Chapter 2 of The Fatal Falsehood: A Tragedy. In Five Acts is here in full — 362 sentences across 73 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Fatal Falsehood: A Tragedy. In Five Acts is here in full — 362 sentences across 73 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Or._ So then, all's over; I've betray'd my secret, And stuck a poison'd dagger in her heart, Her innocent heart. Why, what a wretch am I! Ruin approaches;--shall I tamely meet it, And dally with destruction till it blast me? No, I will fly thee, Julia, fly for ever. Ah, fly! what then becomes of Emmelina?
Chapter 2 of The Fatal Falsehood: A Tragedy. In Five Acts is here in full — 362 sentences across 73 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/72 · 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 “approach” — ideas or actions intended to deal with a problem or situation
From this reading “Ruin approaches;--shall I tamely meet it, And dally with destruction till it blast me?”
third-person singular of “become” — enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading “Ah, fly! what then becomes of Emmelina?”
make a strident sound
From this reading “Ruin approaches;--shall I tamely meet it, And dally with destruction till it blast me?”
A short knife with a pointed and edged blade, used as a stealth weapon.
From this reading “_Or._ So then, all's over; I've betray'd my secret, And stuck a poison'd dagger in her heart, Her innocent heart.”
behave carelessly or indifferently
From this reading “Ruin approaches;--shall I tamely meet it, And dally with destruction till it blast me?”
the termination of something by causing so much damage to it that it cannot be repaired or no longer exists
From this reading “Ruin approaches;--shall I tamely meet it, And dally with destruction till it blast me?”
caught or fixed
From this reading “_Or._ So then, all's over; I've betray'd my secret, And stuck a poison'd dagger in her heart, Her innocent heart.”
performs some wicked deed
From this reading “Why, what a wretch am I!”
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 “No, I will fly thee, Julia, fly for ever.”
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 _Or._ So then, all's over; I've betray'd my secret, And stuck a poison'd dagger in her heart, Her innocent heart.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ah, fly! what then becomes of Emmelina?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Or._ So then, all's over; I've betray'd my secret, And stuck a poison'd dagger in her heart, Her innocent heart.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading Why, what a wretch am I!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading _Or._ So then, all's over; I've betray'd my secret, And stuck a poison'd dagger in her heart, Her innocent heart.
plural of “approach” — ideas or actions intended to deal with a problem or situation
From this reading Ruin approaches;--shall I tamely meet it, And dally with destruction till it blast me?
third-person singular of “become” — enter or assume a certain state or condition
From this reading Ah, fly! what then becomes of Emmelina?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Or._ So then, all's over; I've betray'd my secret, And stuck a poison'd dagger in her heart, Her innocent heart.
make a strident sound
From this reading Ruin approaches;--shall I tamely meet it, And dally with destruction till it blast me?
A short knife with a pointed and edged blade, used as a stealth weapon.
From this reading _Or._ So then, all's over; I've betray'd my secret, And stuck a poison'd dagger in her heart, Her innocent heart.
behave carelessly or indifferently
From this reading Ruin approaches;--shall I tamely meet it, And dally with destruction till it blast me?
the termination of something by causing so much damage to it that it cannot be repaired or no longer exists
From this reading Ruin approaches;--shall I tamely meet it, And dally with destruction till it blast me?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ah, fly! what then becomes of Emmelina?
at any time
From this reading No, I will fly thee, Julia, fly for ever.
travel through the air; be airborne
From this reading No, I will fly thee, Julia, fly for ever.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading No, I will fly thee, Julia, fly for ever.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading _Or._ So then, all's over; I've betray'd my secret, And stuck a poison'd dagger in her heart, Her innocent heart.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading _Or._ So then, all's over; I've betray'd my secret, And stuck a poison'd dagger in her heart, Her innocent heart.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Why, what a wretch am I!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Or._ So then, all's over; I've betray'd my secret, And stuck a poison'd dagger in her heart, Her innocent heart.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading _Or._ So then, all's over; I've betray'd my secret, And stuck a poison'd dagger in her heart, Her innocent heart.
free from evil or guilt
From this reading _Or._ So then, all's over; I've betray'd my secret, And stuck a poison'd dagger in her heart, Her innocent heart.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Ruin approaches;--shall I tamely meet it, And dally with destruction till it blast me?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading No, I will fly thee, Julia, fly for ever.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Ruin approaches;--shall I tamely meet it, And dally with destruction till it blast me?
come together
From this reading Ruin approaches;--shall I tamely meet it, And dally with destruction till it blast me?
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading _Or._ So then, all's over; I've betray'd my secret, And stuck a poison'd dagger in her heart, Her innocent heart.
not any; not one
From this reading No, I will fly thee, Julia, fly for ever.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Ah, fly! what then becomes of Emmelina?
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading _Or._ So then, all's over; I've betray'd my secret, And stuck a poison'd dagger in her heart, Her innocent heart.
above and across; more than
From this reading _Or._ So then, all's over; I've betray'd my secret, And stuck a poison'd dagger in her heart, Her innocent heart.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Or._ So then, all's over; I've betray'd my secret, And stuck a poison'd dagger in her heart, Her innocent heart.
an irrecoverable state of devastation and destruction
From this reading Ruin approaches;--shall I tamely meet it, And dally with destruction till it blast me?
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading _Or._ So then, all's over; I've betray'd my secret, And stuck a poison'd dagger in her heart, Her innocent heart.
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading Ruin approaches;--shall I tamely meet it, And dally with destruction till it blast me?
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading _Or._ So then, all's over; I've betray'd my secret, And stuck a poison'd dagger in her heart, Her innocent heart.
caught or fixed
From this reading _Or._ So then, all's over; I've betray'd my secret, And stuck a poison'd dagger in her heart, Her innocent heart.
in a tame manner
From this reading Ruin approaches;--shall I tamely meet it, And dally with destruction till it blast me?
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading No, I will fly thee, Julia, fly for ever.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading _Or._ So then, all's over; I've betray'd my secret, And stuck a poison'd dagger in her heart, Her innocent heart.
up to a particular time
From this reading Ruin approaches;--shall I tamely meet it, And dally with destruction till it blast me?
used to ask for information about something
From this reading Why, what a wretch am I!
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Why, what a wretch am I!
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading No, I will fly thee, Julia, fly for ever.
in the company of; together with
From this reading Ruin approaches;--shall I tamely meet it, And dally with destruction till it blast me?
performs some wicked deed
From this reading Why, what a wretch am I!
Chapter 2 of The Fatal Falsehood: A Tragedy. In Five Acts by Hannah More holds 362 sentences, grouped into 73 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 2 holds 362 sentences of The Fatal Falsehood: A Tragedy. In Five Acts, unabridged, divided into 73 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Fatal Falsehood: A Tragedy. In Five Acts by Hannah More exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 362 sentences, grouped into 73 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 73 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 73 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 2 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 Fatal Falsehood: A Tragedy. In Five Acts by Hannah More on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1107 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #36257 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #36257, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 92 minutes of reading across 222 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Fatal Falsehood: A Tragedy. In Five Acts section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 3 chapters of The Fatal Falsehood: A Tragedy. In Five Acts 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 Fatal Falsehood: A Tragedy. In Five Acts, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
