Chapter 17 of Poems — Volume 2 is here in full — 149 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVII
Chapter 17 of Poems — Volume 2 is here in full — 149 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Nought else are we when sailing brave, Save husks to raise and bid it burn. Glimpse of its livingness will wave A light the senses can discern Across the river of the death, Their close. Meanwhile, O twilight bird Of promise! bird of happy breath!
Chapter 17 of Poems — Volume 2 is here in full — 149 sentences across 30 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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.
To consume or be consumed by fire.
From this reading “Nought else are we when sailing brave, Save husks to raise and bid it burn.”
detect with the senses
From this reading “Glimpse of its livingness will wave A light the senses can discern”
a quick look
From this reading “Glimpse of its livingness will wave A light the senses can discern”
plural of “husk” — material consisting of seed coverings and small pieces of stem or leaves that have been separated from the seeds
From this reading “Nought else are we when sailing brave, Save husks to raise and bid it burn.”
the work of a sailor
From this reading “Nought else are we when sailing brave, Save husks to raise and bid it burn.”
plural of “sens” — street names for marijuana
From this reading “Glimpse of its livingness will wave A light the senses can discern”
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading “Meanwhile, O twilight bird Of promise!”
one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)
From this reading “Glimpse of its livingness will wave A light the senses can discern”
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 Glimpse of its livingness will wave A light the senses can discern
from one side of something to the other
From this reading Across the river of the death, Their close.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Nought else are we when sailing brave, Save husks to raise and bid it burn.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Nought else are we when sailing brave, Save husks to raise and bid it burn.
propose a payment
From this reading Nought else are we when sailing brave, Save husks to raise and bid it burn.
warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading Meanwhile, O twilight bird Of promise!
possessing or displaying courage; able to face and deal with danger or fear without flinching
From this reading Nought else are we when sailing brave, Save husks to raise and bid it burn.
the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing
From this reading bird of happy breath!
To consume or be consumed by fire.
From this reading Nought else are we when sailing brave, Save husks to raise and bid it burn.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading Glimpse of its livingness will wave A light the senses can discern
at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other
From this reading Across the river of the death, Their close.
the event of dying or departure from life
From this reading Across the river of the death, Their close.
detect with the senses
From this reading Glimpse of its livingness will wave A light the senses can discern
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Nought else are we when sailing brave, Save husks to raise and bid it burn.
a quick look
From this reading Glimpse of its livingness will wave A light the senses can discern
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading bird of happy breath!
plural of “husk” — material consisting of seed coverings and small pieces of stem or leaves that have been separated from the seeds
From this reading Nought else are we when sailing brave, Save husks to raise and bid it burn.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Nought else are we when sailing brave, Save husks to raise and bid it burn.
belonging to the thing or animal already mentioned
From this reading Glimpse of its livingness will wave A light the senses can discern
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading Glimpse of its livingness will wave A light the senses can discern
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Glimpse of its livingness will wave A light the senses can discern
at the same time but in another place
From this reading Meanwhile, O twilight bird Of promise!
a mathematical element that when added to another number yields the same number
From this reading Nought else are we when sailing brave, Save husks to raise and bid it burn.
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 Meanwhile, O twilight bird Of promise!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Glimpse of its livingness will wave A light the senses can discern
make a promise or commitment
From this reading Meanwhile, O twilight bird Of promise!
raise the level or amount of something
From this reading Nought else are we when sailing brave, Save husks to raise and bid it burn.
a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)
From this reading Across the river of the death, Their close.
the work of a sailor
From this reading Nought else are we when sailing brave, Save husks to raise and bid it burn.
except for; apart from
From this reading Nought else are we when sailing brave, Save husks to raise and bid it burn.
plural of “sens” — street names for marijuana
From this reading Glimpse of its livingness will wave A light the senses can discern
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Glimpse of its livingness will wave A light the senses can discern
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading Across the river of the death, Their close.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Nought else are we when sailing brave, Save husks to raise and bid it burn.
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading Meanwhile, O twilight bird Of promise!
one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)
From this reading Glimpse of its livingness will wave A light the senses can discern
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading Nought else are we when sailing brave, Save husks to raise and bid it burn.
at the time that
From this reading Nought else are we when sailing brave, Save husks to raise and bid it burn.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading Glimpse of its livingness will wave A light the senses can discern
Chapter 17 of Poems — Volume 2 by George Meredith holds 149 sentences, grouped into 30 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 17 holds 149 sentences of Poems — Volume 2, unabridged, divided into 30 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 17 of Poems — Volume 2 by George Meredith exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 149 sentences, grouped into 30 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 30 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 30 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 17 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 — Volume 2 by George Meredith on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2832 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1382 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1382, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 236 minutes of reading across 567 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Poems — Volume 2 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of Poems — Volume 2 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 — Volume 2, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
