Chapter 33 of Leaves of Grass is here in full — 132 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXIII
Chapter 33 of Leaves of Grass is here in full — 132 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
As the Time Draws Nigh As the time draws nigh glooming a cloud, A dread beyond of I know not what darkens me. I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease. O book, O chants! must all then amount to but this?
Chapter 33 of Leaves of Grass is here in full — 132 sentences across 27 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/26 · 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.
for a short time
From this reading “I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.”
put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading “I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.”
plural of “chant” — a repetitive song in which as many syllables as necessary are assigned to a single tone
From this reading “O book, O chants!”
plural of “draw” — a gully that is shallower than a ravine
From this reading “As the Time Draws Nigh”
fearful expectation or anticipation
From this reading “As the time draws nigh glooming a cloud, A dread beyond of I know not what darkens me.”
not far distant in time or space or degree or circumstances
From this reading “As the Time Draws Nigh”
travel across or pass over
From this reading “I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.”
an old word meaning “to where”
From this reading “I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.”
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 the time draws nigh glooming a cloud, A dread beyond of I know not what darkens me.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading must all then amount to but this?
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.
a quantity of money
From this reading must all then amount to but this?
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As the Time Draws Nigh
for a short time
From this reading I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.
on the far side of; further than
From this reading As the time draws nigh glooming a cloud, A dread beyond of I know not what darkens me.
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading O book, O chants!
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.
put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.
plural of “chant” — a repetitive song in which as many syllables as necessary are assigned to a single tone
From this reading O book, O chants!
make overcast or cloudy
From this reading As the time draws nigh glooming a cloud, A dread beyond of I know not what darkens me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As the time draws nigh glooming a cloud, A dread beyond of I know not what darkens me.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.
plural of “draw” — a gully that is shallower than a ravine
From this reading As the Time Draws Nigh
fearful expectation or anticipation
From this reading As the time draws nigh glooming a cloud, A dread beyond of I know not what darkens me.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.
depressingly dark
From this reading As the time draws nigh glooming a cloud, A dread beyond of I know not what darkens me.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading As the time draws nigh glooming a cloud, A dread beyond of I know not what darkens me.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading As the time draws nigh glooming a cloud, A dread beyond of I know not what darkens me.
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 shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading As the time draws nigh glooming a cloud, A dread beyond of I know not what darkens me.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading must all then amount to but this?
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.
not far distant in time or space or degree or circumstances
From this reading As the Time Draws Nigh
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading As the time draws nigh glooming a cloud, A dread beyond of I know not what darkens me.
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading O book, O chants!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading As the time draws nigh glooming a cloud, A dread beyond of I know not what darkens me.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.
by chance
From this reading I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.
the act of singing vocal music
From this reading I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.
in the near future
From this reading I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.
plural of “state” — the territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation
From this reading I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.
happening unexpectedly
From this reading I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.
express in words
From this reading I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading As the Time Draws Nigh
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading must all then amount to but this?
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading must all then amount to but this?
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading As the Time Draws Nigh
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading must all then amount to but this?
travel across or pass over
From this reading I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading As the time draws nigh glooming a cloud, A dread beyond of I know not what darkens me.
during the time that
From this reading I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.
an old word meaning “to where”
From this reading I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading I shall go forth, I shall traverse the States awhile, but I cannot tell whither or how long, Perhaps soon some day or night while I am singing my voice will suddenly cease.
Chapter 33 of Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman holds 132 sentences, grouped into 27 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 33 holds 132 sentences of Leaves of Grass, unabridged, divided into 27 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 33 of Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 132 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.
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.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 33 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 Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4156 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1322 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1322, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 346 minutes of reading across 832 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Leaves of Grass section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 34 chapters of Leaves of Grass 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 Leaves of Grass, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
