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Heart of Darkness

Chapter IX · Chapter 9

Chapter 9 of Heart of Darkness is here in full — 245 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Joseph Conrad • Curated US English Learning Edition

Cover illustration for Heart of Darkness

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

“This I did directly the simple funeral was over.

We were going half-speed, keeping right in the middle of the stream, and I listened to the talk about me.

They had given up Kurtz, they had given up the station; Kurtz was dead, and the station had been burnt—and so on—and so on.

The red-haired pilgrim was beside himself with the thought that at least this poor Kurtz had been properly avenged.

‘Say!

Narrator

Speed 0.75x

AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English

LEARNER DICTIONARY

Archivist

/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/

Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Chapter IX Reading 1/49

Heart of Darkness

Chapter IX · Chapter 9

Chapter 9 of Heart of Darkness is here in full — 245 sentences across 49 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/49 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

“This I did directly the simple funeral was over.

Line 2

We were going half-speed, keeping right in the middle of the stream, and I listened to the talk about me.

Line 3

They had given up Kurtz, they had given up the station; Kurtz was dead, and the station had been burnt—and so on—and so on.

Line 4

The red-haired pilgrim was beside himself with the thought that at least this poor Kurtz had been properly avenged.

Line 5

‘Say!

All words in this reading · 49

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.

about

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

From this reading We were going half-speed, keeping right in the middle of the stream, and I listened to the talk about me.

and

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

From this reading We were going half-speed, keeping right in the middle of the stream, and I listened to the talk about me.

at

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

From this reading The red-haired pilgrim was beside himself with the thought that at least this poor Kurtz had been properly avenged.

avenged

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

From this reading The red-haired pilgrim was beside himself with the thought that at least this poor Kurtz had been properly avenged.

been

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

From this reading They had given up Kurtz, they had given up the station; Kurtz was dead, and the station had been burnt—and so on—and so on.

beside

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

From this reading The red-haired pilgrim was beside himself with the thought that at least this poor Kurtz had been properly avenged.

burnt

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

From this reading They had given up Kurtz, they had given up the station; Kurtz was dead, and the station had been burnt—and so on—and so on.

dead

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

From this reading They had given up Kurtz, they had given up the station; Kurtz was dead, and the station had been burnt—and so on—and so on.

did

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

From this reading “This I did directly the simple funeral was over.

directly

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

From this reading “This I did directly the simple funeral was over.

funeral

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

From this reading “This I did directly the simple funeral was over.

given

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

From this reading They had given up Kurtz, they had given up the station; Kurtz was dead, and the station had been burnt—and so on—and so on.

going

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

From this reading We were going half-speed, keeping right in the middle of the stream, and I listened to the talk about me.

had

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

From this reading They had given up Kurtz, they had given up the station; Kurtz was dead, and the station had been burnt—and so on—and so on.

half-speed

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

From this reading We were going half-speed, keeping right in the middle of the stream, and I listened to the talk about me.

himself

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

From this reading The red-haired pilgrim was beside himself with the thought that at least this poor Kurtz had been properly avenged.

I

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

From this reading “This I did directly the simple funeral was over.

in

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

From this reading We were going half-speed, keeping right in the middle of the stream, and I listened to the talk about me.

keeping

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

From this reading We were going half-speed, keeping right in the middle of the stream, and I listened to the talk about me.

Kurtz

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

From this reading They had given up Kurtz, they had given up the station; Kurtz was dead, and the station had been burnt—and so on—and so on.

least

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

From this reading The red-haired pilgrim was beside himself with the thought that at least this poor Kurtz had been properly avenged.

listened

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

From this reading We were going half-speed, keeping right in the middle of the stream, and I listened to the talk about me.

me

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

From this reading We were going half-speed, keeping right in the middle of the stream, and I listened to the talk about me.

middle

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

From this reading We were going half-speed, keeping right in the middle of the stream, and I listened to the talk about me.

of

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

From this reading We were going half-speed, keeping right in the middle of the stream, and I listened to the talk about me.

on

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

From this reading They had given up Kurtz, they had given up the station; Kurtz was dead, and the station had been burnt—and so on—and so on.

over

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

From this reading “This I did directly the simple funeral was over.

pilgrim

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

From this reading The red-haired pilgrim was beside himself with the thought that at least this poor Kurtz had been properly avenged.

poor

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

From this reading The red-haired pilgrim was beside himself with the thought that at least this poor Kurtz had been properly avenged.

properly

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

From this reading The red-haired pilgrim was beside himself with the thought that at least this poor Kurtz had been properly avenged.

red-haired

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

From this reading The red-haired pilgrim was beside himself with the thought that at least this poor Kurtz had been properly avenged.

right

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

From this reading We were going half-speed, keeping right in the middle of the stream, and I listened to the talk about me.

Say

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

From this reading ‘Say!

simple

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

From this reading “This I did directly the simple funeral was over.

so

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

From this reading They had given up Kurtz, they had given up the station; Kurtz was dead, and the station had been burnt—and so on—and so on.

station

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

From this reading They had given up Kurtz, they had given up the station; Kurtz was dead, and the station had been burnt—and so on—and so on.

stream

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

From this reading We were going half-speed, keeping right in the middle of the stream, and I listened to the talk about me.

talk

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

From this reading We were going half-speed, keeping right in the middle of the stream, and I listened to the talk about me.

that

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

From this reading The red-haired pilgrim was beside himself with the thought that at least this poor Kurtz had been properly avenged.

the

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

From this reading “This I did directly the simple funeral was over.

They

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

From this reading They had given up Kurtz, they had given up the station; Kurtz was dead, and the station had been burnt—and so on—and so on.

This

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

From this reading “This I did directly the simple funeral was over.

thought

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

From this reading The red-haired pilgrim was beside himself with the thought that at least this poor Kurtz had been properly avenged.

to

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

From this reading We were going half-speed, keeping right in the middle of the stream, and I listened to the talk about me.

up

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

From this reading They had given up Kurtz, they had given up the station; Kurtz was dead, and the station had been burnt—and so on—and so on.

was

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

From this reading “This I did directly the simple funeral was over.

We

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

From this reading We were going half-speed, keeping right in the middle of the stream, and I listened to the talk about me.

were

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

From this reading We were going half-speed, keeping right in the middle of the stream, and I listened to the talk about me.

with

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

From this reading The red-haired pilgrim was beside himself with the thought that at least this poor Kurtz had been properly avenged.

Chapter 9 of Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad holds 245 sentences, grouped into 49 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 9 of Heart of Darkness contain?

Chapter 9 holds 245 sentences of Heart of Darkness, unabridged, divided into 49 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 9 of Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 245 sentences, grouped into 49 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 9 of Heart of Darkness?

Work through the 49 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 49 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 9 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 9 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 Heart of Darkness

Common questions about reading Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Heart of Darkness?

Yes. All 2390 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #219 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Heart of Darkness is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #219, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Heart of Darkness take to read?

About 199 minutes of reading across 478 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Heart of Darkness section by section

How to work through Heart of Darkness section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

Open a chapter

Choose one of the 13 chapters of Heart of Darkness to begin.
Read one section

Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Listen and tap

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

Vocabulary met early in Heart of Darkness

Words and structures a reader meets early in Heart of Darkness, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Nellie: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Heart of Darkness; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Cruising: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Heart of Darkness; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Swung: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Heart of Darkness; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Anchor: A word that appears in the opening chapter of Heart of Darkness; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.