Chapter 15 of The Complete Poetic and Dramatic Works of Robert Browning is here in full — 875 sentences across 175 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XV
Chapter 15 of The Complete Poetic and Dramatic Works of Robert Browning is here in full — 875 sentences across 175 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Far from beginning with you London folk, I took my book to Rome first, tried truth's power On likely people. "Have you met such names? Is a tradition extant of such facts? Your law-courts stand, your records frown a-row: What if I rove and rummage?" "--Why, you 'll waste Your pains and end as wise as you began!"
Chapter 15 of The Complete Poetic and Dramatic Works of Robert Browning is here in full — 875 sentences across 175 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/175 · 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.
still in existence; not extinct or destroyed or lost
From this reading “Is a tradition extant of such facts?”
people in general (often used in the plural)
From this reading “Far from beginning with you London folk, I took my book to Rome first, tried truth's power On likely people.”
look angry or sullen, wrinkle one's forehead, as if to signal disapproval
From this reading “Your law-courts stand, your records frown a-row: What if I rove and rummage?"”
an effortful attempt to attain a goal
From this reading “"--Why, you 'll waste Your pains and end as wise as you began!"”
plural of “record” — anything (such as a document or a phonograph record or a photograph) providing permanent evidence of or information about past events
From this reading “Your law-courts stand, your records frown a-row: What if I rove and rummage?"”
move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
From this reading “Your law-courts stand, your records frown a-row: What if I rove and rummage?"”
search haphazardly
From this reading “Your law-courts stand, your records frown a-row: What if I rove and rummage?"”
an inherited pattern of thought or action
From this reading “Is a tradition extant of such facts?”
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 “Far from beginning with you London folk, I took my book to Rome first, tried truth's power On likely people.”
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 Is a tradition extant of such facts?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Your law-courts stand, your records frown a-row: What if I rove and rummage?"
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Your law-courts stand, your records frown a-row: What if I rove and rummage?"
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "--Why, you 'll waste Your pains and end as wise as you began!"
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading "--Why, you 'll waste Your pains and end as wise as you began!"
the event consisting of the start of something
From this reading Far from beginning with you London folk, I took my book to Rome first, tried truth's power On likely people.
a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
From this reading Far from beginning with you London folk, I took my book to Rome first, tried truth's power On likely people.
either extremity of something that has length
From this reading "--Why, you 'll waste Your pains and end as wise as you began!"
still in existence; not extinct or destroyed or lost
From this reading Is a tradition extant of such facts?
plural of “fact” — a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred
From this reading Is a tradition extant of such facts?
to a considerable degree; very much
From this reading Far from beginning with you London folk, I took my book to Rome first, tried truth's power On likely people.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading Far from beginning with you London folk, I took my book to Rome first, tried truth's power On likely people.
people in general (often used in the plural)
From this reading Far from beginning with you London folk, I took my book to Rome first, tried truth's power On likely people.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Far from beginning with you London folk, I took my book to Rome first, tried truth's power On likely people.
look angry or sullen, wrinkle one's forehead, as if to signal disapproval
From this reading Your law-courts stand, your records frown a-row: What if I rove and rummage?"
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Have you met such names?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Far from beginning with you London folk, I took my book to Rome first, tried truth's power On likely people.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading Your law-courts stand, your records frown a-row: What if I rove and rummage?"
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Is a tradition extant of such facts?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Your law-courts stand, your records frown a-row: What if I rove and rummage?"
has a good chance of being the case or of coming about
From this reading Far from beginning with you London folk, I took my book to Rome first, tried truth's power On likely people.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "--Why, you 'll waste Your pains and end as wise as you began!"
the capital and largest city of England; located on the Thames in southeastern England; financial and industrial and cultural center
From this reading Far from beginning with you London folk, I took my book to Rome first, tried truth's power On likely people.
inflected form of “meet” — come together
From this reading "Have you met such names?
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Far from beginning with you London folk, I took my book to Rome first, tried truth's power On likely people.
verbal abuse; a crude substitute for argument
From this reading "Have you met such names?
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Is a tradition extant of such facts?
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading Far from beginning with you London folk, I took my book to Rome first, tried truth's power On likely people.
an effortful attempt to attain a goal
From this reading "--Why, you 'll waste Your pains and end as wise as you began!"
(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively
From this reading Far from beginning with you London folk, I took my book to Rome first, tried truth's power On likely people.
possession of controlling influence
From this reading Far from beginning with you London folk, I took my book to Rome first, tried truth's power On likely people.
plural of “record” — anything (such as a document or a phonograph record or a photograph) providing permanent evidence of or information about past events
From this reading Your law-courts stand, your records frown a-row: What if I rove and rummage?"
capital and largest city of Italy; on the Tiber; seat of the Roman Catholic Church; formerly the capital of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire
From this reading Far from beginning with you London folk, I took my book to Rome first, tried truth's power On likely people.
move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
From this reading Your law-courts stand, your records frown a-row: What if I rove and rummage?"
search haphazardly
From this reading Your law-courts stand, your records frown a-row: What if I rove and rummage?"
be standing; be upright
From this reading Your law-courts stand, your records frown a-row: What if I rove and rummage?"
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading "Have you met such names?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Far from beginning with you London folk, I took my book to Rome first, tried truth's power On likely people.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading Far from beginning with you London folk, I took my book to Rome first, tried truth's power On likely people.
an inherited pattern of thought or action
From this reading Is a tradition extant of such facts?
tested and proved useful or correct
From this reading Far from beginning with you London folk, I took my book to Rome first, tried truth's power On likely people.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Far from beginning with you London folk, I took my book to Rome first, tried truth's power On likely people.
any materials unused and rejected as worthless or unwanted
From this reading "--Why, you 'll waste Your pains and end as wise as you began!"
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Your law-courts stand, your records frown a-row: What if I rove and rummage?"
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading "--Why, you 'll waste Your pains and end as wise as you began!"
having or prompted by wisdom or discernment
From this reading "--Why, you 'll waste Your pains and end as wise as you began!"
in the company of; together with
From this reading Far from beginning with you London folk, I took my book to Rome first, tried truth's power On likely people.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Far from beginning with you London folk, I took my book to Rome first, tried truth's power On likely people.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Your law-courts stand, your records frown a-row: What if I rove and rummage?"
Chapter 15 of The Complete Poetic and Dramatic Works of Robert Browning by Robert Browning holds 875 sentences, grouped into 175 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 15 holds 875 sentences of The Complete Poetic and Dramatic Works of Robert Browning, unabridged, divided into 175 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 15 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 875 sentences, grouped into 175 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 175 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 175 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 15 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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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.
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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.
