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The Great Valley
The Great Valley

Chapter VI

Chapter 6 of The Great Valley is here in full — 353 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Great Valley
Context Illustration Reading 1/70 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
The breath of memory stirs me Under the rock.
I must have the madness of life to drive me, To toss me Into forgetfulness of my loss of you-- For I shall never see you again!
ELIZABETH TO MONSIEUR D---- I pace the rooms and wait for John’s return.
My heart beats all too fast, I feel a pain Around my heart, my hands grow cold, I burn Through neck and cheeks.
And thus I live in vain.
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AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Great Valley

Chapter VI

Chapter 6 of The Great Valley is here in full — 353 sentences across 71 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/70 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
The breath of memory stirs me Under the rock.
/ðə breθ ʌv ˈmem.ər.i stɜːrz miː ˈʌndər ðə rɑːk/
Line 2
I must have the madness of life to drive me, To toss me Into forgetfulness of my loss of you-- For I shall never see you again!
Line 3
ELIZABETH TO MONSIEUR D---- I pace the rooms and wait for John’s return.
/ɪˈlɪzəbəθ tuː məˈsjɜːr diː aɪ peɪs ðə ruːmz ənd weɪt fɔːr dʒɑːnz rɪˈtɜːrn/
Line 4
My heart beats all too fast, I feel a pain Around my heart, my hands grow cold, I burn Through neck and cheeks.
/maɪ hɑːrt biːts ɔːl tuː fæst aɪ fiːl ə peɪn ərˈaʊnd maɪ hɑːrt maɪ hændz ɡroʊ koʊld aɪ bɜːrn θruː nek ənd tʃiːks/
Line 5
And thus I live in vain.
/ənd ðʌs aɪ laɪv ɪn veɪn/

Learner Dictionary

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.

beats noun US /biːts/

a United States youth subculture of the 1950s; rejected possessions or regular work or traditional dress; for communal living and psychedelic drugs and anarchism; favored modern forms of jazz (e.g., bebop)

From this reading “My heart beats all too fast, I feel a pain Around my heart, my hands grow cold, I burn Through neck and cheeks.”

burn verb US /bɜːrn/

To consume or be consumed by fire.

From this reading “My heart beats all too fast, I feel a pain Around my heart, my hands grow cold, I burn Through neck and cheeks.”

elizabeth noun US /ɪˈlɪzəbəθ/

daughter of George VI who became the Queen of England and Northern Ireland in 1952 on the death of her father (1926-)

From this reading “ELIZABETH TO MONSIEUR D---- I pace the rooms and wait for John’s return.”

John's noun US /dʒɑːnz/

possessive form of “john” — a room or building equipped with one or more toilets

madness noun US /ˈmædnəs/

obsolete terms for legal insanity

From this reading “I must have the madness of life to drive me, To toss me Into forgetfulness of my loss of you-- For I shall never see you again!”

pace noun US /peɪs/

the rate of moving (especially walking or running)

From this reading “ELIZABETH TO MONSIEUR D---- I pace the rooms and wait for John’s return.”

stirs noun US /stɜːrz/

plural of “stir” — a prominent or sensational but short-lived news event

From this reading “The breath of memory stirs me Under the rock.”

toss verb US /tɔːs/

throw or toss with a light motion

From this reading “I must have the madness of life to drive me, To toss me Into forgetfulness of my loss of you-- For I shall never see you again!”

Word partnerships in these lines

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.

heart beats noun + noun

In this reading “My heart beats all too fast, I feel a pain Around my heart, my hands grow cold, I burn Through neck and cheeks.”

grow cold verb + adjective

In this reading “My heart beats all too fast, I feel a pain Around my heart, my hands grow cold, I burn Through neck and cheeks.”

wait for verb + particle

In this reading “ELIZABETH TO MONSIEUR D---- I pace the rooms and wait for John’s return.”

live in verb + particle

live in the house where one works

In this reading “And thus I live in vain.”

All words in this reading · 55

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.

adeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading My heart beats all too fast, I feel a pain Around my heart, my hands grow cold, I burn Through neck and cheeks.

againadverbUS /əˈɡen/

anew

From this reading I must have the madness of life to drive me, To toss me Into forgetfulness of my loss of you-- For I shall never see you again!

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class

From this reading My heart beats all too fast, I feel a pain Around my heart, my hands grow cold, I burn Through neck and cheeks.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading ELIZABETH TO MONSIEUR D---- I pace the rooms and wait for John’s return.

AroundprepositionUS /ərˈaʊnd/

surrounding, or on every side of, something

From this reading My heart beats all too fast, I feel a pain Around my heart, my hands grow cold, I burn Through neck and cheeks.

beatsnounUS /biːts/

a United States youth subculture of the 1950s; rejected possessions or regular work or traditional dress; for communal living and psychedelic drugs and anarchism; favored modern forms of jazz (e.g., bebop)

From this reading My heart beats all too fast, I feel a pain Around my heart, my hands grow cold, I burn Through neck and cheeks.

breathnounUS /breθ/

the process of taking in and expelling air during breathing

From this reading The breath of memory stirs me Under the rock.

burnverbUS /bɜːrn/

To consume or be consumed by fire.

From this reading My heart beats all too fast, I feel a pain Around my heart, my hands grow cold, I burn Through neck and cheeks.

cheeksnounUS /tʃiːks/

plural of “cheek” — either side of the face below the eyes

From this reading My heart beats all too fast, I feel a pain Around my heart, my hands grow cold, I burn Through neck and cheeks.

coldadjectiveUS /koʊld/

having a low or inadequate temperature or feeling a sensation of coldness or having been made cold by e.g. ice or refrigeration

From this reading My heart beats all too fast, I feel a pain Around my heart, my hands grow cold, I burn Through neck and cheeks.

DnounUS /diː/

a fat-soluble vitamin that prevents rickets

From this reading ELIZABETH TO MONSIEUR D---- I pace the rooms and wait for John’s return.

driveverbUS /draɪv/

operate or control a vehicle

From this reading I must have the madness of life to drive me, To toss me Into forgetfulness of my loss of you-- For I shall never see you again!

ELIZABETHnounUS /ɪˈlɪzəbəθ/

daughter of George VI who became the Queen of England and Northern Ireland in 1952 on the death of her father (1926-)

From this reading ELIZABETH TO MONSIEUR D---- I pace the rooms and wait for John’s return.

fastadverbUS /fæst/

quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form)

From this reading My heart beats all too fast, I feel a pain Around my heart, my hands grow cold, I burn Through neck and cheeks.

feelverbUS /fiːl/

undergo an emotional sensation or be in a particular state of mind

From this reading My heart beats all too fast, I feel a pain Around my heart, my hands grow cold, I burn Through neck and cheeks.

ForprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading I must have the madness of life to drive me, To toss me Into forgetfulness of my loss of you-- For I shall never see you again!

forgetfulnessnoun

tendency to forget

From this reading I must have the madness of life to drive me, To toss me Into forgetfulness of my loss of you-- For I shall never see you again!

growverbUS /ɡroʊ/

pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become

From this reading My heart beats all too fast, I feel a pain Around my heart, my hands grow cold, I burn Through neck and cheeks.

handsnounUS /hændz/

(with “in”) guardianship over; in divorce cases it is the right to house and care for and discipline a child

From this reading My heart beats all too fast, I feel a pain Around my heart, my hands grow cold, I burn Through neck and cheeks.

haveauxiliary verbUS /hæv/

used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses

From this reading I must have the madness of life to drive me, To toss me Into forgetfulness of my loss of you-- For I shall never see you again!

heartnounUS /hɑːrt/

the locus of feelings and intuitions

From this reading My heart beats all too fast, I feel a pain Around my heart, my hands grow cold, I burn Through neck and cheeks.

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading I must have the madness of life to drive me, To toss me Into forgetfulness of my loss of you-- For I shall never see you again!

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading And thus I live in vain.

IntoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading I must have the madness of life to drive me, To toss me Into forgetfulness of my loss of you-- For I shall never see you again!

John'snounUS /dʒɑːnz/

possessive form of “john” — a room or building equipped with one or more toilets

From this reading ELIZABETH TO MONSIEUR D---- I pace the rooms and wait for John’s return.

lifenounUS /laɪf/

a characteristic state or mode of living

From this reading I must have the madness of life to drive me, To toss me Into forgetfulness of my loss of you-- For I shall never see you again!

liveverbUS /laɪv/

be an inhabitant of or reside in

From this reading And thus I live in vain.

lossnounUS /lɔːs/

something that is lost

From this reading I must have the madness of life to drive me, To toss me Into forgetfulness of my loss of you-- For I shall never see you again!

madnessnounUS /ˈmædnəs/

obsolete terms for legal insanity

From this reading I must have the madness of life to drive me, To toss me Into forgetfulness of my loss of you-- For I shall never see you again!

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading The breath of memory stirs me Under the rock.

memorynounUS /ˈmem.ər.i/

The faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information and knowledge.

From this reading The breath of memory stirs me Under the rock.

MONSIEURnounUS /məˈsjɜːr/

used as a French courtesy title; equivalent to English “Mr”

From this reading ELIZABETH TO MONSIEUR D---- I pace the rooms and wait for John’s return.

mustmodal verbUS /mʌst/

used to say something is necessary, or almost certainly true

From this reading I must have the madness of life to drive me, To toss me Into forgetfulness of my loss of you-- For I shall never see you again!

mydeterminerUS /maɪ/

belonging to the person speaking

From this reading I must have the madness of life to drive me, To toss me Into forgetfulness of my loss of you-- For I shall never see you again!

necknounUS /nek/

the part of an organism (human or animal) that connects the head to the rest of the body

From this reading My heart beats all too fast, I feel a pain Around my heart, my hands grow cold, I burn Through neck and cheeks.

neveradverbUS /ˈnevər/

not ever; at no time in the past or future

From this reading I must have the madness of life to drive me, To toss me Into forgetfulness of my loss of you-- For I shall never see you again!

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading The breath of memory stirs me Under the rock.

pacenounUS /peɪs/

the rate of moving (especially walking or running)

From this reading ELIZABETH TO MONSIEUR D---- I pace the rooms and wait for John’s return.

painnounUS /peɪn/

a symptom of some physical hurt or disorder

From this reading My heart beats all too fast, I feel a pain Around my heart, my hands grow cold, I burn Through neck and cheeks.

returnverbUS /rɪˈtɜːrn/

go or come back to place, condition, or activity where one has been before

From this reading ELIZABETH TO MONSIEUR D---- I pace the rooms and wait for John’s return.

rocknounUS /rɑːk/

a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter

From this reading The breath of memory stirs me Under the rock.

roomsnounUS /ruːmz/

apartment consisting of a series of connected rooms used as a living unit (as in a hotel)

From this reading ELIZABETH TO MONSIEUR D---- I pace the rooms and wait for John’s return.

seeverbUS /siː/

perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight

From this reading I must have the madness of life to drive me, To toss me Into forgetfulness of my loss of you-- For I shall never see you again!

shallmodal verbUS /ʃæl/

used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest

From this reading I must have the madness of life to drive me, To toss me Into forgetfulness of my loss of you-- For I shall never see you again!

stirsnounUS /stɜːrz/

plural of “stir” — a prominent or sensational but short-lived news event

From this reading The breath of memory stirs me Under the rock.

ThedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading The breath of memory stirs me Under the rock.

ThroughprepositionUS /θruː/

from one end or side of something to the other

From this reading My heart beats all too fast, I feel a pain Around my heart, my hands grow cold, I burn Through neck and cheeks.

thusadverbUS /ðʌs/

(used to introduce a logical conclusion) from that fact or reason or as a result

From this reading And thus I live in vain.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading I must have the madness of life to drive me, To toss me Into forgetfulness of my loss of you-- For I shall never see you again!

tooadverbUS /tuː/

to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits

From this reading My heart beats all too fast, I feel a pain Around my heart, my hands grow cold, I burn Through neck and cheeks.

tossverbUS /tɔːs/

throw or toss with a light motion

From this reading I must have the madness of life to drive me, To toss me Into forgetfulness of my loss of you-- For I shall never see you again!

UnderprepositionUS /ˈʌndər/

below or beneath something; less than

From this reading The breath of memory stirs me Under the rock.

vainadjectiveUS /veɪn/

characteristic of false pride; having an exaggerated sense of self-importance

From this reading And thus I live in vain.

waitverbUS /weɪt/

stay in one place and anticipate or expect something

From this reading ELIZABETH TO MONSIEUR D---- I pace the rooms and wait for John’s return.

youpronounUS /juː/

the person or people being spoken to

From this reading I must have the madness of life to drive me, To toss me Into forgetfulness of my loss of you-- For I shall never see you again!

Chapter 6 of The Great Valley by Edgar Lee Masters holds 353 sentences, grouped into 71 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.

What does chapter 6 of The Great Valley contain?

Chapter 6 holds 353 sentences of The Great Valley, unabridged, divided into 71 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 6 of The Great Valley by Edgar Lee Masters exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 353 sentences, grouped into 71 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.

How do I study chapter 6 of The Great Valley?

Work through the 71 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 71 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.

Can chapter 6 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 6 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.

Questions about reading The Great Valley

Common questions about reading The Great Valley by Edgar Lee Masters on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Great Valley?

Yes. All 2273 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #56436 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Great Valley is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #56436, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Great Valley take to read?

About 189 minutes of reading across 455 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Great Valley section by section

How to work through The Great Valley section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 6 chapters of The Great Valley to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Great Valley

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Great Valley, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Edgar
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Great Valley; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Masters
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Great Valley; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Author
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Great Valley; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Spoon
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Great Valley; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.