Chapter 3 of The King in Yellow is here in full — 453 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The King in Yellow is here in full — 453 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Is it death?” I asked, to humour his mood. “You are not prepared to call it life, I suppose,” he answered. As he spoke he plucked a solitary gold-fish squirming and twisting out of its globe. “We’ll send this one after the other—wherever that is,” he said.
Chapter 3 of The King in Yellow is here in full — 453 sentences across 91 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/90 · 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.
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading “As he spoke he plucked a solitary gold-fish squirming and twisting out of its globe.”
a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
From this reading “I asked, to humour his mood.”
a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
From this reading “I asked, to humour his mood.”
of a stringed instrument; sounded with the fingers or a plectrum
From this reading “As he spoke he plucked a solitary gold-fish squirming and twisting out of its globe.”
characterized by or preferring solitude
From this reading “As he spoke he plucked a solitary gold-fish squirming and twisting out of its globe.”
-ing form of “squirm” — to move in a twisting or contorted motion, (especially when struggling)
From this reading “As he spoke he plucked a solitary gold-fish squirming and twisting out of its globe.”
the act of distorting something so it seems to mean something it was not intended to mean
From this reading “As he spoke he plucked a solitary gold-fish squirming and twisting out of its globe.”
in or to any place at all
From this reading ““We’ll send this one after the other—wherever that is,” he said.”
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.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading As he spoke he plucked a solitary gold-fish squirming and twisting out of its globe.
later than; following
From this reading “We’ll send this one after the other—wherever that is,” he said.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading As he spoke he plucked a solitary gold-fish squirming and twisting out of its globe.
past form of “answer” — react verbally
From this reading “You are not prepared to call it life, I suppose,” he answered.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading “You are not prepared to call it life, I suppose,” he answered.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As he spoke he plucked a solitary gold-fish squirming and twisting out of its globe.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading I asked, to humour his mood.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading “You are not prepared to call it life, I suppose,” he answered.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading “Is it death?”
the 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live on
From this reading As he spoke he plucked a solitary gold-fish squirming and twisting out of its globe.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As he spoke he plucked a solitary gold-fish squirming and twisting out of its globe.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “You are not prepared to call it life, I suppose,” he answered.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading I asked, to humour his mood.
a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
From this reading I asked, to humour his mood.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I asked, to humour his mood.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading “Is it death?”
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading “Is it death?”
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading As he spoke he plucked a solitary gold-fish squirming and twisting out of its globe.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading “You are not prepared to call it life, I suppose,” he answered.
a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling
From this reading I asked, to humour his mood.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading “You are not prepared to call it life, I suppose,” he answered.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading As he spoke he plucked a solitary gold-fish squirming and twisting out of its globe.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “We’ll send this one after the other—wherever that is,” he said.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading “We’ll send this one after the other—wherever that is,” he said.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading As he spoke he plucked a solitary gold-fish squirming and twisting out of its globe.
of a stringed instrument; sounded with the fingers or a plectrum
From this reading As he spoke he plucked a solitary gold-fish squirming and twisting out of its globe.
made ready or fit or suitable beforehand
From this reading “You are not prepared to call it life, I suppose,” he answered.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “We’ll send this one after the other—wherever that is,” he said.
cause to go somewhere
From this reading “We’ll send this one after the other—wherever that is,” he said.
characterized by or preferring solitude
From this reading As he spoke he plucked a solitary gold-fish squirming and twisting out of its globe.
support consisting of a radial member of a wheel joining the hub to the rim
From this reading As he spoke he plucked a solitary gold-fish squirming and twisting out of its globe.
-ing form of “squirm” — to move in a twisting or contorted motion, (especially when struggling)
From this reading As he spoke he plucked a solitary gold-fish squirming and twisting out of its globe.
express a supposition
From this reading “You are not prepared to call it life, I suppose,” he answered.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “We’ll send this one after the other—wherever that is,” he said.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “We’ll send this one after the other—wherever that is,” he said.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading “We’ll send this one after the other—wherever that is,” he said.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I asked, to humour his mood.
the act of distorting something so it seems to mean something it was not intended to mean
From this reading As he spoke he plucked a solitary gold-fish squirming and twisting out of its globe.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “We’ll send this one after the other—wherever that is,” he said.
in or to any place at all
From this reading “We’ll send this one after the other—wherever that is,” he said.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading “You are not prepared to call it life, I suppose,” he answered.
Chapter 3 of The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers holds 453 sentences, grouped into 91 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 3 holds 453 sentences of The King in Yellow, unabridged, divided into 91 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 453 sentences, grouped into 91 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 91 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 91 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 3 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 The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The King in Yellow section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The King in Yellow 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 The King in Yellow, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
