Chapter 2 of Shelley: An Essay is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Shelley: An Essay is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
And herein we find the trail by which we would classify him. He belongs to a school of which not impossibly he may hardly have read a line--the Metaphysical School. To a large extent he _is_ what the Metaphysical School should have been. That school was a certain kind of poetry trying for a range. Shelley is the range found.
Chapter 2 of Shelley: An Essay is here in full — 168 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/33 · 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.
third-person singular of “belong” — be owned by; be in the possession of
From this reading “He belongs to a school of which not impossibly he may hardly have read a line--the Metaphysical School.”
arrange or order by classes or categories
From this reading “And herein we find the trail by which we would classify him.”
the point or degree to which something extends
From this reading “To a large extent he _is_ what the Metaphysical School should have been.”
in this place or thing or document
From this reading “And herein we find the trail by which we would classify him.”
to a degree impossible of achievement
From this reading “He belongs to a school of which not impossibly he may hardly have read a line--the Metaphysical School.”
pertaining to or of the nature of metaphysics
From this reading “He belongs to a school of which not impossibly he may hardly have read a line--the Metaphysical School.”
an area in which something acts or operates or has power or control: "the range of a supersonic jet"
From this reading “That school was a certain kind of poetry trying for a range.”
English writer who created Frankenstein's monster and married Percy Bysshe Shelley (1797-1851)
From this reading “Shelley is the range found.”
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 He belongs to a school of which not impossibly he may hardly have read a line--the Metaphysical School.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And herein we find the trail by which we would classify him.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading To a large extent he _is_ what the Metaphysical School should have been.
third-person singular of “belong” — be owned by; be in the possession of
From this reading He belongs to a school of which not impossibly he may hardly have read a line--the Metaphysical School.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading And herein we find the trail by which we would classify him.
definite but not specified or identified
From this reading That school was a certain kind of poetry trying for a range.
arrange or order by classes or categories
From this reading And herein we find the trail by which we would classify him.
the point or degree to which something extends
From this reading To a large extent he _is_ what the Metaphysical School should have been.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading And herein we find the trail by which we would classify him.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading That school was a certain kind of poetry trying for a range.
set up or found
From this reading Shelley is the range found.
only a very short time before
From this reading He belongs to a school of which not impossibly he may hardly have read a line--the Metaphysical School.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading He belongs to a school of which not impossibly he may hardly have read a line--the Metaphysical School.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He belongs to a school of which not impossibly he may hardly have read a line--the Metaphysical School.
in this place or thing or document
From this reading And herein we find the trail by which we would classify him.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading And herein we find the trail by which we would classify him.
to a degree impossible of achievement
From this reading He belongs to a school of which not impossibly he may hardly have read a line--the Metaphysical School.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading To a large extent he _is_ what the Metaphysical School should have been.
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading That school was a certain kind of poetry trying for a range.
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading To a large extent he _is_ what the Metaphysical School should have been.
a formation of people or things one beside another
From this reading He belongs to a school of which not impossibly he may hardly have read a line--the Metaphysical School.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading He belongs to a school of which not impossibly he may hardly have read a line--the Metaphysical School.
pertaining to or of the nature of metaphysics
From this reading He belongs to a school of which not impossibly he may hardly have read a line--the Metaphysical School.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He belongs to a school of which not impossibly he may hardly have read a line--the Metaphysical School.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He belongs to a school of which not impossibly he may hardly have read a line--the Metaphysical School.
literature in metrical form
From this reading That school was a certain kind of poetry trying for a range.
an area in which something acts or operates or has power or control: "the range of a supersonic jet"
From this reading That school was a certain kind of poetry trying for a range.
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading He belongs to a school of which not impossibly he may hardly have read a line--the Metaphysical School.
an educational institution
From this reading He belongs to a school of which not impossibly he may hardly have read a line--the Metaphysical School.
English writer who created Frankenstein's monster and married Percy Bysshe Shelley (1797-1851)
From this reading Shelley is the range found.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading To a large extent he _is_ what the Metaphysical School should have been.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading That school was a certain kind of poetry trying for a range.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading And herein we find the trail by which we would classify him.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He belongs to a school of which not impossibly he may hardly have read a line--the Metaphysical School.
a track or mark left by something that has passed
From this reading And herein we find the trail by which we would classify him.
hard to endure
From this reading That school was a certain kind of poetry trying for a range.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading That school was a certain kind of poetry trying for a range.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading And herein we find the trail by which we would classify him.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading To a large extent he _is_ what the Metaphysical School should have been.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading And herein we find the trail by which we would classify him.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading And herein we find the trail by which we would classify him.
Chapter 2 of Shelley: An Essay by Francis Thompson holds 168 sentences, grouped into 34 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 2 holds 168 sentences of Shelley: An Essay, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Shelley: An Essay by Francis Thompson exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 168 sentences, grouped into 34 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 34 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 34 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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About 29 minutes of reading across 70 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Shelley: An Essay section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of Shelley: An Essay 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 Shelley: An Essay, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
