Chapter 12 of Multitude and Solitude is here in full — 395 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Multitude and Solitude is here in full — 395 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The fit passed off in the early morning, leaving him weak, but alert. Something was going to happen. The air was as close as a blast from a furnace. He sat up, holding by the tent-pole. He could see a star or two.
Chapter 12 of Multitude and Solitude is here in full — 395 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/79 · 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.
engaged in or accustomed to close observation
From this reading “The fit passed off in the early morning, leaving him weak, but alert.”
make a strident sound
From this reading “The air was as close as a blast from a furnace.”
be agreeable or acceptable to
From this reading “The fit passed off in the early morning, leaving him weak, but alert.”
an enclosed chamber in which heat is produced to heat buildings, destroy refuse, smelt or refine ores, etc.
From this reading “The air was as close as a blast from a furnace.”
come to pass
From this reading “Something was going to happen.”
the act of retaining something
From this reading “He sat up, holding by the tent-pole.”
(astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading “He could see a star or two.”
wanting in physical strength
From this reading “The fit passed off in the early morning, leaving him weak, but alert.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “The fit passed off in the early morning, leaving him weak, but alert.”
In this reading “The air was as close as a blast from a furnace.”
be accepted as something or somebody in a false character or identity
In this reading “The fit passed off in the early morning, leaving him weak, but alert.”
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 The air was as close as a blast from a furnace.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading The air was as close as a blast from a furnace.
engaged in or accustomed to close observation
From this reading The fit passed off in the early morning, leaving him weak, but alert.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading The air was as close as a blast from a furnace.
make a strident sound
From this reading The air was as close as a blast from a furnace.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading The fit passed off in the early morning, leaving him weak, but alert.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading He sat up, holding by the tent-pole.
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading The air was as close as a blast from a furnace.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He could see a star or two.
at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time
From this reading The fit passed off in the early morning, leaving him weak, but alert.
be agreeable or acceptable to
From this reading The fit passed off in the early morning, leaving him weak, but alert.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The air was as close as a blast from a furnace.
an enclosed chamber in which heat is produced to heat buildings, destroy refuse, smelt or refine ores, etc.
From this reading The air was as close as a blast from a furnace.
the act of departing
From this reading Something was going to happen.
come to pass
From this reading Something was going to happen.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He sat up, holding by the tent-pole.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The fit passed off in the early morning, leaving him weak, but alert.
the act of retaining something
From this reading He sat up, holding by the tent-pole.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The fit passed off in the early morning, leaving him weak, but alert.
the act of departing
From this reading The fit passed off in the early morning, leaving him weak, but alert.
the time period between dawn and noon
From this reading The fit passed off in the early morning, leaving him weak, but alert.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading The fit passed off in the early morning, leaving him weak, but alert.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading He could see a star or two.
past form of “pass” — go across or through
From this reading The fit passed off in the early morning, leaving him weak, but alert.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading He sat up, holding by the tent-pole.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading He could see a star or two.
a thing, without saying which
From this reading Something was going to happen.
(astronomy) a celestial body of hot gases that radiates energy derived from thermonuclear reactions in the interior
From this reading He could see a star or two.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He sat up, holding by the tent-pole.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The fit passed off in the early morning, leaving him weak, but alert.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Something was going to happen.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading He could see a star or two.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He sat up, holding by the tent-pole.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Something was going to happen.
wanting in physical strength
From this reading The fit passed off in the early morning, leaving him weak, but alert.
Chapter 12 of Multitude and Solitude by John Masefield holds 395 sentences, grouped into 79 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 12 holds 395 sentences of Multitude and Solitude, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Multitude and Solitude by John Masefield exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 395 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 12 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 Multitude and Solitude by John Masefield on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7061 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #58436 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #58436, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 588 minutes of reading across 1413 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Multitude and Solitude section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 17 chapters of Multitude and Solitude 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 Multitude and Solitude, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
