during sleep.
From this reading The words burn the paper; the fact haunts me like an evil dream.
morally objectionable behavior
From this reading The words burn the paper; the fact haunts me like an evil dream.
a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading The words burn the paper; the fact haunts me like an evil dream.
plural of “haunt” — a frequently visited place
From this reading The words burn the paper; the fact haunts me like an evil dream.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading And then she laughed, making a mock of me in my weakness, burning me with the hot iron of her scorn, piercing my heart with the daggers of her reviling.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading I _kissed her_....
used of physical heat; having a high or higher than desirable temperature or giving off heat or feeling or causing a sensation of heat or burning
From this reading And then she laughed, making a mock of me in my weakness, burning me with the hot iron of her scorn, piercing my heart with the daggers of her reviling.
a disposition to be humble; a lack of false pride
From this reading In all humility of spirit I set it down.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading In all humility of spirit I set it down.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading In all humility of spirit I set it down.
a heavy ductile magnetic metallic element; is silver-white in pure form but readily rusts; used in construction and tools and armament; plays a role in the transport of oxygen by the blood
From this reading And then she laughed, making a mock of me in my weakness, burning me with the hot iron of her scorn, piercing my heart with the daggers of her reviling.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading In all humility of spirit I set it down.
past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.
From this reading I _kissed her_....
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading And then she laughed, making a mock of me in my weakness, burning me with the hot iron of her scorn, piercing my heart with the daggers of her reviling.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading The words burn the paper; the fact haunts me like an evil dream.
the act that results in something coming to be
From this reading And then she laughed, making a mock of me in my weakness, burning me with the hot iron of her scorn, piercing my heart with the daggers of her reviling.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The words burn the paper; the fact haunts me like an evil dream.
treat with contempt
From this reading And then she laughed, making a mock of me in my weakness, burning me with the hot iron of her scorn, piercing my heart with the daggers of her reviling.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading And then she laughed, making a mock of me in my weakness, burning me with the hot iron of her scorn, piercing my heart with the daggers of her reviling.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading In all humility of spirit I set it down.
a material made of cellulose pulp derived mainly from wood or rags or certain grasses
From this reading The words burn the paper; the fact haunts me like an evil dream.
having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions
From this reading And then she laughed, making a mock of me in my weakness, burning me with the hot iron of her scorn, piercing my heart with the daggers of her reviling.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And then she laughed, making a mock of me in my weakness, burning me with the hot iron of her scorn, piercing my heart with the daggers of her reviling.
lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
From this reading And then she laughed, making a mock of me in my weakness, burning me with the hot iron of her scorn, piercing my heart with the daggers of her reviling.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading In all humility of spirit I set it down.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading And then she laughed, making a mock of me in my weakness, burning me with the hot iron of her scorn, piercing my heart with the daggers of her reviling.
lacking sensitivity or the capacity for deep feeling
From this reading I yielded to that soulless and abominable creature.
the vital principle or animating force within living things
From this reading In all humility of spirit I set it down.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I yielded to that soulless and abominable creature.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The words burn the paper; the fact haunts me like an evil dream.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading And then she laughed, making a mock of me in my weakness, burning me with the hot iron of her scorn, piercing my heart with the daggers of her reviling.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I yielded to that soulless and abominable creature.
a flaw or weak point
From this reading And then she laughed, making a mock of me in my weakness, burning me with the hot iron of her scorn, piercing my heart with the daggers of her reviling.
in the company of; together with
From this reading And then she laughed, making a mock of me in my weakness, burning me with the hot iron of her scorn, piercing my heart with the daggers of her reviling.
the words that are spoken
From this reading The words burn the paper; the fact haunts me like an evil dream.
past form of “yield” — be the cause or source of
From this reading I yielded to that soulless and abominable creature.
Chapter 4 of A Book of Burlesques by H. L. (Henry Louis) Mencken holds 385 sentences, grouped into 77 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 4 holds 385 sentences of A Book of Burlesques, unabridged, divided into 77 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of A Book of Burlesques by H. L. (Henry Louis) Mencken exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 385 sentences, grouped into 77 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 77 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 77 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 4 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 A Book of Burlesques by H. L. (Henry Louis) Mencken on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2153 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #22145 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #22145, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 179 minutes of reading across 431 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Book of Burlesques section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of A Book of Burlesques 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 A Book of Burlesques, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
