Chapter 2 of Percy: A Tragedy is here in full — 477 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Percy: A Tragedy is here in full — 477 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Douglas at the side with his sword drawn, Edric holds him._ _Dou._ Give me way. _Edr._ Thou shalt not enter. _Dou._ [_struggling with Edric_] If there were no hell, It would defraud my vengeance of its edge, And she should live. [_breaks from Edric and comes forward._ Cursed chance! he is not here. _Elw._ [_going._] I dare not meet his fury.
Chapter 2 of Percy: A Tragedy is here in full — 477 sentences across 96 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/95 · 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.
plural of “break” — some abrupt occurrence that interrupts an ongoing activity
deserving a curse; sometimes used as an intensifier
From this reading “[_breaks from Edric and comes forward._ Cursed chance! he is not here.”
deprive of by deceit
From this reading “_Dou._ [_struggling with Edric_] If there were no hell, It would defraud my vengeance of its edge, And she should live.”
United States politician who proposed that individual territories be allowed to decide whether they would have slavery; he engaged in a famous series of debates with Abraham Lincoln (1813-1861)
plural of “hold” — the act of grasping
From this reading “_Douglas at the side with his sword drawn, Edric holds him._ _Dou._ Give me way.”
an old form of “shall”, used with “thou”
From this reading “_Edr._ Thou shalt not enter.”
engaged in a struggle to overcome especially poverty or obscurity
the act of taking revenge (harming someone in retaliation for something harmful that they have done) especially in the next life
From this reading “_Dou._ [_struggling with Edric_] If there were no hell, It would defraud my vengeance of its edge, And she should live.”
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.
make oneself visible; take action
In this reading “[_breaks from Edric and comes forward._ Cursed chance! he is not here.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading _Dou._ [_struggling with Edric_] If there were no hell, It would defraud my vengeance of its edge, And she should live.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading _Douglas at the side with his sword drawn, Edric holds him._ _Dou._ Give me way.
plural of “break” — some abrupt occurrence that interrupts an ongoing activity
From this reading [_breaks from Edric and comes forward._ Cursed chance! he is not here.
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading [_breaks from Edric and comes forward._ Cursed chance! he is not here.
plural of “come” — the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
From this reading [_breaks from Edric and comes forward._ Cursed chance! he is not here.
deserving a curse; sometimes used as an intensifier
From this reading [_breaks from Edric and comes forward._ Cursed chance! he is not here.
take upon oneself; act presumptuously, without permission
From this reading _Elw._ [_going._] I dare not meet his fury.
deprive of by deceit
From this reading _Dou._ [_struggling with Edric_] If there were no hell, It would defraud my vengeance of its edge, And she should live.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Douglas at the side with his sword drawn, Edric holds him._ _Dou._ Give me way.
United States politician who proposed that individual territories be allowed to decide whether they would have slavery; he engaged in a famous series of debates with Abraham Lincoln (1813-1861)
From this reading _Douglas at the side with his sword drawn, Edric holds him._ _Dou._ Give me way.
showing the wearing effects of overwork or care or suffering
From this reading _Douglas at the side with his sword drawn, Edric holds him._ _Dou._ Give me way.
the boundary of a surface
From this reading _Dou._ [_struggling with Edric_] If there were no hell, It would defraud my vengeance of its edge, And she should live.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Edr._ Thou shalt not enter.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Douglas at the side with his sword drawn, Edric holds him._ _Dou._ Give me way.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Elw._ [_going._] I dare not meet his fury.
to come or go into
From this reading _Edr._ Thou shalt not enter.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading [_breaks from Edric and comes forward._ Cursed chance! he is not here.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading [_breaks from Edric and comes forward._ Cursed chance! he is not here.
a feeling of intense anger
From this reading _Elw._ [_going._] I dare not meet his fury.
cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense
From this reading _Douglas at the side with his sword drawn, Edric holds him._ _Dou._ Give me way.
the act of departing
From this reading _Elw._ [_going._] I dare not meet his fury.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading [_breaks from Edric and comes forward._ Cursed chance! he is not here.
any place of pain and turmoil
From this reading _Dou._ [_struggling with Edric_] If there were no hell, It would defraud my vengeance of its edge, And she should live.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading [_breaks from Edric and comes forward._ Cursed chance! he is not here.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading _Douglas at the side with his sword drawn, Edric holds him._ _Dou._ Give me way.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading _Douglas at the side with his sword drawn, Edric holds him._ _Dou._ Give me way.
plural of “hold” — the act of grasping
From this reading _Douglas at the side with his sword drawn, Edric holds him._ _Dou._ Give me way.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading _Elw._ [_going._] I dare not meet his fury.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading _Dou._ [_struggling with Edric_] If there were no hell, It would defraud my vengeance of its edge, And she should live.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading [_breaks from Edric and comes forward._ Cursed chance! he is not here.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading _Dou._ [_struggling with Edric_] If there were no hell, It would defraud my vengeance of its edge, And she should live.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading _Dou._ [_struggling with Edric_] If there were no hell, It would defraud my vengeance of its edge, And she should live.
be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading _Dou._ [_struggling with Edric_] If there were no hell, It would defraud my vengeance of its edge, And she should live.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading _Douglas at the side with his sword drawn, Edric holds him._ _Dou._ Give me way.
come together
From this reading _Elw._ [_going._] I dare not meet his fury.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading _Dou._ [_struggling with Edric_] If there were no hell, It would defraud my vengeance of its edge, And she should live.
not any; not one
From this reading _Dou._ [_struggling with Edric_] If there were no hell, It would defraud my vengeance of its edge, And she should live.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading _Edr._ Thou shalt not enter.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading _Dou._ [_struggling with Edric_] If there were no hell, It would defraud my vengeance of its edge, And she should live.
an old form of “shall”, used with “thou”
From this reading _Edr._ Thou shalt not enter.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading _Dou._ [_struggling with Edric_] If there were no hell, It would defraud my vengeance of its edge, And she should live.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading _Dou._ [_struggling with Edric_] If there were no hell, It would defraud my vengeance of its edge, And she should live.
a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
From this reading _Douglas at the side with his sword drawn, Edric holds him._ _Dou._ Give me way.
engaged in a struggle to overcome especially poverty or obscurity
From this reading _Dou._ [_struggling with Edric_] If there were no hell, It would defraud my vengeance of its edge, And she should live.
a cutting or thrusting weapon that has a long metal blade and a hilt with a hand guard
From this reading _Douglas at the side with his sword drawn, Edric holds him._ _Dou._ Give me way.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _Douglas at the side with his sword drawn, Edric holds him._ _Dou._ Give me way.
in or at that place or location
From this reading _Dou._ [_struggling with Edric_] If there were no hell, It would defraud my vengeance of its edge, And she should live.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading _Edr._ Thou shalt not enter.
the act of taking revenge (harming someone in retaliation for something harmful that they have done) especially in the next life
From this reading _Dou._ [_struggling with Edric_] If there were no hell, It would defraud my vengeance of its edge, And she should live.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading _Douglas at the side with his sword drawn, Edric holds him._ _Dou._ Give me way.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading _Dou._ [_struggling with Edric_] If there were no hell, It would defraud my vengeance of its edge, And she should live.
in the company of; together with
From this reading _Douglas at the side with his sword drawn, Edric holds him._ _Dou._ Give me way.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading _Dou._ [_struggling with Edric_] If there were no hell, It would defraud my vengeance of its edge, And she should live.
Chapter 2 of Percy: A Tragedy by Hannah More holds 477 sentences, grouped into 96 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 2 holds 477 sentences of Percy: A Tragedy, unabridged, divided into 96 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Percy: A Tragedy by Hannah More exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 477 sentences, grouped into 96 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 96 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 96 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 2 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.
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Yes. All 985 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30524 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #30524, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 82 minutes of reading across 197 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Percy: A Tragedy section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of Percy: A Tragedy 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 Percy: A Tragedy, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
