Chapter 3 of The Great American Novel is here in full — 113 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Great American Novel is here in full — 113 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It is Joyce with a difference. The difference being greater opacity, less erudition, reduced power of perception--Si la sol fa mi re do. Aside from that simple, rather stupid derivation, forced to a ridiculous extreme. No excuse for this sort of thing. Amounts to a total occlusion of intelligence.
Chapter 3 of The Great American Novel is here in full — 113 sentences across 23 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/22 · 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 “amount” — a quantity of money
From this reading “Amounts to a total occlusion of intelligence.”
the source or origin from which something derives (i.e. comes or issues)
From this reading “Aside from that simple, rather stupid derivation, forced to a ridiculous extreme.”
profound scholarly knowledge
From this reading “The difference being greater opacity, less erudition, reduced power of perception--Si la sol fa mi re do.”
influential Irish writer noted for his many innovations (such as stream of consciousness writing) (1882-1941)
From this reading “It is Joyce with a difference.”
closure or blockage (as of a blood vessel)
From this reading “Amounts to a total occlusion of intelligence.”
the phenomenon of not permitting the passage of electromagnetic radiation
From this reading “The difference being greater opacity, less erudition, reduced power of perception--Si la sol fa mi re do.”
the representation of what is perceived; basic component in the formation of a concept
From this reading “The difference being greater opacity, less erudition, reduced power of perception--Si la sol fa mi re do.”
a colloid that has a continuous liquid phase in which a solid is suspended in a liquid
From this reading “The difference being greater opacity, less erudition, reduced power of perception--Si la sol fa mi re do.”
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 “Aside from that simple, rather stupid derivation, forced to a ridiculous extreme.”
In this reading “No excuse for this sort of thing.”
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 It is Joyce with a difference.
plural of “amount” — a quantity of money
From this reading Amounts to a total occlusion of intelligence.
on or to one side
From this reading Aside from that simple, rather stupid derivation, forced to a ridiculous extreme.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading The difference being greater opacity, less erudition, reduced power of perception--Si la sol fa mi re do.
the source or origin from which something derives (i.e. comes or issues)
From this reading Aside from that simple, rather stupid derivation, forced to a ridiculous extreme.
the quality of being unlike or dissimilar
From this reading It is Joyce with a difference.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading The difference being greater opacity, less erudition, reduced power of perception--Si la sol fa mi re do.
profound scholarly knowledge
From this reading The difference being greater opacity, less erudition, reduced power of perception--Si la sol fa mi re do.
accept an excuse for
From this reading No excuse for this sort of thing.
of the greatest possible degree or extent or intensity
From this reading Aside from that simple, rather stupid derivation, forced to a ridiculous extreme.
the syllable naming the fourth (subdominant) note of the diatonic scale in solmization
From this reading The difference being greater opacity, less erudition, reduced power of perception--Si la sol fa mi re do.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading No excuse for this sort of thing.
produced by or subjected to forcing
From this reading Aside from that simple, rather stupid derivation, forced to a ridiculous extreme.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Aside from that simple, rather stupid derivation, forced to a ridiculous extreme.
greater in size or importance or degree
From this reading The difference being greater opacity, less erudition, reduced power of perception--Si la sol fa mi re do.
the ability to comprehend; to understand and profit from experience
From this reading Amounts to a total occlusion of intelligence.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It is Joyce with a difference.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It is Joyce with a difference.
influential Irish writer noted for his many innovations (such as stream of consciousness writing) (1882-1941)
From this reading It is Joyce with a difference.
a white soft metallic element that tarnishes readily; occurs in rare earth minerals and is usually classified as a rare earth
From this reading The difference being greater opacity, less erudition, reduced power of perception--Si la sol fa mi re do.
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading The difference being greater opacity, less erudition, reduced power of perception--Si la sol fa mi re do.
destruction of heart tissue resulting from obstruction of the blood supply to the heart muscle
From this reading The difference being greater opacity, less erudition, reduced power of perception--Si la sol fa mi re do.
not any; not one
From this reading No excuse for this sort of thing.
closure or blockage (as of a blood vessel)
From this reading Amounts to a total occlusion of intelligence.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The difference being greater opacity, less erudition, reduced power of perception--Si la sol fa mi re do.
the phenomenon of not permitting the passage of electromagnetic radiation
From this reading The difference being greater opacity, less erudition, reduced power of perception--Si la sol fa mi re do.
the representation of what is perceived; basic component in the formation of a concept
From this reading The difference being greater opacity, less erudition, reduced power of perception--Si la sol fa mi re do.
possession of controlling influence
From this reading The difference being greater opacity, less erudition, reduced power of perception--Si la sol fa mi re do.
on the contrary
From this reading Aside from that simple, rather stupid derivation, forced to a ridiculous extreme.
a rare heavy polyvalent metallic element that resembles manganese chemically and is used in some alloys; is obtained as a by-product in refining molybdenum
From this reading The difference being greater opacity, less erudition, reduced power of perception--Si la sol fa mi re do.
made less in size or amount or degree
From this reading The difference being greater opacity, less erudition, reduced power of perception--Si la sol fa mi re do.
inspiring scornful pity
From this reading Aside from that simple, rather stupid derivation, forced to a ridiculous extreme.
a tetravalent nonmetallic element; next to oxygen it is the most abundant element in the earth's crust; occurs in clay and feldspar and granite and quartz and sand; used as a semiconductor in transistors
From this reading The difference being greater opacity, less erudition, reduced power of perception--Si la sol fa mi re do.
having few parts; not complex or complicated or involved
From this reading Aside from that simple, rather stupid derivation, forced to a ridiculous extreme.
a colloid that has a continuous liquid phase in which a solid is suspended in a liquid
From this reading The difference being greater opacity, less erudition, reduced power of perception--Si la sol fa mi re do.
a category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
From this reading No excuse for this sort of thing.
lacking or marked by lack of intellectual acuity
From this reading Aside from that simple, rather stupid derivation, forced to a ridiculous extreme.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Aside from that simple, rather stupid derivation, forced to a ridiculous extreme.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The difference being greater opacity, less erudition, reduced power of perception--Si la sol fa mi re do.
a special situation
From this reading No excuse for this sort of thing.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading No excuse for this sort of thing.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Aside from that simple, rather stupid derivation, forced to a ridiculous extreme.
add up in number or quantity
From this reading Amounts to a total occlusion of intelligence.
in the company of; together with
From this reading It is Joyce with a difference.
Chapter 3 of The Great American Novel by William Carlos Williams holds 113 sentences, grouped into 23 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 3 holds 113 sentences of The Great American Novel, unabridged, divided into 23 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Great American Novel by William Carlos Williams exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 113 sentences, grouped into 23 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 23 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 23 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 3 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 Great American Novel by William Carlos Williams on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1885 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #63888 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #63888, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 157 minutes of reading across 377 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Great American Novel section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 19 chapters of The Great American Novel 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 Great American Novel, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
