Chapter 5 of The Enormous Room is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter V
Chapter 5 of The Enormous Room is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Follow me.” I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.” I asked “Where?” “Straight ahead” he said angrily. I proceeded.
Chapter 5 of The Enormous Room is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 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.
with anger
From this reading ““Straight ahead” he said angrily.”
capable of wounding
From this reading “I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.””
past form of “command” — be in command of
From this reading “I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.””
enclose with a fence
From this reading “I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.””
a sheath (usually leather) for carrying a handgun
From this reading “I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.””
continue talking
From this reading “I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.””
the part of an animal that corresponds to the human buttocks
From this reading “I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.””
ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
From this reading “I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.””
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.
at or in the front
From this reading “Straight ahead” he said angrily.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.”
with anger
From this reading “Straight ahead” he said angrily.
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading I asked “Where?”
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.”
in or to or toward a former location
From this reading I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.”
capable of wounding
From this reading I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.”
a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place
From this reading I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.”
past form of “command” — be in command of
From this reading I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.”
enclose with a fence
From this reading I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.”
to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading “Follow me.”
past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after
From this reading I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.”
a movable barrier in a fence or wall
From this reading I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.”
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.”
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.”
a sheath (usually leather) for carrying a handgun
From this reading I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.”
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.”
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.”
moving to the inside of something
From this reading I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.”
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.”
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading “Follow me.”
a geometric element that has position but no extension
From this reading I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.”
continue talking
From this reading I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.”
past form of “proceed” — continue talking
From this reading I proceeded.
the part of an animal that corresponds to the human buttocks
From this reading I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.”
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading “Straight ahead” he said angrily.
successive (without a break)
From this reading “Straight ahead” he said angrily.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.”
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.”
in or at the place that
From this reading I asked “Where?”
used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned
From this reading I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.”
ligament made of metal and used to fasten things or make cages or fences etc
From this reading I followed his back and rump and holster through the little gate in the barbed wire fence and into the building, at which point he commanded “Proceed.”
Chapter 5 of The Enormous Room by E. E. (Edward Estlin) Cummings holds 418 sentences, grouped into 84 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 5 holds 418 sentences of The Enormous Room, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 5 of The Enormous Room by E. E. (Edward Estlin) Cummings exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 418 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.
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.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 5 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 Enormous Room by E. E. (Edward Estlin) Cummings on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 4707 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8446 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8446, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 392 minutes of reading across 942 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Enormous Room section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of The Enormous Room 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 Enormous Room, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
