Chapter 3 of Over the Brazier is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Over the Brazier is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE SHADOW OF DEATH Here's an end to my art! I must die and I know it, With battle murder at my heart-- Sad death for a poet! Oh my songs never sung, And my plays to darkness blown! I am still so young, so young, And life was my own. Some bad fairy stole The baby I nursed: Was this my pretty little soul, This changeling accursed?
Chapter 3 of Over the Brazier is here in full — 79 sentences across 16 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/15 · 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.
under a curse
From this reading “Some bad fairy stole The baby I nursed: Was this my pretty little soul, This changeling accursed?”
being moved or acted upon by moving air or vapor
From this reading “Oh my songs never sung, And my plays to darkness blown!”
a small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers
From this reading “Some bad fairy stole The baby I nursed: Was this my pretty little soul, This changeling accursed?”
(of an infant) breast-fed
From this reading “Some bad fairy stole The baby I nursed: Was this my pretty little soul, This changeling accursed?”
plural of “play” — a dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage
From this reading “Oh my songs never sung, And my plays to darkness blown!”
plural of “song” — a short musical composition with words
From this reading “Oh my songs never sung, And my plays to darkness blown!”
a wide scarf worn about their shoulders by women
From this reading “Some bad fairy stole The baby I nursed: Was this my pretty little soul, This changeling accursed?”
the imperial dynasty of China from 960 to 1279; noted for art and literature and philosophy
From this reading “Oh my songs never sung, And my plays to darkness blown!”
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.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading I must die and I know it, With battle murder at my heart-- Sad death for a poet!
under a curse
From this reading Some bad fairy stole The baby I nursed: Was this my pretty little soul, This changeling accursed?
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading I am still so young, so young, And life was my own.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading THE SHADOW OF DEATH Here's an end to my art!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I must die and I know it, With battle murder at my heart-- Sad death for a poet!
an old form of “are”, used with “thou”
From this reading THE SHADOW OF DEATH Here's an end to my art!
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading I must die and I know it, With battle murder at my heart-- Sad death for a poet!
a very young child (birth to 1 year) who has not yet begun to walk or talk
From this reading Some bad fairy stole The baby I nursed: Was this my pretty little soul, This changeling accursed?
having undesirable or negative qualities
From this reading Some bad fairy stole The baby I nursed: Was this my pretty little soul, This changeling accursed?
a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war
From this reading I must die and I know it, With battle murder at my heart-- Sad death for a poet!
being moved or acted upon by moving air or vapor
From this reading Oh my songs never sung, And my plays to darkness blown!
a person of subnormal intelligence
From this reading Some bad fairy stole The baby I nursed: Was this my pretty little soul, This changeling accursed?
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Oh my songs never sung, And my plays to darkness blown!
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading THE SHADOW OF DEATH Here's an end to my art!
pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life
From this reading I must die and I know it, With battle murder at my heart-- Sad death for a poet!
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading THE SHADOW OF DEATH Here's an end to my art!
a small being, human in form, playful and having magical powers
From this reading Some bad fairy stole The baby I nursed: Was this my pretty little soul, This changeling accursed?
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I must die and I know it, With battle murder at my heart-- Sad death for a poet!
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading I must die and I know it, With battle murder at my heart-- Sad death for a poet!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE SHADOW OF DEATH Here's an end to my art!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I must die and I know it, With battle murder at my heart-- Sad death for a poet!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I must die and I know it, With battle murder at my heart-- Sad death for a poet!
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading I must die and I know it, With battle murder at my heart-- Sad death for a poet!
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading I am still so young, so young, And life was my own.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading Some bad fairy stole The baby I nursed: Was this my pretty little soul, This changeling accursed?
kill intentionally and with premeditation
From this reading I must die and I know it, With battle murder at my heart-- Sad death for a poet!
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading I must die and I know it, With battle murder at my heart-- Sad death for a poet!
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading THE SHADOW OF DEATH Here's an end to my art!
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading Oh my songs never sung, And my plays to darkness blown!
(of an infant) breast-fed
From this reading Some bad fairy stole The baby I nursed: Was this my pretty little soul, This changeling accursed?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading THE SHADOW OF DEATH Here's an end to my art!
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading Oh my songs never sung, And my plays to darkness blown!
have ownership or possession of
From this reading I am still so young, so young, And life was my own.
plural of “play” — a dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage
From this reading Oh my songs never sung, And my plays to darkness blown!
a writer of poems (the term is usually reserved for writers of good poetry)
From this reading I must die and I know it, With battle murder at my heart-- Sad death for a poet!
pleasing by delicacy or grace; not imposing
From this reading Some bad fairy stole The baby I nursed: Was this my pretty little soul, This changeling accursed?
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness
From this reading I must die and I know it, With battle murder at my heart-- Sad death for a poet!
A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.
From this reading THE SHADOW OF DEATH Here's an end to my art!
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading I am still so young, so young, And life was my own.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading Some bad fairy stole The baby I nursed: Was this my pretty little soul, This changeling accursed?
plural of “song” — a short musical composition with words
From this reading Oh my songs never sung, And my plays to darkness blown!
the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading Some bad fairy stole The baby I nursed: Was this my pretty little soul, This changeling accursed?
not in physical motion
From this reading I am still so young, so young, And life was my own.
a wide scarf worn about their shoulders by women
From this reading Some bad fairy stole The baby I nursed: Was this my pretty little soul, This changeling accursed?
the imperial dynasty of China from 960 to 1279; noted for art and literature and philosophy
From this reading Oh my songs never sung, And my plays to darkness blown!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE SHADOW OF DEATH Here's an end to my art!
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Some bad fairy stole The baby I nursed: Was this my pretty little soul, This changeling accursed?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading THE SHADOW OF DEATH Here's an end to my art!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I am still so young, so young, And life was my own.
in the company of; together with
From this reading I must die and I know it, With battle murder at my heart-- Sad death for a poet!
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading I am still so young, so young, And life was my own.
Chapter 3 of Over the Brazier by Robert Graves holds 79 sentences, grouped into 16 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 79 sentences of Over the Brazier, unabridged, divided into 16 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Over the Brazier by Robert Graves exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 79 sentences, grouped into 16 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 16 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 16 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 Over the Brazier by Robert Graves on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 147 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #47144 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #47144, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 12 minutes of reading across 30 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Over the Brazier section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of Over the Brazier 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 Over the Brazier, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
