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Letters on Literature
Letters on Literature

Chapter IV · Chapter 4

Chapter 4 of Letters on Literature is here in full — 156 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

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Context Illustration Reading 1/31 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
You say that it is "right" to like Virgil, and yet you admit that you admire the Mantuan, as the Scotch editor joked, "wi' deeficulty."
I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.
These heights I cannot reach, any more than I can equal that eloquence.
Yet must Virgil always appear to us one of the most beautiful and moving figures in the whole of literature.
How sweet must have been that personality which can still win our affections, across eighteen hundred years of change, and through the mists of commentaries, and school-books, and traditions!
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LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Letters on Literature

Chapter IV · Chapter 4

Chapter 4 of Letters on Literature is here in full — 156 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/31 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
You say that it is "right" to like Virgil, and yet you admit that you admire the Mantuan, as the Scotch editor joked, "wi' deeficulty."
Line 2
I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.
Line 3
These heights I cannot reach, any more than I can equal that eloquence.
Line 4
Yet must Virgil always appear to us one of the most beautiful and moving figures in the whole of literature.
Line 5
How sweet must have been that personality which can still win our affections, across eighteen hundred years of change, and through the mists of commentaries, and school-books, and traditions!

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.

Eloquence noun US /ˈel.ə.kwəns/

Fluent, persuasive, and graceful speaking or writing. (Sự hùng biện, tài ăn nói lưu loát.)

From this reading “These heights I cannot reach, any more than I can equal that eloquence.”

All words in this reading · 91

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.

across

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

From this reading How sweet must have been that personality which can still win our affections, across eighteen hundred years of change, and through the mists of commentaries, and school-books, and traditions!

admiration

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

admire

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

From this reading You say that it is "right" to like Virgil, and yet you admit that you admire the Mantuan, as the Scotch editor joked, "wi' deeficulty."

admit

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

From this reading You say that it is "right" to like Virgil, and yet you admit that you admire the Mantuan, as the Scotch editor joked, "wi' deeficulty."

advocates

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

affections

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

From this reading How sweet must have been that personality which can still win our affections, across eighteen hundred years of change, and through the mists of commentaries, and school-books, and traditions!

all

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

always

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From this reading Yet must Virgil always appear to us one of the most beautiful and moving figures in the whole of literature.

and

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From this reading You say that it is "right" to like Virgil, and yet you admit that you admire the Mantuan, as the Scotch editor joked, "wi' deeficulty."

any

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

From this reading These heights I cannot reach, any more than I can equal that eloquence.

appear

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

From this reading Yet must Virgil always appear to us one of the most beautiful and moving figures in the whole of literature.

as

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

From this reading You say that it is "right" to like Virgil, and yet you admit that you admire the Mantuan, as the Scotch editor joked, "wi' deeficulty."

beautiful

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

From this reading Yet must Virgil always appear to us one of the most beautiful and moving figures in the whole of literature.

been

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

From this reading How sweet must have been that personality which can still win our affections, across eighteen hundred years of change, and through the mists of commentaries, and school-books, and traditions!

by

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

can

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

cannot

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

From this reading These heights I cannot reach, any more than I can equal that eloquence.

change

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

From this reading How sweet must have been that personality which can still win our affections, across eighteen hundred years of change, and through the mists of commentaries, and school-books, and traditions!

Classical

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

commentaries

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

From this reading How sweet must have been that personality which can still win our affections, across eighteen hundred years of change, and through the mists of commentaries, and school-books, and traditions!

deeficulty

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

From this reading You say that it is "right" to like Virgil, and yet you admit that you admire the Mantuan, as the Scotch editor joked, "wi' deeficulty."

editor

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

From this reading You say that it is "right" to like Virgil, and yet you admit that you admire the Mantuan, as the Scotch editor joked, "wi' deeficulty."

eighteen

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

From this reading How sweet must have been that personality which can still win our affections, across eighteen hundred years of change, and through the mists of commentaries, and school-books, and traditions!

eloquencenounUS /ˈel.ə.kwəns/

Fluent, persuasive, and graceful speaking or writing. (Sự hùng biện, tài ăn nói lưu loát.)

From this reading These heights I cannot reach, any more than I can equal that eloquence.

enthusiastic

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

equal

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

From this reading These heights I cannot reach, any more than I can equal that eloquence.

Essays

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

example

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

expressed

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

figures

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

From this reading Yet must Virgil always appear to us one of the most beautiful and moving figures in the whole of literature.

find

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

for

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

Frederic

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

have

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

From this reading How sweet must have been that personality which can still win our affections, across eighteen hundred years of change, and through the mists of commentaries, and school-books, and traditions!

heights

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

From this reading These heights I cannot reach, any more than I can equal that eloquence.

him

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

How

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

From this reading How sweet must have been that personality which can still win our affections, across eighteen hundred years of change, and through the mists of commentaries, and school-books, and traditions!

hundred

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

From this reading How sweet must have been that personality which can still win our affections, across eighteen hundred years of change, and through the mists of commentaries, and school-books, and traditions!

I

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

in

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

is

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

From this reading You say that it is "right" to like Virgil, and yet you admit that you admire the Mantuan, as the Scotch editor joked, "wi' deeficulty."

it

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

From this reading You say that it is "right" to like Virgil, and yet you admit that you admire the Mantuan, as the Scotch editor joked, "wi' deeficulty."

joked

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

From this reading You say that it is "right" to like Virgil, and yet you admit that you admire the Mantuan, as the Scotch editor joked, "wi' deeficulty."

Latin

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

like

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

From this reading You say that it is "right" to like Virgil, and yet you admit that you admire the Mantuan, as the Scotch editor joked, "wi' deeficulty."

liking

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

literature

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

From this reading Yet must Virgil always appear to us one of the most beautiful and moving figures in the whole of literature.

Mantuan

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

From this reading You say that it is "right" to like Virgil, and yet you admit that you admire the Mantuan, as the Scotch editor joked, "wi' deeficulty."

mists

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

From this reading How sweet must have been that personality which can still win our affections, across eighteen hundred years of change, and through the mists of commentaries, and school-books, and traditions!

more

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

From this reading These heights I cannot reach, any more than I can equal that eloquence.

most

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

From this reading Yet must Virgil always appear to us one of the most beautiful and moving figures in the whole of literature.

moving

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

From this reading Yet must Virgil always appear to us one of the most beautiful and moving figures in the whole of literature.

Mr

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

much

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

must

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

my

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

Myers

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

not

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

of

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

one

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

From this reading Yet must Virgil always appear to us one of the most beautiful and moving figures in the whole of literature.

our

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

From this reading How sweet must have been that personality which can still win our affections, across eighteen hundred years of change, and through the mists of commentaries, and school-books, and traditions!

personality

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

From this reading How sweet must have been that personality which can still win our affections, across eighteen hundred years of change, and through the mists of commentaries, and school-books, and traditions!

poetry

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

reach

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

From this reading These heights I cannot reach, any more than I can equal that eloquence.

right

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

From this reading You say that it is "right" to like Virgil, and yet you admit that you admire the Mantuan, as the Scotch editor joked, "wi' deeficulty."

say

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

From this reading You say that it is "right" to like Virgil, and yet you admit that you admire the Mantuan, as the Scotch editor joked, "wi' deeficulty."

school-books

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

From this reading How sweet must have been that personality which can still win our affections, across eighteen hundred years of change, and through the mists of commentaries, and school-books, and traditions!

Scotch

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

From this reading You say that it is "right" to like Virgil, and yet you admit that you admire the Mantuan, as the Scotch editor joked, "wi' deeficulty."

singer

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

still

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

From this reading How sweet must have been that personality which can still win our affections, across eighteen hundred years of change, and through the mists of commentaries, and school-books, and traditions!

sweet

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

From this reading How sweet must have been that personality which can still win our affections, across eighteen hundred years of change, and through the mists of commentaries, and school-books, and traditions!

than

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

From this reading These heights I cannot reach, any more than I can equal that eloquence.

that

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

From this reading You say that it is "right" to like Virgil, and yet you admit that you admire the Mantuan, as the Scotch editor joked, "wi' deeficulty."

the

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

From this reading You say that it is "right" to like Virgil, and yet you admit that you admire the Mantuan, as the Scotch editor joked, "wi' deeficulty."

These

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

From this reading These heights I cannot reach, any more than I can equal that eloquence.

through

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

From this reading How sweet must have been that personality which can still win our affections, across eighteen hundred years of change, and through the mists of commentaries, and school-books, and traditions!

to

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

From this reading You say that it is "right" to like Virgil, and yet you admit that you admire the Mantuan, as the Scotch editor joked, "wi' deeficulty."

too

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

traditions

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

From this reading How sweet must have been that personality which can still win our affections, across eighteen hundred years of change, and through the mists of commentaries, and school-books, and traditions!

us

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

From this reading Yet must Virgil always appear to us one of the most beautiful and moving figures in the whole of literature.

Virgil

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

From this reading You say that it is "right" to like Virgil, and yet you admit that you admire the Mantuan, as the Scotch editor joked, "wi' deeficulty."

Virgil's

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

which

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

From this reading How sweet must have been that personality which can still win our affections, across eighteen hundred years of change, and through the mists of commentaries, and school-books, and traditions!

whole

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

From this reading Yet must Virgil always appear to us one of the most beautiful and moving figures in the whole of literature.

whose

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

wi

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

From this reading You say that it is "right" to like Virgil, and yet you admit that you admire the Mantuan, as the Scotch editor joked, "wi' deeficulty."

will

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

From this reading I, too, must admit that my liking for much of Virgil's poetry is not enthusiastic, not like the admiration expressed, for example, by Mr. Frederic Myers, in whose "Classical Essays" you will find all that the advocates of the Latin singer can say for him.

win

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

From this reading How sweet must have been that personality which can still win our affections, across eighteen hundred years of change, and through the mists of commentaries, and school-books, and traditions!

years

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

From this reading How sweet must have been that personality which can still win our affections, across eighteen hundred years of change, and through the mists of commentaries, and school-books, and traditions!

yet

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

From this reading You say that it is "right" to like Virgil, and yet you admit that you admire the Mantuan, as the Scotch editor joked, "wi' deeficulty."

You

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

From this reading You say that it is "right" to like Virgil, and yet you admit that you admire the Mantuan, as the Scotch editor joked, "wi' deeficulty."

Chapter 4 of Letters on Literature by Andrew Lang holds 156 sentences, grouped into 32 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 4 of Letters on Literature contain?

Chapter 4 holds 156 sentences of Letters on Literature, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 4 of Letters on Literature by Andrew Lang exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 156 sentences, grouped into 32 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 4 of Letters on Literature?

Work through the 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 32 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 4 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading Letters on Literature

Common questions about reading Letters on Literature by Andrew Lang on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Letters on Literature?

Yes. All 1411 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1395 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Letters on Literature is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #1395, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Letters on Literature take to read?

About 117 minutes of reading across 283 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Letters on Literature section by section

How to work through Letters on Literature section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 9 chapters of Letters on Literature to begin.

  2. Read one section

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  3. Listen and tap

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

Vocabulary met early in Letters on Literature

Words and structures a reader meets early in Letters on Literature, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Introductory
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Letters on Literature; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Modern
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Letters on Literature; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
English
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Letters on Literature; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Poetry
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Letters on Literature; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.