Chapter 4 of The Angel in the House is here in full — 284 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Angel in the House is here in full — 284 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
‘I found your note. How very kind To leave it there! I cannot tell How pleased I was, or how you find Words to express your thoughts so well. The Girls are going to the Ball At Wilton. If you can, _do_ come; And any day this week you call Papa and I shall be at home.
Chapter 4 of The Angel in the House is here in full — 284 sentences across 57 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/56 · 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.
round object that is hit or thrown or kicked in games
From this reading “The Girls are going to the Ball At Wilton.”
give expression to
From this reading “I cannot tell How pleased I was, or how you find Words to express your thoughts so well.”
plural of “girl” — a young female
From this reading “The Girls are going to the Ball At Wilton.”
a brief written record
From this reading “‘I found your note.”
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading “If you can, _do_ come; And any day this week you call Papa and I shall be at home.”
experiencing or manifesting pleasure
From this reading “I cannot tell How pleased I was, or how you find Words to express your thoughts so well.”
any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading “If you can, _do_ come; And any day this week you call Papa and I shall be at home.”
a carpet woven on a Jacquard loom with loops like a Brussels carpet but having the loops cut to form a close velvety pile
From this reading “The Girls are going to the Ball At Wilton.”
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 If you can, _do_ come; And any day this week you call Papa and I shall be at home.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading If you can, _do_ come; And any day this week you call Papa and I shall be at home.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The Girls are going to the Ball At Wilton.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading The Girls are going to the Ball At Wilton.
round object that is hit or thrown or kicked in games
From this reading The Girls are going to the Ball At Wilton.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading If you can, _do_ come; And any day this week you call Papa and I shall be at home.
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading If you can, _do_ come; And any day this week you call Papa and I shall be at home.
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading If you can, _do_ come; And any day this week you call Papa and I shall be at home.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I cannot tell How pleased I was, or how you find Words to express your thoughts so well.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading If you can, _do_ come; And any day this week you call Papa and I shall be at home.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading If you can, _do_ come; And any day this week you call Papa and I shall be at home.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading If you can, _do_ come; And any day this week you call Papa and I shall be at home.
give expression to
From this reading I cannot tell How pleased I was, or how you find Words to express your thoughts so well.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading I cannot tell How pleased I was, or how you find Words to express your thoughts so well.
set up or found
From this reading ‘I found your note.
plural of “girl” — a young female
From this reading The Girls are going to the Ball At Wilton.
the act of departing
From this reading The Girls are going to the Ball At Wilton.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading If you can, _do_ come; And any day this week you call Papa and I shall be at home.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How very kind To leave it there!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading ‘I found your note.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If you can, _do_ come; And any day this week you call Papa and I shall be at home.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading How very kind To leave it there!
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading How very kind To leave it there!
go away from a place
From this reading How very kind To leave it there!
a brief written record
From this reading ‘I found your note.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading I cannot tell How pleased I was, or how you find Words to express your thoughts so well.
an informal term for a father; probably derived from baby talk
From this reading If you can, _do_ come; And any day this week you call Papa and I shall be at home.
experiencing or manifesting pleasure
From this reading I cannot tell How pleased I was, or how you find Words to express your thoughts so well.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading If you can, _do_ come; And any day this week you call Papa and I shall be at home.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading I cannot tell How pleased I was, or how you find Words to express your thoughts so well.
express in words
From this reading I cannot tell How pleased I was, or how you find Words to express your thoughts so well.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Girls are going to the Ball At Wilton.
in or at that place or location
From this reading How very kind To leave it there!
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading If you can, _do_ come; And any day this week you call Papa and I shall be at home.
plural of “thought” — the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading I cannot tell How pleased I was, or how you find Words to express your thoughts so well.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading How very kind To leave it there!
precisely as stated
From this reading How very kind To leave it there!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I cannot tell How pleased I was, or how you find Words to express your thoughts so well.
any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading If you can, _do_ come; And any day this week you call Papa and I shall be at home.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading I cannot tell How pleased I was, or how you find Words to express your thoughts so well.
a carpet woven on a Jacquard loom with loops like a Brussels carpet but having the loops cut to form a close velvety pile
From this reading The Girls are going to the Ball At Wilton.
the words that are spoken
From this reading I cannot tell How pleased I was, or how you find Words to express your thoughts so well.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I cannot tell How pleased I was, or how you find Words to express your thoughts so well.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading ‘I found your note.
Chapter 4 of The Angel in the House by Coventry Patmore holds 284 sentences, grouped into 57 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 4 holds 284 sentences of The Angel in the House, unabridged, divided into 57 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Angel in the House by Coventry Patmore exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 284 sentences, grouped into 57 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 57 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 57 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 4 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 The Angel in the House by Coventry Patmore on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1151 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4099 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4099, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 95 minutes of reading across 231 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Angel in the House section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of The Angel in the House 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 The Angel in the House, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
