Chapter 38 of The Canterbury Tales, and Other Poems is here in full — 272 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXXVIII
Chapter 38 of The Canterbury Tales, and Other Poems is here in full — 272 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
14. Fished fair: a proverbial phrase which probably may be best represented by the phrase “done great execution.” 15. The fair gem virtueless: possessing none of the virtues which in the Middle Ages were universally believed to be inherent in precious stones. 16.
Chapter 38 of The Canterbury Tales, and Other Poems is here in full — 272 sentences across 55 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/54 · 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.
putting a condemned person to death
From this reading “Fished fair: a proverbial phrase which probably may be best represented by the phrase “done great execution.””
past form of “fish” — seek indirectly
From this reading “Fished fair: a proverbial phrase which probably may be best represented by the phrase “done great execution.””
art highly prized for its beauty or perfection
From this reading “The fair gem virtueless: possessing none of the virtues which in the Middle Ages were universally believed to be inherent in precious stones.”
existing as an essential constituent or characteristic
From this reading “The fair gem virtueless: possessing none of the virtues which in the Middle Ages were universally believed to be inherent in precious stones.”
-ing form of “possess” — have as an attribute, knowledge, or skill
From this reading “The fair gem virtueless: possessing none of the virtues which in the Middle Ages were universally believed to be inherent in precious stones.”
of or relating to or resembling or expressed in a proverb
From this reading “Fished fair: a proverbial phrase which probably may be best represented by the phrase “done great execution.””
everywhere
From this reading “The fair gem virtueless: possessing none of the virtues which in the Middle Ages were universally believed to be inherent in precious stones.”
plural of “virtue” — the quality of doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong
From this reading “The fair gem virtueless: possessing none of the virtues which in the Middle Ages were universally believed to be inherent in precious stones.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 14.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 15.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 16.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading Fished fair: a proverbial phrase which probably may be best represented by the phrase “done great execution.”
plural of “age” — how long something has existed
From this reading The fair gem virtueless: possessing none of the virtues which in the Middle Ages were universally believed to be inherent in precious stones.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Fished fair: a proverbial phrase which probably may be best represented by the phrase “done great execution.”
past form of “believe” — accept as true; take to be true
From this reading The fair gem virtueless: possessing none of the virtues which in the Middle Ages were universally believed to be inherent in precious stones.
the supreme effort one can make
From this reading Fished fair: a proverbial phrase which probably may be best represented by the phrase “done great execution.”
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Fished fair: a proverbial phrase which probably may be best represented by the phrase “done great execution.”
having finished or arrived at completion
From this reading Fished fair: a proverbial phrase which probably may be best represented by the phrase “done great execution.”
putting a condemned person to death
From this reading Fished fair: a proverbial phrase which probably may be best represented by the phrase “done great execution.”
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading Fished fair: a proverbial phrase which probably may be best represented by the phrase “done great execution.”
past form of “fish” — seek indirectly
From this reading Fished fair: a proverbial phrase which probably may be best represented by the phrase “done great execution.”
art highly prized for its beauty or perfection
From this reading The fair gem virtueless: possessing none of the virtues which in the Middle Ages were universally believed to be inherent in precious stones.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading Fished fair: a proverbial phrase which probably may be best represented by the phrase “done great execution.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading The fair gem virtueless: possessing none of the virtues which in the Middle Ages were universally believed to be inherent in precious stones.
existing as an essential constituent or characteristic
From this reading The fair gem virtueless: possessing none of the virtues which in the Middle Ages were universally believed to be inherent in precious stones.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading Fished fair: a proverbial phrase which probably may be best represented by the phrase “done great execution.”
an area that is approximately central within some larger region
From this reading The fair gem virtueless: possessing none of the virtues which in the Middle Ages were universally believed to be inherent in precious stones.
not one, and not any
From this reading The fair gem virtueless: possessing none of the virtues which in the Middle Ages were universally believed to be inherent in precious stones.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The fair gem virtueless: possessing none of the virtues which in the Middle Ages were universally believed to be inherent in precious stones.
an expression consisting of one or more words forming a grammatical constituent of a sentence
From this reading Fished fair: a proverbial phrase which probably may be best represented by the phrase “done great execution.”
-ing form of “possess” — have as an attribute, knowledge, or skill
From this reading The fair gem virtueless: possessing none of the virtues which in the Middle Ages were universally believed to be inherent in precious stones.
characterized by feeling or showing fond affection for
From this reading The fair gem virtueless: possessing none of the virtues which in the Middle Ages were universally believed to be inherent in precious stones.
with considerable certainty; without much doubt
From this reading Fished fair: a proverbial phrase which probably may be best represented by the phrase “done great execution.”
of or relating to or resembling or expressed in a proverb
From this reading Fished fair: a proverbial phrase which probably may be best represented by the phrase “done great execution.”
represented accurately or precisely
From this reading Fished fair: a proverbial phrase which probably may be best represented by the phrase “done great execution.”
plural of “stone” — a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading The fair gem virtueless: possessing none of the virtues which in the Middle Ages were universally believed to be inherent in precious stones.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Fished fair: a proverbial phrase which probably may be best represented by the phrase “done great execution.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The fair gem virtueless: possessing none of the virtues which in the Middle Ages were universally believed to be inherent in precious stones.
everywhere
From this reading The fair gem virtueless: possessing none of the virtues which in the Middle Ages were universally believed to be inherent in precious stones.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The fair gem virtueless: possessing none of the virtues which in the Middle Ages were universally believed to be inherent in precious stones.
plural of “virtue” — the quality of doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong
From this reading The fair gem virtueless: possessing none of the virtues which in the Middle Ages were universally believed to be inherent in precious stones.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading The fair gem virtueless: possessing none of the virtues which in the Middle Ages were universally believed to be inherent in precious stones.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Fished fair: a proverbial phrase which probably may be best represented by the phrase “done great execution.”
Chapter 38 of The Canterbury Tales, and Other Poems by Geoffrey Chaucer holds 272 sentences, grouped into 55 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 38 holds 272 sentences of The Canterbury Tales, and Other Poems, unabridged, divided into 55 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 38 of The Canterbury Tales, and Other Poems by Geoffrey Chaucer exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 272 sentences, grouped into 55 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 55 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 55 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 38 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 600 minutes of reading across 1912 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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