Chapter 3 of The Complete Poetic and Dramatic Works of Robert Browning is here in full — 864 sentences across 173 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Complete Poetic and Dramatic Works of Robert Browning is here in full — 864 sentences across 173 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Now I lay down the judgeship he lent me. Each faculty tasked To perceive him, has gained an abyss, where a dewdrop was asked. Have I knowledge? confounded it shrivels at Wisdom laid bare. Have I forethought? how purblind, how blank, to the Infinite Care! Do I task any faculty highest, to image success?
Chapter 3 of The Complete Poetic and Dramatic Works of Robert Browning is here in full — 864 sentences across 173 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/172 · 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 bottomless gulf or pit; any unfathomable (or apparently unfathomable) cavity or chasm or void extending below (often used figuratively)
From this reading “Each faculty tasked To perceive him, has gained an abyss, where a dewdrop was asked.”
perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements; filled with bewilderment
From this reading “Have I knowledge? confounded it shrivels at Wisdom laid bare.”
one of the inherent cognitive or perceptual powers of the mind
From this reading “Each faculty tasked To perceive him, has gained an abyss, where a dewdrop was asked.”
planning or plotting in advance of acting
From this reading “Have I forethought? how purblind, how blank, to the Infinite Care!”
having no limits or boundaries in time or space or extent or magnitude
From this reading “Have I forethought? how purblind, how blank, to the Infinite Care!”
the position of judge
From this reading “Now I lay down the judgeship he lent me.”
a period of 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday
From this reading “Now I lay down the judgeship he lent me.”
past form of “task” — assign a task to
From this reading “Each faculty tasked To perceive him, has gained an abyss, where a dewdrop was asked.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “Have I forethought? how purblind, how blank, to the Infinite Care!”
institute, enact, or establish
In this reading “Now I lay down the judgeship he lent me.”
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 Each faculty tasked To perceive him, has gained an abyss, where a dewdrop was asked.
a bottomless gulf or pit; any unfathomable (or apparently unfathomable) cavity or chasm or void extending below (often used figuratively)
From this reading Each faculty tasked To perceive him, has gained an abyss, where a dewdrop was asked.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading Each faculty tasked To perceive him, has gained an abyss, where a dewdrop was asked.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading Do I task any faculty highest, to image success?
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading Each faculty tasked To perceive him, has gained an abyss, where a dewdrop was asked.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading Have I knowledge? confounded it shrivels at Wisdom laid bare.
completely unclothed
From this reading Have I knowledge? confounded it shrivels at Wisdom laid bare.
(of a surface) not written or printed on
From this reading Have I forethought? how purblind, how blank, to the Infinite Care!
the work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something
From this reading Have I forethought? how purblind, how blank, to the Infinite Care!
perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements; filled with bewilderment
From this reading Have I knowledge? confounded it shrivels at Wisdom laid bare.
a drop of dew
From this reading Each faculty tasked To perceive him, has gained an abyss, where a dewdrop was asked.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Do I task any faculty highest, to image success?
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Now I lay down the judgeship he lent me.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading Each faculty tasked To perceive him, has gained an abyss, where a dewdrop was asked.
one of the inherent cognitive or perceptual powers of the mind
From this reading Each faculty tasked To perceive him, has gained an abyss, where a dewdrop was asked.
planning or plotting in advance of acting
From this reading Have I forethought? how purblind, how blank, to the Infinite Care!
past form of “gain” — obtain
From this reading Each faculty tasked To perceive him, has gained an abyss, where a dewdrop was asked.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Each faculty tasked To perceive him, has gained an abyss, where a dewdrop was asked.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Have I knowledge? confounded it shrivels at Wisdom laid bare.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Now I lay down the judgeship he lent me.
superlative of “high” — greater than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading Do I task any faculty highest, to image success?
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Each faculty tasked To perceive him, has gained an abyss, where a dewdrop was asked.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Have I forethought? how purblind, how blank, to the Infinite Care!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Now I lay down the judgeship he lent me.
an iconic mental representation
From this reading Do I task any faculty highest, to image success?
having no limits or boundaries in time or space or extent or magnitude
From this reading Have I forethought? how purblind, how blank, to the Infinite Care!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Have I knowledge? confounded it shrivels at Wisdom laid bare.
the position of judge
From this reading Now I lay down the judgeship he lent me.
the psychological result of perception and learning and reasoning
From this reading Have I knowledge? confounded it shrivels at Wisdom laid bare.
set down according to a plan
From this reading Have I knowledge? confounded it shrivels at Wisdom laid bare.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading Now I lay down the judgeship he lent me.
a period of 40 weekdays from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday
From this reading Now I lay down the judgeship he lent me.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Now I lay down the judgeship he lent me.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now I lay down the judgeship he lent me.
to become aware of through the senses
From this reading Each faculty tasked To perceive him, has gained an abyss, where a dewdrop was asked.
having greatly reduced vision
From this reading Have I forethought? how purblind, how blank, to the Infinite Care!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Have I knowledge? confounded it shrivels at Wisdom laid bare.
an event that accomplishes its intended purpose
From this reading Do I task any faculty highest, to image success?
any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted
From this reading Do I task any faculty highest, to image success?
past form of “task” — assign a task to
From this reading Each faculty tasked To perceive him, has gained an abyss, where a dewdrop was asked.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Now I lay down the judgeship he lent me.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Each faculty tasked To perceive him, has gained an abyss, where a dewdrop was asked.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Each faculty tasked To perceive him, has gained an abyss, where a dewdrop was asked.
in or at the place that
From this reading Each faculty tasked To perceive him, has gained an abyss, where a dewdrop was asked.
accumulated knowledge or erudition or enlightenment
From this reading Have I knowledge? confounded it shrivels at Wisdom laid bare.
Chapter 3 of The Complete Poetic and Dramatic Works of Robert Browning by Robert Browning holds 864 sentences, grouped into 173 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, 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 3 holds 864 sentences of The Complete Poetic and Dramatic Works of Robert Browning, unabridged, divided into 173 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Complete Poetic and Dramatic Works of Robert Browning by Robert Browning exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 864 sentences, grouped into 173 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 173 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 173 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 3 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 Complete Poetic and Dramatic Works of Robert Browning by Robert Browning on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 33314 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50954 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50954, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 6663 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Complete Poetic and Dramatic Works of Robert Browning section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of The Complete Poetic and Dramatic Works of Robert Browning 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 Complete Poetic and Dramatic Works of Robert Browning, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
