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Milton's Comus
Milton's Comus

Chapter III · Chapter 3

Chapter 3 of Milton's Comus is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for Milton's Comus
Context Illustration Reading 1/84 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
58.
~Comus~: see note, l.
46.
The Greek word κῶμος denoted a revel or merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous mirth, the god of Revel.
Hence also the word _comedy_.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Milton's Comus

Chapter III · Chapter 3

Chapter 3 of Milton's Comus is here in full — 424 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/84 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
58.
Line 2
~Comus~: see note, l.
Line 3
46.
Line 4
The Greek word κῶμος denoted a revel or merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous mirth, the god of Revel.
Line 5
Hence also the word _comedy_.
/hens ˈɔːlsoʊ ðə wɜːrd ˈkɑːmədi/

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.

comedy noun US /ˈkɑːmədi/

light and humorous drama with a happy ending

denoted verb US /dɪˈnoʊtəd/

past form of “denote” — be a sign or indication of

From this reading “The Greek word κῶμος denoted a revel or merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous mirth, the god of Revel.”

Greek noun US /ɡriːk/

the Hellenic branch of the Indo-European family of languages

From this reading “The Greek word κῶμος denoted a revel or merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous mirth, the god of Revel.”

Hence adverb US /hens/

for this reason

From this reading “Hence also the word _comedy_.”

mirth noun US /mɜːrθ/

great merriment

From this reading “The Greek word κῶμος denoted a revel or merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous mirth, the god of Revel.”

personification noun US /pərˌsɑːnəfəˈkeɪʃən/

a person who represents an abstract quality

From this reading “The Greek word κῶμος denoted a revel or merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous mirth, the god of Revel.”

revel verb US /ˈrevəl/

take delight in

From this reading “The Greek word κῶμος denoted a revel or merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous mirth, the god of Revel.”

riotous adjective US /ˈraɪətəs/

produced or growing in extreme abundance

From this reading “The Greek word κῶμος denoted a revel or merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous mirth, the god of Revel.”

All words in this reading · 28

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.

46

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

From this reading 46.

58

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

From this reading 58.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading The Greek word κῶμος denoted a revel or merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous mirth, the god of Revel.

afterwardsadverbUS /ˈæftərwərdz/

happening at a time subsequent to a reference time

From this reading The Greek word κῶμος denoted a revel or merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous mirth, the god of Revel.

alsoadverbUS /ˈɔːlsoʊ/

in addition

From this reading Hence also the word _comedy_.

cameverbUS /keɪm/

inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody

From this reading The Greek word κῶμος denoted a revel or merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous mirth, the god of Revel.

comedynounUS /ˈkɑːmədi/

light and humorous drama with a happy ending

From this reading Hence also the word _comedy_.

Comus

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

From this reading ~Comus~: see note, l.

denotedverbUS /dɪˈnoʊtəd/

past form of “denote” — be a sign or indication of

From this reading The Greek word κῶμος denoted a revel or merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous mirth, the god of Revel.

godnounUS /ɡɑːd/

the supernatural being conceived as the perfect and omnipotent and omniscient originator and ruler of the universe; the object of worship in monotheistic religions

From this reading The Greek word κῶμος denoted a revel or merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous mirth, the god of Revel.

GreeknounUS /ɡriːk/

the Hellenic branch of the Indo-European family of languages

From this reading The Greek word κῶμος denoted a revel or merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous mirth, the god of Revel.

HenceadverbUS /hens/

for this reason

From this reading Hence also the word _comedy_.

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading The Greek word κῶμος denoted a revel or merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous mirth, the god of Revel.

lnounUS /el/

a metric unit of capacity, formerly defined as the volume of one kilogram of pure water under standard conditions; now equal to 1,000 cubic centimeters (or approximately 1.75 pints)

From this reading ~Comus~: see note, l.

meanverbUS /miːn/

mean or intend to express or convey

From this reading The Greek word κῶμος denoted a revel or merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous mirth, the god of Revel.

merry-making

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

From this reading The Greek word κῶμος denoted a revel or merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous mirth, the god of Revel.

mirthnounUS /mɜːrθ/

great merriment

From this reading The Greek word κῶμος denoted a revel or merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous mirth, the god of Revel.

notenounUS /noʊt/

a brief written record

From this reading ~Comus~: see note, l.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The Greek word κῶμος denoted a revel or merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous mirth, the god of Revel.

orconjunctionUS /ɔːr/

used to join alternatives or possibilities

From this reading The Greek word κῶμος denoted a revel or merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous mirth, the god of Revel.

personificationnounUS /pərˌsɑːnəfəˈkeɪʃən/

a person who represents an abstract quality

From this reading The Greek word κῶμος denoted a revel or merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous mirth, the god of Revel.

revelverbUS /ˈrevəl/

take delight in

From this reading The Greek word κῶμος denoted a revel or merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous mirth, the god of Revel.

riotousadjectiveUS /ˈraɪətəs/

produced or growing in extreme abundance

From this reading The Greek word κῶμος denoted a revel or merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous mirth, the god of Revel.

seeverbUS /siː/

perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight

From this reading ~Comus~: see note, l.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading The Greek word κῶμος denoted a revel or merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous mirth, the god of Revel.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading The Greek word κῶμος denoted a revel or merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous mirth, the god of Revel.

wordnounUS /wɜːrd/

a unit of language that native speakers can identify

From this reading The Greek word κῶμος denoted a revel or merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous mirth, the god of Revel.

κῶμος

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

From this reading The Greek word κῶμος denoted a revel or merry-making; afterwards it came to mean the personification of riotous mirth, the god of Revel.

Chapter 3 of Milton's Comus by John Milton holds 424 sentences, grouped into 85 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.

What does chapter 3 of Milton's Comus contain?

Chapter 3 holds 424 sentences of Milton's Comus, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 3 of Milton's Comus by John Milton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 424 sentences, grouped into 85 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 3 of Milton's Comus?

Work through the 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 85 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 3 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 3 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 Milton's Comus

Common questions about reading Milton's Comus by John Milton on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Milton's Comus?

Yes. All 4086 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #19819 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Milton's Comus is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #19819, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Milton's Comus take to read?

About 340 minutes of reading across 818 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Milton's Comus section by section

How to work through Milton's Comus section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 10 chapters of Milton's Comus to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

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

Vocabulary met early in Milton's Comus

Words and structures a reader meets early in Milton's Comus, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Surrounded
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Milton's Comus; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Tildes
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Milton's Comus; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Italic
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Milton's Comus; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Underscores
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Milton's Comus; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.