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The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan
The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan

Chapter XXXIII · Chapter 33

Chapter 33 of The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan
Context Illustration Reading 1/84 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!
Full Chorus: Knightsbridge nursemaids, serving fairies, etc.
(Enter King, Princess Nekaya and Kalyba, and Lady Sophy.
As the King enters, the escort present arms.)
King: Zara! my beloved daughter!
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
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A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan

Chapter XXXIII · Chapter 33

Chapter 33 of The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan is here in full — 420 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/84 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!
Line 2
Full Chorus: Knightsbridge nursemaids, serving fairies, etc.
Line 3
(Enter King, Princess Nekaya and Kalyba, and Lady Sophy.
Line 4
As the King enters, the escort present arms.)
Line 5
King: Zara! my beloved daughter!

Learner Dictionary

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.

Princess noun US /ˈprɪn.ses/

The daughter of a monarch; a female member of a royal family.

From this reading “Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!”

All words in this reading · 51

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.

a

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

And

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

are

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

arms

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading As the King enters, the escort present arms.)

As

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading As the King enters, the escort present arms.)

behold

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

beloved

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

brief

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

But

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

Chorus

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Full Chorus: Knightsbridge nursemaids, serving fairies, etc.

daughter

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading King: Zara! my beloved daughter!

day-dream

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

Enter

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading (Enter King, Princess Nekaya and Kalyba, and Lady Sophy.

enters

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading As the King enters, the escort present arms.)

escort

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading As the King enters, the escort present arms.)

etc

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

extreme

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

eyes

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

fairies

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Full Chorus: Knightsbridge nursemaids, serving fairies, etc.

Full

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Full Chorus: Knightsbridge nursemaids, serving fairies, etc.

gold

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

happiness

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

hours

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

In

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

joy

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

joys

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

Kalyba

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading (Enter King, Princess Nekaya and Kalyba, and Lady Sophy.

King

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading (Enter King, Princess Nekaya and Kalyba, and Lady Sophy.

Knightsbridge

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

Ladies

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

Lady

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading (Enter King, Princess Nekaya and Kalyba, and Lady Sophy.

Men

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

my

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

Nekaya

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading (Enter King, Princess Nekaya and Kalyba, and Lady Sophy.

nursemaids

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

Of

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

Oh

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

our

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

present

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading As the King enters, the escort present arms.)

PrincessnounUS /ˈprɪn.ses/

The daughter of a monarch; a female member of a royal family.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

rose

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

seem

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

serving

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Full Chorus: Knightsbridge nursemaids, serving fairies, etc.

Sophy

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading (Enter King, Princess Nekaya and Kalyba, and Lady Sophy.

tempest

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

the

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

untold

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

When

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

will

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

years

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Ladies Oh! the hours are gold, And the joys untold, Knightsbridge nursemaids, etc. When my eyes behold My beloved Princess; Men And the years will seem When the tempest rose, etc. But a brief day-dream, In the joy extreme Of our happiness!

Zara

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading King: Zara! my beloved daughter!

Chapter 33 of The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan by Arthur Sullivan holds 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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.

What does chapter 33 of The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan contain?

Chapter 33 holds 420 sentences of The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 33 of The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan by Arthur Sullivan exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 420 sentences, grouped into 84 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.

How do I study chapter 33 of The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan?

Work through the 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 84 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.

Can chapter 33 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 33 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.

Questions about reading The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan

Common questions about reading The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan by Arthur Sullivan on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan?

Yes. All 17254 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #808 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #808, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan take to read?

About 600 minutes of reading across 3451 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan section by section

How to work through The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 40 chapters of The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

William
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Gilbert
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Arthur
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Sullivan
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Complete Plays of Gilbert and Sullivan; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.