Chapter 4 of The Feather is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Feather is here in full — 408 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
‘You really must listen. Come, now, do hear.’ And he began waving his arms to and fro, roaring: ‘When moonlight o’er the azure seas In soft effulgence swells!’ But he sang it to the tune of the moonlight sonata.
Chapter 4 of The Feather is here in full — 408 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.
a light shade of blue
From this reading “‘When moonlight o’er the azure seas In soft effulgence swells!’”
the light of the Moon
From this reading “‘When moonlight o’er the azure seas In soft effulgence swells!’”
a deep prolonged loud noise
From this reading “And he began waving his arms to and fro, roaring:”
plural of “sea” — a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading “‘When moonlight o’er the azure seas In soft effulgence swells!’”
a musical composition of 3 or 4 movements of contrasting forms
From this reading “But he sang it to the tune of the moonlight sonata.”
plural of “swell” — the undulating movement of the surface of the open sea
From this reading “‘When moonlight o’er the azure seas In soft effulgence swells!’”
a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence
From this reading “But he sang it to the tune of the moonlight sonata.”
the act of signaling by a movement of the hand
From this reading “And he began waving his arms to and fro, roaring:”
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.
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And he began waving his arms to and fro, roaring:
weapons considered collectively
From this reading And he began waving his arms to and fro, roaring:
a light shade of blue
From this reading ‘When moonlight o’er the azure seas In soft effulgence swells!’
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading And he began waving his arms to and fro, roaring:
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But he sang it to the tune of the moonlight sonata.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Come, now, do hear.’
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading Come, now, do hear.’
the quality of being bright and sending out rays of light
From this reading ‘When moonlight o’er the azure seas In soft effulgence swells!’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And he began waving his arms to and fro, roaring:
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading And he began waving his arms to and fro, roaring:
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading Come, now, do hear.’
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading And he began waving his arms to and fro, roaring:
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading ‘When moonlight o’er the azure seas In soft effulgence swells!’
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading But he sang it to the tune of the moonlight sonata.
hear with intention
From this reading ‘You really must listen.
the light of the Moon
From this reading ‘When moonlight o’er the azure seas In soft effulgence swells!’
used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true
From this reading ‘You really must listen.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Come, now, do hear.’
throughout a period of time
From this reading ‘When moonlight o’er the azure seas In soft effulgence swells!’
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading But he sang it to the tune of the moonlight sonata.
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading ‘You really must listen.
a deep prolonged loud noise
From this reading And he began waving his arms to and fro, roaring:
North American woodland herb similar to and used as substitute for the Chinese ginseng
From this reading But he sang it to the tune of the moonlight sonata.
plural of “sea” — a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading ‘When moonlight o’er the azure seas In soft effulgence swells!’
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading ‘When moonlight o’er the azure seas In soft effulgence swells!’
a musical composition of 3 or 4 movements of contrasting forms
From this reading But he sang it to the tune of the moonlight sonata.
plural of “swell” — the undulating movement of the surface of the open sea
From this reading ‘When moonlight o’er the azure seas In soft effulgence swells!’
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading ‘When moonlight o’er the azure seas In soft effulgence swells!’
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading And he began waving his arms to and fro, roaring:
a succession of notes forming a distinctive sequence
From this reading But he sang it to the tune of the moonlight sonata.
the act of signaling by a movement of the hand
From this reading And he began waving his arms to and fro, roaring:
at the time that
From this reading ‘When moonlight o’er the azure seas In soft effulgence swells!’
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading ‘You really must listen.
Chapter 4 of The Feather by Ford Madox Ford holds 408 sentences, grouped into 82 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 4 holds 408 sentences of The Feather, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Feather by Ford Madox Ford exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 408 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 4 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 Feather by Ford Madox Ford on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2038 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #50658 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #50658, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 169 minutes of reading across 408 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Feather section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The Feather 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 Feather, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
