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Essays and Lectures
Essays and Lectures

Chapter XI · Chapter 11

Chapter 11 of Essays and Lectures is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for Essays and Lectures
Context Illustration Reading 1/26 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
What is a picture?
Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.
It is, primarily, a purely decorative thing, a delight to look at.
All archæological pictures that make you say How curious!’ all sentimental pictures that make you say, How sad!’ all historical pictures that make you say How interesting!’ all pictures that do not immediately give you such artistic joy as to make you say How beautiful!’ are bad pictures.
* * * * * We never know what an artist is going to do.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Essays and Lectures

Chapter XI · Chapter 11

Chapter 11 of Essays and Lectures is here in full — 131 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/26 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
What is a picture?
Line 2
Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.
Line 3
It is, primarily, a purely decorative thing, a delight to look at.
Line 4
All archæological pictures that make you sayHow curious!’ all sentimental pictures that make you say, ‘How sad!’ all historical pictures that make you sayHow interesting!’ all pictures that do not immediately give you such artistic joy as to make you sayHow beautiful!’ are bad pictures.
Line 5
* * * * * We never know what an artist is going to do.

Learner Dictionary

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.

Fragment noun US /ˈfræɡ.mənt/

A small part broken or separated off something larger.

From this reading “Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.”

All words in this reading · 67

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.

a

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading What is a picture?

All

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All archæological pictures that make you say ‘How curious!’ all sentimental pictures that make you say, ‘How sad!’ all historical pictures that make you say ‘How interesting!’ all pictures that do not immediately give you such artistic joy as to make you say ‘How beautiful!’ are bad pictures.

an

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.

archæological

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All archæological pictures that make you say ‘How curious!’ all sentimental pictures that make you say, ‘How sad!’ all historical pictures that make you say ‘How interesting!’ all pictures that do not immediately give you such artistic joy as to make you say ‘How beautiful!’ are bad pictures.

are

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All archæological pictures that make you say ‘How curious!’ all sentimental pictures that make you say, ‘How sad!’ all historical pictures that make you say ‘How interesting!’ all pictures that do not immediately give you such artistic joy as to make you say ‘How beautiful!’ are bad pictures.

artist

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading * * * * * We never know what an artist is going to do.

artistic

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All archæological pictures that make you say ‘How curious!’ all sentimental pictures that make you say, ‘How sad!’ all historical pictures that make you say ‘How interesting!’ all pictures that do not immediately give you such artistic joy as to make you say ‘How beautiful!’ are bad pictures.

as

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All archæological pictures that make you say ‘How curious!’ all sentimental pictures that make you say, ‘How sad!’ all historical pictures that make you say ‘How interesting!’ all pictures that do not immediately give you such artistic joy as to make you say ‘How beautiful!’ are bad pictures.

at

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It is, primarily, a purely decorative thing, a delight to look at.

bad

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All archæological pictures that make you say ‘How curious!’ all sentimental pictures that make you say, ‘How sad!’ all historical pictures that make you say ‘How interesting!’ all pictures that do not immediately give you such artistic joy as to make you say ‘How beautiful!’ are bad pictures.

beautiful

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All archæological pictures that make you say ‘How curious!’ all sentimental pictures that make you say, ‘How sad!’ all historical pictures that make you say ‘How interesting!’ all pictures that do not immediately give you such artistic joy as to make you say ‘How beautiful!’ are bad pictures.

beautifully

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.

blue

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.

coloured

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.

curious

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All archæological pictures that make you say ‘How curious!’ all sentimental pictures that make you say, ‘How sad!’ all historical pictures that make you say ‘How interesting!’ all pictures that do not immediately give you such artistic joy as to make you say ‘How beautiful!’ are bad pictures.

Damascus

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.

decorative

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It is, primarily, a purely decorative thing, a delight to look at.

delight

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It is, primarily, a purely decorative thing, a delight to look at.

do

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All archæological pictures that make you say ‘How curious!’ all sentimental pictures that make you say, ‘How sad!’ all historical pictures that make you say ‘How interesting!’ all pictures that do not immediately give you such artistic joy as to make you say ‘How beautiful!’ are bad pictures.

exquisite

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.

for

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.

fragmentnounUS /ˈfræɡ.mənt/

A small part broken or separated off something larger.

From this reading Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.

from

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.

give

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All archæological pictures that make you say ‘How curious!’ all sentimental pictures that make you say, ‘How sad!’ all historical pictures that make you say ‘How interesting!’ all pictures that do not immediately give you such artistic joy as to make you say ‘How beautiful!’ are bad pictures.

glass

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.

going

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading * * * * * We never know what an artist is going to do.

historical

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All archæological pictures that make you say ‘How curious!’ all sentimental pictures that make you say, ‘How sad!’ all historical pictures that make you say ‘How interesting!’ all pictures that do not immediately give you such artistic joy as to make you say ‘How beautiful!’ are bad pictures.

How

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All archæological pictures that make you say ‘How curious!’ all sentimental pictures that make you say, ‘How sad!’ all historical pictures that make you say ‘How interesting!’ all pictures that do not immediately give you such artistic joy as to make you say ‘How beautiful!’ are bad pictures.

immediately

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All archæological pictures that make you say ‘How curious!’ all sentimental pictures that make you say, ‘How sad!’ all historical pictures that make you say ‘How interesting!’ all pictures that do not immediately give you such artistic joy as to make you say ‘How beautiful!’ are bad pictures.

interesting

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All archæological pictures that make you say ‘How curious!’ all sentimental pictures that make you say, ‘How sad!’ all historical pictures that make you say ‘How interesting!’ all pictures that do not immediately give you such artistic joy as to make you say ‘How beautiful!’ are bad pictures.

is

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading What is a picture?

It

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It is, primarily, a purely decorative thing, a delight to look at.

joy

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All archæological pictures that make you say ‘How curious!’ all sentimental pictures that make you say, ‘How sad!’ all historical pictures that make you say ‘How interesting!’ all pictures that do not immediately give you such artistic joy as to make you say ‘How beautiful!’ are bad pictures.

know

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading * * * * * We never know what an artist is going to do.

look

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It is, primarily, a purely decorative thing, a delight to look at.

make

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All archæological pictures that make you say ‘How curious!’ all sentimental pictures that make you say, ‘How sad!’ all historical pictures that make you say ‘How interesting!’ all pictures that do not immediately give you such artistic joy as to make you say ‘How beautiful!’ are bad pictures.

meaning

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.

merely

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.

message

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.

more

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.

never

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading * * * * * We never know what an artist is going to do.

no

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.

not

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All archæological pictures that make you say ‘How curious!’ all sentimental pictures that make you say, ‘How sad!’ all historical pictures that make you say ‘How interesting!’ all pictures that do not immediately give you such artistic joy as to make you say ‘How beautiful!’ are bad pictures.

of

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.

or

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.

picture

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading What is a picture?

pictures

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All archæological pictures that make you say ‘How curious!’ all sentimental pictures that make you say, ‘How sad!’ all historical pictures that make you say ‘How interesting!’ all pictures that do not immediately give you such artistic joy as to make you say ‘How beautiful!’ are bad pictures.

Primarily

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.

purely

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It is, primarily, a purely decorative thing, a delight to look at.

sad

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All archæological pictures that make you say ‘How curious!’ all sentimental pictures that make you say, ‘How sad!’ all historical pictures that make you say ‘How interesting!’ all pictures that do not immediately give you such artistic joy as to make you say ‘How beautiful!’ are bad pictures.

say

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All archæological pictures that make you say ‘How curious!’ all sentimental pictures that make you say, ‘How sad!’ all historical pictures that make you say ‘How interesting!’ all pictures that do not immediately give you such artistic joy as to make you say ‘How beautiful!’ are bad pictures.

sentimental

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All archæological pictures that make you say ‘How curious!’ all sentimental pictures that make you say, ‘How sad!’ all historical pictures that make you say ‘How interesting!’ all pictures that do not immediately give you such artistic joy as to make you say ‘How beautiful!’ are bad pictures.

spiritual

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.

such

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All archæological pictures that make you say ‘How curious!’ all sentimental pictures that make you say, ‘How sad!’ all historical pictures that make you say ‘How interesting!’ all pictures that do not immediately give you such artistic joy as to make you say ‘How beautiful!’ are bad pictures.

surface

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.

than

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.

that

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading All archæological pictures that make you say ‘How curious!’ all sentimental pictures that make you say, ‘How sad!’ all historical pictures that make you say ‘How interesting!’ all pictures that do not immediately give you such artistic joy as to make you say ‘How beautiful!’ are bad pictures.

the

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.

thing

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It is, primarily, a purely decorative thing, a delight to look at.

tile

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.

to

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading It is, primarily, a purely decorative thing, a delight to look at.

Venetian

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.

wall

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.

We

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading * * * * * We never know what an artist is going to do.

What

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading What is a picture?

with

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.

you

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Primarily, a picture is a beautifully coloured surface, merely, with no more spiritual message or meaning for you than an exquisite fragment of Venetian glass or a blue tile from the wall of Damascus.

Chapter 11 of Essays and Lectures by Oscar Wilde holds 131 sentences, grouped into 27 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.

What does chapter 11 of Essays and Lectures contain?

Chapter 11 holds 131 sentences of Essays and Lectures, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 11 of Essays and Lectures by Oscar Wilde exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 131 sentences, grouped into 27 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.

How do I study chapter 11 of Essays and Lectures?

Work through the 27 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 27 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.

Can chapter 11 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 11 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.

Questions about reading Essays and Lectures

Common questions about reading Essays and Lectures by Oscar Wilde on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Essays and Lectures?

Yes. All 1630 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #774 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Essays and Lectures is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #774, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Essays and Lectures take to read?

About 135 minutes of reading across 326 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Essays and Lectures section by section

How to work through Essays and Lectures section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 13 chapters of Essays and Lectures to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in Essays and Lectures

Words and structures a reader meets early in Essays and Lectures, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

First
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Essays and Lectures; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Published
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Essays and Lectures; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Limited
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Essays and Lectures; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Edition
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Essays and Lectures; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.