Chapter 8 of Blindness is here in full — 360 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VIII
Chapter 8 of Blindness is here in full — 360 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BEGINNING AGAIN LONDON. He was sitting in the drawing-room of the house Uncle Edward had lent them. He was ill, ill. The sunlight streamed through the window by him, for it was spring, and ate stealthily into the plush which covered his armchair. There was a sickly scent of flowers in the room.
Chapter 8 of Blindness is here in full — 360 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/72 · 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.
chair with a support on each side for arms
From this reading “The sunlight streamed through the window by him, for it was spring, and ate stealthily into the plush which covered his armchair.”
goddess of criminal rashness and its punishment
From this reading “The sunlight streamed through the window by him, for it was spring, and ate stealthily into the plush which covered his armchair.”
a period of 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday
From this reading “He was sitting in the drawing-room of the house Uncle Edward had lent them.”
characterized by extravagance and profusion
From this reading “The sunlight streamed through the window by him, for it was spring, and ate stealthily into the plush which covered his armchair.”
A distinctive smell or aroma.
From this reading “There was a sickly scent of flowers in the room.”
unhealthy looking
From this reading “There was a sickly scent of flowers in the room.”
past form of “stream” — to extend, wave or float outward, as if in the wind
From this reading “The sunlight streamed through the window by him, for it was spring, and ate stealthily into the plush which covered his armchair.”
the rays of the sun
From this reading “The sunlight streamed through the window by him, for it was spring, and ate stealthily into the plush which covered his armchair.”
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.
In this reading “The sunlight streamed through the window by him, for it was spring, and ate stealthily into the plush which covered his armchair.”
In this reading “The sunlight streamed through the window by him, for it was spring, and ate stealthily into the plush which covered his armchair.”
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 There was a sickly scent of flowers in the room.
anew
From this reading BEGINNING AGAIN LONDON.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The sunlight streamed through the window by him, for it was spring, and ate stealthily into the plush which covered his armchair.
chair with a support on each side for arms
From this reading The sunlight streamed through the window by him, for it was spring, and ate stealthily into the plush which covered his armchair.
goddess of criminal rashness and its punishment
From this reading The sunlight streamed through the window by him, for it was spring, and ate stealthily into the plush which covered his armchair.
the event consisting of the start of something
From this reading BEGINNING AGAIN LONDON.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The sunlight streamed through the window by him, for it was spring, and ate stealthily into the plush which covered his armchair.
overlaid or spread or topped with or enclosed within something; sometimes used as a combining form
From this reading The sunlight streamed through the window by him, for it was spring, and ate stealthily into the plush which covered his armchair.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He was sitting in the drawing-room of the house Uncle Edward had lent them.
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 He was sitting in the drawing-room of the house Uncle Edward had lent them.
plural of “flower” — a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading There was a sickly scent of flowers in the room.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The sunlight streamed through the window by him, for it was spring, and ate stealthily into the plush which covered his armchair.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading He was sitting in the drawing-room of the house Uncle Edward had lent them.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was sitting in the drawing-room of the house Uncle Edward had lent them.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The sunlight streamed through the window by him, for it was spring, and ate stealthily into the plush which covered his armchair.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The sunlight streamed through the window by him, for it was spring, and ate stealthily into the plush which covered his armchair.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading He was sitting in the drawing-room of the house Uncle Edward had lent them.
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
From this reading He was ill, ill.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He was sitting in the drawing-room of the house Uncle Edward had lent them.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading The sunlight streamed through the window by him, for it was spring, and ate stealthily into the plush which covered his armchair.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The sunlight streamed through the window by him, for it was spring, and ate stealthily into the plush which covered his armchair.
a period of 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday
From this reading He was sitting in the drawing-room of the house Uncle Edward had lent them.
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading BEGINNING AGAIN LONDON.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He was sitting in the drawing-room of the house Uncle Edward had lent them.
characterized by extravagance and profusion
From this reading The sunlight streamed through the window by him, for it was spring, and ate stealthily into the plush which covered his armchair.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading There was a sickly scent of flowers in the room.
A distinctive smell or aroma.
From this reading There was a sickly scent of flowers in the room.
unhealthy looking
From this reading There was a sickly scent of flowers in the room.
(photography) the act of assuming a certain position (as for a photograph or portrait)
From this reading He was sitting in the drawing-room of the house Uncle Edward had lent them.
the season of growth
From this reading The sunlight streamed through the window by him, for it was spring, and ate stealthily into the plush which covered his armchair.
in a stealthy manner
From this reading The sunlight streamed through the window by him, for it was spring, and ate stealthily into the plush which covered his armchair.
past form of “stream” — to extend, wave or float outward, as if in the wind
From this reading The sunlight streamed through the window by him, for it was spring, and ate stealthily into the plush which covered his armchair.
the rays of the sun
From this reading The sunlight streamed through the window by him, for it was spring, and ate stealthily into the plush which covered his armchair.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He was sitting in the drawing-room of the house Uncle Edward had lent them.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading He was sitting in the drawing-room of the house Uncle Edward had lent them.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a sickly scent of flowers in the room.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading The sunlight streamed through the window by him, for it was spring, and ate stealthily into the plush which covered his armchair.
the brother of your father or mother; the husband of your aunt
From this reading He was sitting in the drawing-room of the house Uncle Edward had lent them.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was sitting in the drawing-room of the house Uncle Edward had lent them.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading The sunlight streamed through the window by him, for it was spring, and ate stealthily into the plush which covered his armchair.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading The sunlight streamed through the window by him, for it was spring, and ate stealthily into the plush which covered his armchair.
Chapter 8 of Blindness by Henry Green holds 360 sentences, grouped into 72 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 8 holds 360 sentences of Blindness, unabridged, divided into 72 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 8 of Blindness by Henry Green exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 360 sentences, grouped into 72 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 72 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 72 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 8 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 Blindness by Henry Green on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5592 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #75193 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #75193, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 466 minutes of reading across 1119 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Blindness section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of Blindness 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 Blindness, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
