Chapter 4 of Heart of Darkness is here in full — 191 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Heart of Darkness is here in full — 191 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“He began to speak as soon as he saw me. I had been very long on the road. He could not wait. Had to start without me. The up-river stations had to be relieved.
Chapter 4 of Heart of Darkness is here in full — 191 sentences across 39 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/38 · 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.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading ““He began to speak as soon as he saw me.”
(of pain or sorrow) made easier to bear
From this reading “The up-river stations had to be relieved.”
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading “I had been very long on the road.”
in the near future
From this reading ““He began to speak as soon as he saw me.”
express in speech
From this reading ““He began to speak as soon as he saw me.”
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “Had to start without me.”
(Roman Catholic Church) a devotion consisting of fourteen prayers said before a series of fourteen pictures or carvings representing successive incidents during Jesus' passage from Pilate's house to his crucifixion at Calvary
From this reading “The up-river stations had to be relieved.”
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading “He could not wait.”
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.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading “He began to speak as soon as he saw me.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading The up-river stations had to be relieved.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading I had been very long on the road.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading “He began to speak as soon as he saw me.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He could not wait.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I had been very long on the road.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading “He began to speak as soon as he saw me.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I had been very long on the road.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading I had been very long on the road.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “He began to speak as soon as he saw me.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He could not wait.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading I had been very long on the road.
(of pain or sorrow) made easier to bear
From this reading The up-river stations had to be relieved.
an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
From this reading I had been very long on the road.
cut with a saw
From this reading “He began to speak as soon as he saw me.
in the near future
From this reading “He began to speak as soon as he saw me.
express in speech
From this reading “He began to speak as soon as he saw me.
take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading Had to start without me.
(Roman Catholic Church) a devotion consisting of fourteen prayers said before a series of fourteen pictures or carvings representing successive incidents during Jesus' passage from Pilate's house to his crucifixion at Calvary
From this reading The up-river stations had to be relieved.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I had been very long on the road.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “He began to speak as soon as he saw me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The up-river stations had to be relieved.
precisely as stated
From this reading I had been very long on the road.
stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
From this reading He could not wait.
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading Had to start without me.
Chapter 4 of Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad holds 191 sentences, grouped into 39 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 4 holds 191 sentences of Heart of Darkness, unabridged, divided into 39 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 191 sentences, grouped into 39 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 39 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 39 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 Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2390 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #219 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #219, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 199 minutes of reading across 478 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Heart of Darkness section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of Heart of Darkness 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 Heart of Darkness, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
