Chapter 5 of Steppenwolf is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of Steppenwolf is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
And before I knew, I was asleep once more and slept four or five hours. It had gone ten when I woke. My clothes were all creases. I felt utterly exhausted. And in my head was the memory of yesterday’s half-forgotten horror; but I had life, hope and happy thoughts.
Chapter 5 of Steppenwolf is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
in a state of sleep
From this reading “And before I knew, I was asleep once more and slept four or five hours.”
plural of “crease” — an angular or rounded shape made by folding
From this reading “My clothes were all creases.”
drained of energy or effectiveness; extremely tired; completely exhausted
From this reading “I felt utterly exhausted.”
intense and profound fear
From this reading “And in my head was the memory of yesterday’s half-forgotten horror; but I had life, hope and happy thoughts.”
inflected form of “sleep” — be asleep
From this reading “And before I knew, I was asleep once more and slept four or five hours.”
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading “I felt utterly exhausted.”
inflected form of “wake” — be awake, be alert, be there
From this reading “It had gone ten when I woke.”
possessive form of “yesterday” — the day immediately before today
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.
In this reading “I felt utterly exhausted.”
anew
In this reading “And before I knew, I was asleep once more and slept four or five hours.”
In this reading “And before I knew, I was asleep once more and slept four or five hours.”
In this reading “I felt utterly exhausted.”
In this reading “And in my head was the memory of yesterday’s half-forgotten horror; but I had life, hope and happy thoughts.”
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.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading My clothes were all creases.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And before I knew, I was asleep once more and slept four or five hours.
in a state of sleep
From this reading And before I knew, I was asleep once more and slept four or five hours.
earlier than; in front of
From this reading And before I knew, I was asleep once more and slept four or five hours.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading And in my head was the memory of yesterday’s half-forgotten horror; but I had life, hope and happy thoughts.
clothing in general
From this reading My clothes were all creases.
plural of “crease” — an angular or rounded shape made by folding
From this reading My clothes were all creases.
drained of energy or effectiveness; extremely tired; completely exhausted
From this reading I felt utterly exhausted.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading I felt utterly exhausted.
the cardinal number that is the sum of four and one
From this reading And before I knew, I was asleep once more and slept four or five hours.
the cardinal number that is the sum of three and one
From this reading And before I knew, I was asleep once more and slept four or five hours.
destroyed or killed
From this reading It had gone ten when I woke.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading It had gone ten when I woke.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And in my head was the memory of yesterday’s half-forgotten horror; but I had life, hope and happy thoughts.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading And in my head was the memory of yesterday’s half-forgotten horror; but I had life, hope and happy thoughts.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading And in my head was the memory of yesterday’s half-forgotten horror; but I had life, hope and happy thoughts.
a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading And in my head was the memory of yesterday’s half-forgotten horror; but I had life, hope and happy thoughts.
intense and profound fear
From this reading And in my head was the memory of yesterday’s half-forgotten horror; but I had life, hope and happy thoughts.
a period of time assigned for work
From this reading And before I knew, I was asleep once more and slept four or five hours.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading And before I knew, I was asleep once more and slept four or five hours.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading And in my head was the memory of yesterday’s half-forgotten horror; but I had life, hope and happy thoughts.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It had gone ten when I woke.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading And before I knew, I was asleep once more and slept four or five hours.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading And in my head was the memory of yesterday’s half-forgotten horror; but I had life, hope and happy thoughts.
The faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information and knowledge.
From this reading And in my head was the memory of yesterday’s half-forgotten horror; but I had life, hope and happy thoughts.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading And before I knew, I was asleep once more and slept four or five hours.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My clothes were all creases.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading And in my head was the memory of yesterday’s half-forgotten horror; but I had life, hope and happy thoughts.
on one occasion
From this reading And before I knew, I was asleep once more and slept four or five hours.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading And before I knew, I was asleep once more and slept four or five hours.
inflected form of “sleep” — be asleep
From this reading And before I knew, I was asleep once more and slept four or five hours.
the cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system
From this reading It had gone ten when I woke.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading And in my head was the memory of yesterday’s half-forgotten horror; but I had life, hope and happy thoughts.
plural of “thought” — the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading And in my head was the memory of yesterday’s half-forgotten horror; but I had life, hope and happy thoughts.
completely and without qualification; used informally as intensifiers
From this reading I felt utterly exhausted.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading And before I knew, I was asleep once more and slept four or five hours.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading My clothes were all creases.
at the time that
From this reading It had gone ten when I woke.
inflected form of “wake” — be awake, be alert, be there
From this reading It had gone ten when I woke.
possessive form of “yesterday” — the day immediately before today
From this reading And in my head was the memory of yesterday’s half-forgotten horror; but I had life, hope and happy thoughts.
Chapter 5 of Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse holds 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 5 holds 410 sentences of Steppenwolf, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 5 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 Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4153 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #75756 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #75756, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 346 minutes of reading across 831 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Steppenwolf section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 10 chapters of Steppenwolf 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 Steppenwolf, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
