Chapter 10 of The Dynasts is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter X
Chapter 10 of The Dynasts is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
She was a week's adventure--not worth words! I say 'tis France.--I have held out for years Against the constant pressure brought on me To null this sterile marriage. JOSEPHINE [bursting into sobs] Me you blame! But how know you that you are not the culprit? NAPOLEON I have reason so to know--if I must say.
Chapter 10 of The Dynasts is here in full — 406 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
-ing form of “burst” — come open suddenly and violently, as if from internal pressure
From this reading “JOSEPHINE [bursting into sobs] Me you blame!”
someone who perpetrates wrongdoing
From this reading “But how know you that you are not the culprit?”
French general who became emperor of the French (1769-1821)
From this reading “NAPOLEON I have reason so to know--if I must say.”
lacking any legal or binding force
From this reading “I say 'tis France.--I have held out for years Against the constant pressure brought on me To null this sterile marriage.”
the force applied to a unit area of surface; measured in pascals (SI unit) or in dynes (cgs unit)
From this reading “I say 'tis France.--I have held out for years Against the constant pressure brought on me To null this sterile marriage.”
plural of “sob” — a dyspneic condition
From this reading “JOSEPHINE [bursting into sobs] Me you blame!”
incapable of reproducing
From this reading “I say 'tis France.--I have held out for years Against the constant pressure brought on me To null this sterile marriage.”
possessive form of “week” — any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading “She was a week's adventure--not worth words!”
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 She was a week's adventure--not worth words!
take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome
From this reading She was a week's adventure--not worth words!
touching and pressing; in opposition to
From this reading I say 'tis France.--I have held out for years Against the constant pressure brought on me To null this sterile marriage.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading But how know you that you are not the culprit?
put or pin the blame on
From this reading JOSEPHINE [bursting into sobs] Me you blame!
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading I say 'tis France.--I have held out for years Against the constant pressure brought on me To null this sterile marriage.
-ing form of “burst” — come open suddenly and violently, as if from internal pressure
From this reading JOSEPHINE [bursting into sobs] Me you blame!
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But how know you that you are not the culprit?
unvarying in nature
From this reading I say 'tis France.--I have held out for years Against the constant pressure brought on me To null this sterile marriage.
someone who perpetrates wrongdoing
From this reading But how know you that you are not the culprit?
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I say 'tis France.--I have held out for years Against the constant pressure brought on me To null this sterile marriage.
a republic in western Europe; the largest country wholly in Europe
From this reading I say 'tis France.--I have held out for years Against the constant pressure brought on me To null this sterile marriage.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I say 'tis France.--I have held out for years Against the constant pressure brought on me To null this sterile marriage.
occupied or in the control of; often used in combination
From this reading I say 'tis France.--I have held out for years Against the constant pressure brought on me To null this sterile marriage.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading But how know you that you are not the culprit?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I say 'tis France.--I have held out for years Against the constant pressure brought on me To null this sterile marriage.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading NAPOLEON I have reason so to know--if I must say.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading JOSEPHINE [bursting into sobs] Me you blame!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading JOSEPHINE [bursting into sobs] Me you blame!
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading But how know you that you are not the culprit?
the state of being a married couple voluntarily joined for life (or until divorce)
From this reading I say 'tis France.--I have held out for years Against the constant pressure brought on me To null this sterile marriage.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I say 'tis France.--I have held out for years Against the constant pressure brought on me To null this sterile marriage.
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading NAPOLEON I have reason so to know--if I must say.
French general who became emperor of the French (1769-1821)
From this reading NAPOLEON I have reason so to know--if I must say.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading She was a week's adventure--not worth words!
lacking any legal or binding force
From this reading I say 'tis France.--I have held out for years Against the constant pressure brought on me To null this sterile marriage.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading I say 'tis France.--I have held out for years Against the constant pressure brought on me To null this sterile marriage.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading I say 'tis France.--I have held out for years Against the constant pressure brought on me To null this sterile marriage.
the force applied to a unit area of surface; measured in pascals (SI unit) or in dynes (cgs unit)
From this reading I say 'tis France.--I have held out for years Against the constant pressure brought on me To null this sterile marriage.
a rational motive for a belief or action
From this reading NAPOLEON I have reason so to know--if I must say.
express in words
From this reading I say 'tis France.--I have held out for years Against the constant pressure brought on me To null this sterile marriage.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She was a week's adventure--not worth words!
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading NAPOLEON I have reason so to know--if I must say.
plural of “sob” — a dyspneic condition
From this reading JOSEPHINE [bursting into sobs] Me you blame!
incapable of reproducing
From this reading I say 'tis France.--I have held out for years Against the constant pressure brought on me To null this sterile marriage.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading But how know you that you are not the culprit?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I say 'tis France.--I have held out for years Against the constant pressure brought on me To null this sterile marriage.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading I say 'tis France.--I have held out for years Against the constant pressure brought on me To null this sterile marriage.
plural of “ti” — a light strong grey lustrous corrosion-resistant metallic element used in strong lightweight alloys (as for airplane parts); the main sources are rutile and ilmenite
From this reading I say 'tis France.--I have held out for years Against the constant pressure brought on me To null this sterile marriage.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I say 'tis France.--I have held out for years Against the constant pressure brought on me To null this sterile marriage.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading She was a week's adventure--not worth words!
possessive form of “week” — any period of seven consecutive days
From this reading She was a week's adventure--not worth words!
the words that are spoken
From this reading She was a week's adventure--not worth words!
an indefinite quantity of something having a specified value
From this reading She was a week's adventure--not worth words!
a late time of life
From this reading I say 'tis France.--I have held out for years Against the constant pressure brought on me To null this sterile marriage.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading JOSEPHINE [bursting into sobs] Me you blame!
Chapter 10 of The Dynasts by Thomas Hardy holds 406 sentences, grouped into 82 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 10 holds 406 sentences of The Dynasts, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of The Dynasts by Thomas Hardy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 406 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 10 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 Dynasts by Thomas Hardy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 9483 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #4043 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #4043, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1897 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Dynasts section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of The Dynasts 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 Dynasts, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
