Chapter 11 of Life's Handicap is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of Life's Handicap is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
‘What else--Sahib?... Oh, forgive me--forgive! The death has driven me mad. Thou art the life of my heart, and the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and--and I have put thee from me, though it was but for a moment. If thou goest away, to whom shall I look for help?
Chapter 11 of Life's Handicap is here in full — 404 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/80 · 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.
an old form of “are”, used with “thou”
From this reading “Thou art the life of my heart, and the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and--and I have put thee from me, though it was but for a moment.”
the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing
From this reading “Thou art the life of my heart, and the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and--and I have put thee from me, though it was but for a moment.”
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading “The death has driven me mad.”
compelled forcibly by an outside agency
From this reading “The death has driven me mad.”
stop blaming or grant forgiveness
From this reading “Oh, forgive me--forgive!”
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading “If thou goest away, to whom shall I look for help?”
roused to anger
From this reading “The death has driven me mad.”
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading “Thou art the life of my heart, and the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and--and I have put thee from me, though it was but for a moment.”
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 Thou art the life of my heart, and the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and--and I have put thee from me, though it was but for a moment.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Thou art the life of my heart, and the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and--and I have put thee from me, though it was but for a moment.
an old form of “are”, used with “thou”
From this reading Thou art the life of my heart, and the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and--and I have put thee from me, though it was but for a moment.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading If thou goest away, to whom shall I look for help?
the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing
From this reading Thou art the life of my heart, and the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and--and I have put thee from me, though it was but for a moment.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Thou art the life of my heart, and the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and--and I have put thee from me, though it was but for a moment.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading The death has driven me mad.
compelled forcibly by an outside agency
From this reading The death has driven me mad.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘What else--Sahib?...
opinion or judgment
From this reading Thou art the life of my heart, and the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and--and I have put thee from me, though it was but for a moment.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Thou art the life of my heart, and the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and--and I have put thee from me, though it was but for a moment.
stop blaming or grant forgiveness
From this reading Oh, forgive me--forgive!
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Thou art the life of my heart, and the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and--and I have put thee from me, though it was but for a moment.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading If thou goest away, to whom shall I look for help?
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The death has driven me mad.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Thou art the life of my heart, and the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and--and I have put thee from me, though it was but for a moment.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading Thou art the life of my heart, and the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and--and I have put thee from me, though it was but for a moment.
give help or assistance; be of service
From this reading If thou goest away, to whom shall I look for help?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Thou art the life of my heart, and the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and--and I have put thee from me, though it was but for a moment.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If thou goest away, to whom shall I look for help?
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Thou art the life of my heart, and the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and--and I have put thee from me, though it was but for a moment.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Thou art the life of my heart, and the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and--and I have put thee from me, though it was but for a moment.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading Thou art the life of my heart, and the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and--and I have put thee from me, though it was but for a moment.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading If thou goest away, to whom shall I look for help?
roused to anger
From this reading The death has driven me mad.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Oh, forgive me--forgive!
a particular point in time
From this reading Thou art the life of my heart, and the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and--and I have put thee from me, though it was but for a moment.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Thou art the life of my heart, and the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and--and I have put thee from me, though it was but for a moment.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Thou art the life of my heart, and the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and--and I have put thee from me, though it was but for a moment.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading Oh, forgive me--forgive!
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Thou art the life of my heart, and the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and--and I have put thee from me, though it was but for a moment.
formerly a term of respect for important white Europeans in colonial India; used after the name
From this reading ‘What else--Sahib?...
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading If thou goest away, to whom shall I look for help?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The death has driven me mad.
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading Thou art the life of my heart, and the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and--and I have put thee from me, though it was but for a moment.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading Thou art the life of my heart, and the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and--and I have put thee from me, though it was but for a moment.
in spite of the fact that
From this reading Thou art the life of my heart, and the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and--and I have put thee from me, though it was but for a moment.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading If thou goest away, to whom shall I look for help?
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Thou art the life of my heart, and the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and--and I have put thee from me, though it was but for a moment.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading ‘What else--Sahib?...
the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading If thou goest away, to whom shall I look for help?
Chapter 11 of Life's Handicap by Rudyard Kipling holds 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 11 holds 404 sentences of Life's Handicap, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of Life's Handicap by Rudyard Kipling exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 404 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 11 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 Life's Handicap by Rudyard Kipling on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 6414 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #5777 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #5777, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 534 minutes of reading across 1283 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Life's Handicap section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 16 chapters of Life's Handicap 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 Life's Handicap, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
