Chapter 1 of The Choir Invisible is here in full — 167 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Choir Invisible is here in full — 167 sentences across 34 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.
Chapter 1 of The Choir Invisible is here in full — 167 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.
a chorus that sings as part of a religious ceremony
From this reading “"O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.”
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading “"O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.”
Living forever; never dying or decaying. (Bất tử, trường tồn vĩnh cửu.)
From this reading “"O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.”
impossible or nearly impossible to see; imperceptible by the eye
From this reading “"O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.”
become part of; become a member of a group or organization
From this reading “"O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.”
be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading “"O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.”
plural of “mind” — that which is responsible for one's thoughts, feelings, and conscious brain functions; the seat of the faculty of reason
From this reading “"O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.”
the state of being present; current existence
From this reading “"O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.”
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.
anew
From this reading "O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading "O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading "O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.
a chorus that sings as part of a religious ceremony
From this reading "O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.
no longer having or seeming to have or expecting to have life
From this reading "O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.
Living forever; never dying or decaying. (Bất tử, trường tồn vĩnh cửu.)
From this reading "O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading "O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.
impossible or nearly impossible to see; imperceptible by the eye
From this reading "O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.
become part of; become a member of a group or organization
From this reading "O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.
be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading "O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading "O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading "O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.
plural of “mind” — that which is responsible for one's thoughts, feelings, and conscious brain functions; the seat of the faculty of reason
From this reading "O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading "O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading "O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.
the state of being present; current existence
From this reading "O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading "O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading "O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading "O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.
which person or people
From this reading "O may I join the choir invisible Of those immortal dead who live again In minds made better by their presence.
Chapter 1 of The Choir Invisible by James Lane Allen holds 167 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 1 holds 167 sentences of The Choir Invisible, unabridged, divided into 34 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Choir Invisible by James Lane Allen exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 167 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 1 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 Choir Invisible by James Lane Allen on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3182 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2316 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2316, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 265 minutes of reading across 637 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Choir Invisible section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of The Choir Invisible 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 Choir Invisible, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
