Chapter 18 of The Dynasts is here in full — 367 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVIII
Chapter 18 of The Dynasts is here in full — 367 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
NAPOLEON Ah--that's his little voice! I'll in and see him. MARIE LOUISE I'll come with you. [NAPOLEON and the EMPRESS pass into the other room. The lady-in- waiting calls up yawning servants and gives orders.
Chapter 18 of The Dynasts is here in full — 367 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/73 · 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.
plural of “call” — a telephone connection
From this reading “The lady-in- waiting calls up yawning servants and gives orders.”
a woman emperor or the wife of an emperor
From this reading “[NAPOLEON and the EMPRESS pass into the other room.”
plural of “give” — the elasticity of something that can be stretched and returns to its original length
From this reading “The lady-in- waiting calls up yawning servants and gives orders.”
French general who became emperor of the French (1769-1821)
From this reading “NAPOLEON Ah--that's his little voice!”
plural of “order” — (often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
From this reading “The lady-in- waiting calls up yawning servants and gives orders.”
plural of “servant” — a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading “The lady-in- waiting calls up yawning servants and gives orders.”
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading “The lady-in- waiting calls up yawning servants and gives orders.”
gaping open as if threatening to engulf someone or something
From this reading “The lady-in- waiting calls up yawning servants and gives orders.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NAPOLEON Ah--that's his little voice!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I'll in and see him.
plural of “call” — a telephone connection
From this reading The lady-in- waiting calls up yawning servants and gives orders.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading MARIE LOUISE I'll come with you.
a woman emperor or the wife of an emperor
From this reading [NAPOLEON and the EMPRESS pass into the other room.
plural of “give” — the elasticity of something that can be stretched and returns to its original length
From this reading The lady-in- waiting calls up yawning servants and gives orders.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I'll in and see him.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading NAPOLEON Ah--that's his little voice!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I'll in and see him.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I'll in and see him.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading [NAPOLEON and the EMPRESS pass into the other room.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The lady-in- waiting calls up yawning servants and gives orders.
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading NAPOLEON Ah--that's his little voice!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MARIE LOUISE I'll come with you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading MARIE LOUISE I'll come with you.
French general who became emperor of the French (1769-1821)
From this reading NAPOLEON Ah--that's his little voice!
plural of “order” — (often plural) a command given by a superior (e.g., a military or law enforcement officer) that must be obeyed
From this reading The lady-in- waiting calls up yawning servants and gives orders.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading [NAPOLEON and the EMPRESS pass into the other room.
go across or through
From this reading [NAPOLEON and the EMPRESS pass into the other room.
an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
From this reading [NAPOLEON and the EMPRESS pass into the other room.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading I'll in and see him.
plural of “servant” — a person working in the service of another (especially in the household)
From this reading The lady-in- waiting calls up yawning servants and gives orders.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading NAPOLEON Ah--that's his little voice!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading [NAPOLEON and the EMPRESS pass into the other room.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading The lady-in- waiting calls up yawning servants and gives orders.
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading NAPOLEON Ah--that's his little voice!
the act of waiting (remaining inactive in one place while expecting something)
From this reading The lady-in- waiting calls up yawning servants and gives orders.
in the company of; together with
From this reading MARIE LOUISE I'll come with you.
gaping open as if threatening to engulf someone or something
From this reading The lady-in- waiting calls up yawning servants and gives orders.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading MARIE LOUISE I'll come with you.
Chapter 18 of The Dynasts by Thomas Hardy holds 367 sentences, grouped into 74 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 18 holds 367 sentences of The Dynasts, unabridged, divided into 74 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 18 of The Dynasts by Thomas Hardy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 367 sentences, grouped into 74 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 74 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 74 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 18 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.
