Chapter 3 of The Humorous Poetry of the English Language is here in full — 23 sentences across 5 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of The Humorous Poetry of the English Language is here in full — 23 sentences across 5 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
The Plague that comes among you, Miserable sinners! To effort hath it strung you? Miserable sinners! You ask that all should fast and pray; Better all wake and work, I say; Sloth and supineness put away, That so the Plague may cease to slay; Miserable sinners! For Plagues, like other evils, Miserable sinners!
Chapter 3 of The Humorous Poetry of the English Language is here in full — 23 sentences across 5 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/293 · 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.
put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading “You ask that all should fast and pray; Better all wake and work, I say; Sloth and supineness put away, That so the Plague may cease to slay; Miserable sinners!”
plural of “evil” — morally objectionable behavior
From this reading “For Plagues, like other evils, Miserable sinners!”
cause to suffer a blight
From this reading “The Plague that comes among you, Miserable sinners!”
plural of “plague” — a serious (sometimes fatal) infection of rodents caused by Yersinia pestis and accidentally transmitted to humans by the bite of a flea that has bitten an infected animal
From this reading “For Plagues, like other evils, Miserable sinners!”
plural of “sinner” — a person who sins (without repenting)
From this reading “The Plague that comes among you, Miserable sinners!”
kill intentionally and with premeditation
From this reading “You ask that all should fast and pray; Better all wake and work, I say; Sloth and supineness put away, That so the Plague may cease to slay; Miserable sinners!”
a disinclination to work or exert yourself
From this reading “You ask that all should fast and pray; Better all wake and work, I say; Sloth and supineness put away, That so the Plague may cease to slay; Miserable sinners!”
that is on a string
From this reading “To effort hath it strung you?”
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.
(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 You ask that all should fast and pray; Better all wake and work, I say; Sloth and supineness put away, That so the Plague may cease to slay; Miserable sinners!
surrounded by; in the middle of a group
From this reading The Plague that comes among you, Miserable sinners!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading You ask that all should fast and pray; Better all wake and work, I say; Sloth and supineness put away, That so the Plague may cease to slay; Miserable sinners!
make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading You ask that all should fast and pray; Better all wake and work, I say; Sloth and supineness put away, That so the Plague may cease to slay; Miserable sinners!
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading You ask that all should fast and pray; Better all wake and work, I say; Sloth and supineness put away, That so the Plague may cease to slay; Miserable sinners!
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading You ask that all should fast and pray; Better all wake and work, I say; Sloth and supineness put away, That so the Plague may cease to slay; Miserable sinners!
put an end to a state or an activity
From this reading You ask that all should fast and pray; Better all wake and work, I say; Sloth and supineness put away, That so the Plague may cease to slay; Miserable sinners!
plural of “come” — the thick white fluid containing spermatozoa that is ejaculated by the male genital tract
From this reading The Plague that comes among you, Miserable sinners!
earnest and conscientious activity intended to do or accomplish something
From this reading To effort hath it strung you?
plural of “evil” — morally objectionable behavior
From this reading For Plagues, like other evils, Miserable sinners!
quickly or rapidly (often used as a combining form)
From this reading You ask that all should fast and pray; Better all wake and work, I say; Sloth and supineness put away, That so the Plague may cease to slay; Miserable sinners!
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For Plagues, like other evils, Miserable sinners!
an old form of “has”
From this reading To effort hath it strung you?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading You ask that all should fast and pray; Better all wake and work, I say; Sloth and supineness put away, That so the Plague may cease to slay; Miserable sinners!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading To effort hath it strung you?
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading For Plagues, like other evils, Miserable sinners!
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading You ask that all should fast and pray; Better all wake and work, I say; Sloth and supineness put away, That so the Plague may cease to slay; Miserable sinners!
very unhappy; full of misery
From this reading The Plague that comes among you, Miserable sinners!
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading For Plagues, like other evils, Miserable sinners!
cause to suffer a blight
From this reading The Plague that comes among you, Miserable sinners!
plural of “plague” — a serious (sometimes fatal) infection of rodents caused by Yersinia pestis and accidentally transmitted to humans by the bite of a flea that has bitten an infected animal
From this reading For Plagues, like other evils, Miserable sinners!
address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
From this reading You ask that all should fast and pray; Better all wake and work, I say; Sloth and supineness put away, That so the Plague may cease to slay; Miserable sinners!
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading You ask that all should fast and pray; Better all wake and work, I say; Sloth and supineness put away, That so the Plague may cease to slay; Miserable sinners!
express in words
From this reading You ask that all should fast and pray; Better all wake and work, I say; Sloth and supineness put away, That so the Plague may cease to slay; Miserable sinners!
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading You ask that all should fast and pray; Better all wake and work, I say; Sloth and supineness put away, That so the Plague may cease to slay; Miserable sinners!
plural of “sinner” — a person who sins (without repenting)
From this reading The Plague that comes among you, Miserable sinners!
kill intentionally and with premeditation
From this reading You ask that all should fast and pray; Better all wake and work, I say; Sloth and supineness put away, That so the Plague may cease to slay; Miserable sinners!
a disinclination to work or exert yourself
From this reading You ask that all should fast and pray; Better all wake and work, I say; Sloth and supineness put away, That so the Plague may cease to slay; Miserable sinners!
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading You ask that all should fast and pray; Better all wake and work, I say; Sloth and supineness put away, That so the Plague may cease to slay; Miserable sinners!
that is on a string
From this reading To effort hath it strung you?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading You ask that all should fast and pray; Better all wake and work, I say; Sloth and supineness put away, That so the Plague may cease to slay; Miserable sinners!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading The Plague that comes among you, Miserable sinners!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Plague that comes among you, Miserable sinners!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading To effort hath it strung you?
be awake, be alert, be there
From this reading You ask that all should fast and pray; Better all wake and work, I say; Sloth and supineness put away, That so the Plague may cease to slay; Miserable sinners!
exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
From this reading You ask that all should fast and pray; Better all wake and work, I say; Sloth and supineness put away, That so the Plague may cease to slay; Miserable sinners!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading The Plague that comes among you, Miserable sinners!
Chapter 3 of The Humorous Poetry of the English Language by James [Editor] Parton holds 23 sentences, grouped into 5 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 23 sentences of The Humorous Poetry of the English Language, unabridged, divided into 5 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of The Humorous Poetry of the English Language by James [Editor] Parton exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 23 sentences, grouped into 5 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 5 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 5 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 Humorous Poetry of the English Language by James [Editor] Parton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 0 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #? are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #?, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 5 minutes of reading across 0 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Humorous Poetry of the English Language section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Humorous Poetry of the English Language 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 Humorous Poetry of the English Language, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
