Chapter 3 of Oracles from the Poets is here in full — 351 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Oracles from the Poets is here in full — 351 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
BEN JONSON. 60. Her nose is crook'd, and turn'd outwarde, Her chin stands all awry; A worse formed lady than she is, Was never seen with eye. Her haires like serpents cling aboute Her cheekes of deadlye hewe; A worse form'd ladye than she is No man mote ever view. PERCY'S RELIQUES--_The Marriage of Sir Gawaine_.
Chapter 3 of Oracles from the Poets is here in full — 351 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/70 · 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.
turned or twisted toward one side
From this reading “Her nose is crook'd, and turn'd outwarde, Her chin stands all awry; A worse formed lady than she is, Was never seen with eye.”
the protruding part of the lower jaw
From this reading “Her nose is crook'd, and turn'd outwarde, Her chin stands all awry; A worse formed lady than she is, Was never seen with eye.”
come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation
From this reading “Her haires like serpents cling aboute Her cheekes of deadlye hewe; A worse form'd ladye than she is No man mote ever view.”
English dramatist and poet who was the first real poet laureate of England (1572-1637)
From this reading “BEN JONSON.”
(nontechnical usage) a tiny piece of anything
From this reading “Her haires like serpents cling aboute Her cheekes of deadlye hewe; A worse form'd ladye than she is No man mote ever view.”
possessive form of “percy” — United States writer whose novels explored human alienation (1916-1990)
From this reading “PERCY'S RELIQUES--_The Marriage of Sir Gawaine_.”
plural of “serpent” — limbless scaly elongate reptile; some are venomous
From this reading “Her haires like serpents cling aboute Her cheekes of deadlye hewe; A worse form'd ladye than she is No man mote ever view.”
plural of “stand” — a support or foundation
From this reading “Her nose is crook'd, and turn'd outwarde, Her chin stands all awry; A worse formed lady than she is, Was never seen with eye.”
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.
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 60.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Her nose is crook'd, and turn'd outwarde, Her chin stands all awry; A worse formed lady than she is, Was never seen with eye.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her haires like serpents cling aboute Her cheekes of deadlye hewe; A worse form'd ladye than she is No man mote ever view.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Her nose is crook'd, and turn'd outwarde, Her chin stands all awry; A worse formed lady than she is, Was never seen with eye.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Her nose is crook'd, and turn'd outwarde, Her chin stands all awry; A worse formed lady than she is, Was never seen with eye.
turned or twisted toward one side
From this reading Her nose is crook'd, and turn'd outwarde, Her chin stands all awry; A worse formed lady than she is, Was never seen with eye.
a mountain or tall hill
From this reading BEN JONSON.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her haires like serpents cling aboute Her cheekes of deadlye hewe; A worse form'd ladye than she is No man mote ever view.
the protruding part of the lower jaw
From this reading Her nose is crook'd, and turn'd outwarde, Her chin stands all awry; A worse formed lady than she is, Was never seen with eye.
come or be in close contact with; stick or hold together and resist separation
From this reading Her haires like serpents cling aboute Her cheekes of deadlye hewe; A worse form'd ladye than she is No man mote ever view.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her nose is crook'd, and turn'd outwarde, Her chin stands all awry; A worse formed lady than she is, Was never seen with eye.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her haires like serpents cling aboute Her cheekes of deadlye hewe; A worse form'd ladye than she is No man mote ever view.
at any time
From this reading Her haires like serpents cling aboute Her cheekes of deadlye hewe; A worse form'd ladye than she is No man mote ever view.
the organ of sight
From this reading Her nose is crook'd, and turn'd outwarde, Her chin stands all awry; A worse formed lady than she is, Was never seen with eye.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her haires like serpents cling aboute Her cheekes of deadlye hewe; A worse form'd ladye than she is No man mote ever view.
having or given a form or shape
From this reading Her nose is crook'd, and turn'd outwarde, Her chin stands all awry; A worse formed lady than she is, Was never seen with eye.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading PERCY'S RELIQUES--_The Marriage of Sir Gawaine_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her haires like serpents cling aboute Her cheekes of deadlye hewe; A worse form'd ladye than she is No man mote ever view.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Her nose is crook'd, and turn'd outwarde, Her chin stands all awry; A worse formed lady than she is, Was never seen with eye.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her haires like serpents cling aboute Her cheekes of deadlye hewe; A worse form'd ladye than she is No man mote ever view.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Her nose is crook'd, and turn'd outwarde, Her chin stands all awry; A worse formed lady than she is, Was never seen with eye.
English dramatist and poet who was the first real poet laureate of England (1572-1637)
From this reading BEN JONSON.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading Her nose is crook'd, and turn'd outwarde, Her chin stands all awry; A worse formed lady than she is, Was never seen with eye.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her haires like serpents cling aboute Her cheekes of deadlye hewe; A worse form'd ladye than she is No man mote ever view.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Her haires like serpents cling aboute Her cheekes of deadlye hewe; A worse form'd ladye than she is No man mote ever view.
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading Her haires like serpents cling aboute Her cheekes of deadlye hewe; A worse form'd ladye than she is No man mote ever view.
the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce)
From this reading PERCY'S RELIQUES--_The Marriage of Sir Gawaine_.
(nontechnical usage) a tiny piece of anything
From this reading Her haires like serpents cling aboute Her cheekes of deadlye hewe; A worse form'd ladye than she is No man mote ever view.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Her nose is crook'd, and turn'd outwarde, Her chin stands all awry; A worse formed lady than she is, Was never seen with eye.
not any; not one
From this reading Her haires like serpents cling aboute Her cheekes of deadlye hewe; A worse form'd ladye than she is No man mote ever view.
the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals
From this reading Her nose is crook'd, and turn'd outwarde, Her chin stands all awry; A worse formed lady than she is, Was never seen with eye.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Her haires like serpents cling aboute Her cheekes of deadlye hewe; A worse form'd ladye than she is No man mote ever view.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her nose is crook'd, and turn'd outwarde, Her chin stands all awry; A worse formed lady than she is, Was never seen with eye.
possessive form of “percy” — United States writer whose novels explored human alienation (1916-1990)
From this reading PERCY'S RELIQUES--_The Marriage of Sir Gawaine_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading PERCY'S RELIQUES--_The Marriage of Sir Gawaine_.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading Her nose is crook'd, and turn'd outwarde, Her chin stands all awry; A worse formed lady than she is, Was never seen with eye.
plural of “serpent” — limbless scaly elongate reptile; some are venomous
From this reading Her haires like serpents cling aboute Her cheekes of deadlye hewe; A worse form'd ladye than she is No man mote ever view.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Her nose is crook'd, and turn'd outwarde, Her chin stands all awry; A worse formed lady than she is, Was never seen with eye.
term of address for a man
From this reading PERCY'S RELIQUES--_The Marriage of Sir Gawaine_.
plural of “stand” — a support or foundation
From this reading Her nose is crook'd, and turn'd outwarde, Her chin stands all awry; A worse formed lady than she is, Was never seen with eye.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading Her nose is crook'd, and turn'd outwarde, Her chin stands all awry; A worse formed lady than she is, Was never seen with eye.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading PERCY'S RELIQUES--_The Marriage of Sir Gawaine_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Her nose is crook'd, and turn'd outwarde, Her chin stands all awry; A worse formed lady than she is, Was never seen with eye.
a way of regarding situations or topics etc.
From this reading Her haires like serpents cling aboute Her cheekes of deadlye hewe; A worse form'd ladye than she is No man mote ever view.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Her nose is crook'd, and turn'd outwarde, Her chin stands all awry; A worse formed lady than she is, Was never seen with eye.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Her nose is crook'd, and turn'd outwarde, Her chin stands all awry; A worse formed lady than she is, Was never seen with eye.
(comparative of “bad”) inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability
From this reading Her nose is crook'd, and turn'd outwarde, Her chin stands all awry; A worse formed lady than she is, Was never seen with eye.
Chapter 3 of Oracles from the Poets by Caroline Howard [Editor] Gilman holds 351 sentences, grouped into 71 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 3 holds 351 sentences of Oracles from the Poets, unabridged, divided into 71 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Oracles from the Poets by Caroline Howard [Editor] Gilman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 351 sentences, grouped into 71 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 71 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 71 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 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.
Common questions about reading Oracles from the Poets by Caroline Howard [Editor] Gilman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2936 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #47200 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #47200, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 244 minutes of reading across 588 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Oracles from the Poets section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of Oracles from the Poets 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 Oracles from the Poets, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
