Chapter 2 of Poems By the Way is here in full — 377 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Poems By the Way is here in full — 377 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_The King's Daughter_. O worser waxeth thy story far, For these drew upon me bolt and bar. Fly south, O fowl, to the field of death For nothing sweet thy grey neb saith. _The Raven_. O, there was Olaf the lily-rose, As fair as any oak that grows.
Chapter 2 of Poems By the Way is here in full — 377 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/75 · 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.
a room or establishment where alcoholic drinks are served over a counter
From this reading “O worser waxeth thy story far, For these drew upon me bolt and bar.”
a discharge of lightning accompanied by thunder
From this reading “O worser waxeth thy story far, For these drew upon me bolt and bar.”
a domesticated gallinaceous bird thought to be descended from the red jungle fowl
From this reading “Fly south, O fowl, to the field of death For nothing sweet thy grey neb saith.”
of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
From this reading “Fly south, O fowl, to the field of death For nothing sweet thy grey neb saith.”
third-person singular of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading “O, there was Olaf the lily-rose, As fair as any oak that grows.”
possessive form of “king” — a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading “_The King's Daughter_.”
the hard durable wood of any oak; used especially for furniture and flooring
From this reading “O, there was Olaf the lily-rose, As fair as any oak that grows.”
obtain or seize by violence
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 O worser waxeth thy story far, For these drew upon me bolt and bar.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading O, there was Olaf the lily-rose, As fair as any oak that grows.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading O, there was Olaf the lily-rose, As fair as any oak that grows.
a room or establishment where alcoholic drinks are served over a counter
From this reading O worser waxeth thy story far, For these drew upon me bolt and bar.
a discharge of lightning accompanied by thunder
From this reading O worser waxeth thy story far, For these drew upon me bolt and bar.
a female human offspring
From this reading _The King's Daughter_.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading Fly south, O fowl, to the field of death For nothing sweet thy grey neb saith.
United States actor (born in Ireland); father of Georgiana Emma Barrymore (1827-1862)
From this reading O worser waxeth thy story far, For these drew upon me bolt and bar.
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading O, there was Olaf the lily-rose, As fair as any oak that grows.
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading O worser waxeth thy story far, For these drew upon me bolt and bar.
a piece of land cleared of trees and usually enclosed
From this reading Fly south, O fowl, to the field of death For nothing sweet thy grey neb saith.
travel through the air; be airborne
From this reading Fly south, O fowl, to the field of death For nothing sweet thy grey neb saith.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading O worser waxeth thy story far, For these drew upon me bolt and bar.
a domesticated gallinaceous bird thought to be descended from the red jungle fowl
From this reading Fly south, O fowl, to the field of death For nothing sweet thy grey neb saith.
of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
From this reading Fly south, O fowl, to the field of death For nothing sweet thy grey neb saith.
third-person singular of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading O, there was Olaf the lily-rose, As fair as any oak that grows.
possessive form of “king” — a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
From this reading _The King's Daughter_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading O, there was Olaf the lily-rose, As fair as any oak that grows.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading O worser waxeth thy story far, For these drew upon me bolt and bar.
a long projecting or anterior elongation of an animal's head; especially the nose
From this reading Fly south, O fowl, to the field of death For nothing sweet thy grey neb saith.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading Fly south, O fowl, to the field of death For nothing sweet thy grey neb saith.
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading O worser waxeth thy story far, For these drew upon me bolt and bar.
the hard durable wood of any oak; used especially for furniture and flooring
From this reading O, there was Olaf the lily-rose, As fair as any oak that grows.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Fly south, O fowl, to the field of death For nothing sweet thy grey neb saith.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading O, there was Olaf the lily-rose, As fair as any oak that grows.
obtain or seize by violence
From this reading _The Raven_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Fly south, O fowl, to the field of death For nothing sweet thy grey neb saith.
the region of the United States lying to the south of the Mason-Dixon line
From this reading Fly south, O fowl, to the field of death For nothing sweet thy grey neb saith.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading O worser waxeth thy story far, For these drew upon me bolt and bar.
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading Fly south, O fowl, to the field of death For nothing sweet thy grey neb saith.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading O, there was Olaf the lily-rose, As fair as any oak that grows.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading _The King's Daughter_.
in or at that place or location
From this reading O, there was Olaf the lily-rose, As fair as any oak that grows.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading O worser waxeth thy story far, For these drew upon me bolt and bar.
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading O worser waxeth thy story far, For these drew upon me bolt and bar.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Fly south, O fowl, to the field of death For nothing sweet thy grey neb saith.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading O worser waxeth thy story far, For these drew upon me bolt and bar.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading O, there was Olaf the lily-rose, As fair as any oak that grows.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading O worser waxeth thy story far, For these drew upon me bolt and bar.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading O worser waxeth thy story far, For these drew upon me bolt and bar.
Chapter 2 of Poems By the Way by William Morris holds 377 sentences, grouped into 76 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 377 sentences of Poems By the Way, unabridged, divided into 76 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Poems By the Way by William Morris exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 377 sentences, grouped into 76 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 76 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 76 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.
Common questions about reading Poems By the Way by William Morris on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1874 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3468 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3468, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 156 minutes of reading across 375 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Poems By the Way section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of Poems By the Way 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 Poems By the Way, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
