Chapter 15 of Light is here in full — 470 sentences across 94 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of Light is here in full — 470 sentences across 94 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
DE PROFUNDIS CLAMAVI I am dead. I fall, I roll like a broken bird into bewilderments of light, into canyons of darkness. Vertigo presses on my entrails, strangles me, plunges into me. I drop sheer into the void, and my gaze falls faster than I. Through the wanton breath of the depths that assail me I see, far below, the seashore dawning.
Chapter 15 of Light is here in full — 470 sentences across 94 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/94 · 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.
attack someone physically or emotionally
From this reading “Through the wanton breath of the depths that assail me I see, far below, the seashore dawning.”
plural of “canyon” — a ravine formed by a river in an area with little rainfall
From this reading “I fall, I roll like a broken bird into bewilderments of light, into canyons of darkness.”
the first light of day
From this reading “Through the wanton breath of the depths that assail me I see, far below, the seashore dawning.”
internal organs collectively (especially those in the abdominal cavity)
From this reading “Vertigo presses on my entrails, strangles me, plunges into me.”
plural of “plunge” — a brief swim in water
From this reading “Vertigo presses on my entrails, strangles me, plunges into me.”
plural of “press” — the state of demanding notice or attention
From this reading “Vertigo presses on my entrails, strangles me, plunges into me.”
the shore of a sea or ocean
From this reading “Through the wanton breath of the depths that assail me I see, far below, the seashore dawning.”
a reeling sensation; a feeling that you are about to fall
From this reading “Vertigo presses on my entrails, strangles me, plunges into me.”
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 I fall, I roll like a broken bird into bewilderments of light, into canyons of darkness.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading DE PROFUNDIS CLAMAVI I am dead.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I drop sheer into the void, and my gaze falls faster than I.
attack someone physically or emotionally
From this reading Through the wanton breath of the depths that assail me I see, far below, the seashore dawning.
at or to a lower level than something
From this reading Through the wanton breath of the depths that assail me I see, far below, the seashore dawning.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I fall, I roll like a broken bird into bewilderments of light, into canyons of darkness.
warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading I fall, I roll like a broken bird into bewilderments of light, into canyons of darkness.
the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing
From this reading Through the wanton breath of the depths that assail me I see, far below, the seashore dawning.
physically and forcibly separated into pieces or cracked or split
From this reading I fall, I roll like a broken bird into bewilderments of light, into canyons of darkness.
plural of “canyon” — a ravine formed by a river in an area with little rainfall
From this reading I fall, I roll like a broken bird into bewilderments of light, into canyons of darkness.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DE PROFUNDIS CLAMAVI I am dead.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading I fall, I roll like a broken bird into bewilderments of light, into canyons of darkness.
the first light of day
From this reading Through the wanton breath of the depths that assail me I see, far below, the seashore dawning.
a Mid-Atlantic state; one of the original 13 colonies
From this reading DE PROFUNDIS CLAMAVI I am dead.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading DE PROFUNDIS CLAMAVI I am dead.
(plural) the deepest and most remote part
From this reading Through the wanton breath of the depths that assail me I see, far below, the seashore dawning.
let fall to the ground
From this reading I drop sheer into the void, and my gaze falls faster than I.
internal organs collectively (especially those in the abdominal cavity)
From this reading Vertigo presses on my entrails, strangles me, plunges into me.
descend in free fall under the influence of gravity
From this reading I fall, I roll like a broken bird into bewilderments of light, into canyons of darkness.
the petals or sepals of a flower that bend downward (especially the outer perianth of an iris)
From this reading I drop sheer into the void, and my gaze falls faster than I.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading Through the wanton breath of the depths that assail me I see, far below, the seashore dawning.
more quickly
From this reading I drop sheer into the void, and my gaze falls faster than I.
a long fixed look
From this reading I drop sheer into the void, and my gaze falls faster than I.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading DE PROFUNDIS CLAMAVI I am dead.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading I fall, I roll like a broken bird into bewilderments of light, into canyons of darkness.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading I fall, I roll like a broken bird into bewilderments of light, into canyons of darkness.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading I fall, I roll like a broken bird into bewilderments of light, into canyons of darkness.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Vertigo presses on my entrails, strangles me, plunges into me.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Vertigo presses on my entrails, strangles me, plunges into me.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I fall, I roll like a broken bird into bewilderments of light, into canyons of darkness.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Vertigo presses on my entrails, strangles me, plunges into me.
plural of “plunge” — a brief swim in water
From this reading Vertigo presses on my entrails, strangles me, plunges into me.
plural of “press” — the state of demanding notice or attention
From this reading Vertigo presses on my entrails, strangles me, plunges into me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DE PROFUNDIS CLAMAVI I am dead.
move by turning over or rotating
From this reading I fall, I roll like a broken bird into bewilderments of light, into canyons of darkness.
the shore of a sea or ocean
From this reading Through the wanton breath of the depths that assail me I see, far below, the seashore dawning.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Through the wanton breath of the depths that assail me I see, far below, the seashore dawning.
complete and without restriction or qualification; sometimes used informally as intensifiers
From this reading I drop sheer into the void, and my gaze falls faster than I.
an acute bacterial disease of horses characterized by inflammation of the mucous membranes
From this reading Vertigo presses on my entrails, strangles me, plunges into me.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading I drop sheer into the void, and my gaze falls faster than I.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Through the wanton breath of the depths that assail me I see, far below, the seashore dawning.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I drop sheer into the void, and my gaze falls faster than I.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading Through the wanton breath of the depths that assail me I see, far below, the seashore dawning.
a reeling sensation; a feeling that you are about to fall
From this reading Vertigo presses on my entrails, strangles me, plunges into me.
lacking any legal or binding force
From this reading I drop sheer into the void, and my gaze falls faster than I.
waste time; spend one's time idly or inefficiently
From this reading Through the wanton breath of the depths that assail me I see, far below, the seashore dawning.
Chapter 15 of Light by Henri Barbusse holds 470 sentences, grouped into 94 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 15 holds 470 sentences of Light, unabridged, divided into 94 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 of Light by Henri Barbusse exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 470 sentences, grouped into 94 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 94 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 94 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 15 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 Light by Henri Barbusse on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5323 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12904 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12904, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 443 minutes of reading across 1065 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Light section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 22 chapters of Light 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 Light, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
