Chapter 12 of The Certain Hour (Dizain des Poëtes) is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of The Certain Hour (Dizain des Poëtes) is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Pope turned abruptly. Nakedness is of necessity uncouth, he held, whether it be the body or the soul that is unveiled. Mr. Pope went toward a window which he opened, and he stood thus looking out for a brief while. "So she is dead," he said. "It is very strange.
Chapter 12 of The Certain Hour (Dizain des Poëtes) is here in full — 185 sentences across 37 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/37 · 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.
quickly and without warning
From this reading “Pope turned abruptly.”
of short duration or distance
From this reading “Mr. Pope went toward a window which he opened, and he stood thus looking out for a brief while.”
the condition of being essential or indispensable
From this reading “Nakedness is of necessity uncouth, he held, whether it be the body or the soul that is unveiled.”
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading “Mr. Pope went toward a window which he opened, and he stood thus looking out for a brief while.”
the head of the Roman Catholic Church
From this reading “Pope turned abruptly.”
lacking refinement or cultivation or taste
From this reading “Nakedness is of necessity uncouth, he held, whether it be the body or the soul that is unveiled.”
revealed; especially by having a veil removed
From this reading “Nakedness is of necessity uncouth, he held, whether it be the body or the soul that is unveiled.”
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading “Mr. Pope went toward a window which he opened, and he stood thus looking out for a brief while.”
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 Mr. Pope went toward a window which he opened, and he stood thus looking out for a brief while.
quickly and without warning
From this reading Pope turned abruptly.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Mr. Pope went toward a window which he opened, and he stood thus looking out for a brief while.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Nakedness is of necessity uncouth, he held, whether it be the body or the soul that is unveiled.
the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
From this reading Nakedness is of necessity uncouth, he held, whether it be the body or the soul that is unveiled.
of short duration or distance
From this reading Mr. Pope went toward a window which he opened, and he stood thus looking out for a brief while.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading "So she is dead," he said.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Mr. Pope went toward a window which he opened, and he stood thus looking out for a brief while.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Nakedness is of necessity uncouth, he held, whether it be the body or the soul that is unveiled.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading Nakedness is of necessity uncouth, he held, whether it be the body or the soul that is unveiled.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Nakedness is of necessity uncouth, he held, whether it be the body or the soul that is unveiled.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Nakedness is of necessity uncouth, he held, whether it be the body or the soul that is unveiled.
the act of directing the eyes toward something and perceiving it visually
From this reading Mr. Pope went toward a window which he opened, and he stood thus looking out for a brief while.
a form of address for a man
From this reading Mr. Pope went toward a window which he opened, and he stood thus looking out for a brief while.
the state of being without clothing or covering of any kind
From this reading Nakedness is of necessity uncouth, he held, whether it be the body or the soul that is unveiled.
the condition of being essential or indispensable
From this reading Nakedness is of necessity uncouth, he held, whether it be the body or the soul that is unveiled.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Nakedness is of necessity uncouth, he held, whether it be the body or the soul that is unveiled.
used of mouth or eyes
From this reading Mr. Pope went toward a window which he opened, and he stood thus looking out for a brief while.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading Nakedness is of necessity uncouth, he held, whether it be the body or the soul that is unveiled.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading Mr. Pope went toward a window which he opened, and he stood thus looking out for a brief while.
the head of the Roman Catholic Church
From this reading Pope turned abruptly.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading "So she is dead," he said.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "So she is dead," he said.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading "So she is dead," he said.
the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life
From this reading Nakedness is of necessity uncouth, he held, whether it be the body or the soul that is unveiled.
Maintained an upright posture.
From this reading Mr. Pope went toward a window which he opened, and he stood thus looking out for a brief while.
being definitely out of the ordinary and unexpected; slightly odd or even a bit weird
From this reading "It is very strange.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Nakedness is of necessity uncouth, he held, whether it be the body or the soul that is unveiled.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Nakedness is of necessity uncouth, he held, whether it be the body or the soul that is unveiled.
(used to introduce a logical conclusion) from that fact or reason or as a result
From this reading Mr. Pope went toward a window which he opened, and he stood thus looking out for a brief while.
in the direction of
From this reading Mr. Pope went toward a window which he opened, and he stood thus looking out for a brief while.
moved around an axis or center
From this reading Pope turned abruptly.
lacking refinement or cultivation or taste
From this reading Nakedness is of necessity uncouth, he held, whether it be the body or the soul that is unveiled.
revealed; especially by having a veil removed
From this reading Nakedness is of necessity uncouth, he held, whether it be the body or the soul that is unveiled.
precisely as stated
From this reading "It is very strange.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Mr. Pope went toward a window which he opened, and he stood thus looking out for a brief while.
used to introduce two or more possibilities
From this reading Nakedness is of necessity uncouth, he held, whether it be the body or the soul that is unveiled.
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading Mr. Pope went toward a window which he opened, and he stood thus looking out for a brief while.
during the time that
From this reading Mr. Pope went toward a window which he opened, and he stood thus looking out for a brief while.
a framework of wood or metal that contains a glass windowpane and is built into a wall or roof to admit light or air
From this reading Mr. Pope went toward a window which he opened, and he stood thus looking out for a brief while.
Chapter 12 of The Certain Hour (Dizain des Poëtes) by James Branch Cabell holds 185 sentences, grouped into 37 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 12 holds 185 sentences of The Certain Hour (Dizain des Poëtes), unabridged, divided into 37 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of The Certain Hour (Dizain des Poëtes) by James Branch Cabell exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 185 sentences, grouped into 37 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 37 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 37 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 12 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 Certain Hour (Dizain des Poëtes) by James Branch Cabell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3303 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #288 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #288, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 275 minutes of reading across 661 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Certain Hour (Dizain des Poëtes) section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 18 chapters of The Certain Hour (Dizain des Poëtes) 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 Certain Hour (Dizain des Poëtes), each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
