Chapter 1 of The letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth — Vol. 2 is here in full — 392 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth — Vol. 2 is here in full — 392 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
VOL. II. [All rights reserved] _R.B. to E.B.B._ Wednesday. [Post-mark, March 25, 1846.] You were right to bid me never again wish my poor flowers were ‘diamonds’—you could not, I think, speak so to my heart of any diamonds.
Chapter 1 of The letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth — Vol. 2 is here in full — 392 sentences across 79 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/78 · 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.
propose a payment
From this reading “You were right to bid me never again wish my poor flowers were ‘diamonds’—you could not, I think, speak so to my heart of any diamonds.”
plural of “diamond” — a transparent piece of diamond that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gem
From this reading “You were right to bid me never again wish my poor flowers were ‘diamonds’—you could not, I think, speak so to my heart of any diamonds.”
plural of “flower” — a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading “You were right to bid me never again wish my poor flowers were ‘diamonds’—you could not, I think, speak so to my heart of any diamonds.”
march in a procession
From this reading “[Post-mark, March 25, 1846.]”
set aside for the use of a particular person or party
From this reading “[All rights reserved] _R.B. to E.B.B._ Wednesday.”
plural of “right” — an abstract idea of that which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature
From this reading “[All rights reserved] _R.B. to E.B.B._ Wednesday.”
the fourth day of the week; the third working day
From this reading “[All rights reserved] _R.B. to E.B.B._ Wednesday.”
hope for; have a wish
From this reading “You were right to bid me never again wish my poor flowers were ‘diamonds’—you could not, I think, speak so to my heart of any diamonds.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [Post-mark, March 25, 1846.]
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [Post-mark, March 25, 1846.]
anew
From this reading You were right to bid me never again wish my poor flowers were ‘diamonds’—you could not, I think, speak so to my heart of any diamonds.
(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 [All rights reserved] _R.B. to E.B.B._ Wednesday.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading You were right to bid me never again wish my poor flowers were ‘diamonds’—you could not, I think, speak so to my heart of any diamonds.
aerobic rod-shaped spore-producing bacterium; often occurring in chainlike formations; found primarily in soil
From this reading [All rights reserved] _R.B. to E.B.B._ Wednesday.
propose a payment
From this reading You were right to bid me never again wish my poor flowers were ‘diamonds’—you could not, I think, speak so to my heart of any diamonds.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading You were right to bid me never again wish my poor flowers were ‘diamonds’—you could not, I think, speak so to my heart of any diamonds.
plural of “diamond” — a transparent piece of diamond that has been cut and polished and is valued as a precious gem
From this reading You were right to bid me never again wish my poor flowers were ‘diamonds’—you could not, I think, speak so to my heart of any diamonds.
a fat-soluble vitamin that is essential for normal reproduction; an important antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals in the body
From this reading [All rights reserved] _R.B. to E.B.B._ Wednesday.
plural of “flower” — a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading You were right to bid me never again wish my poor flowers were ‘diamonds’—you could not, I think, speak so to my heart of any diamonds.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading You were right to bid me never again wish my poor flowers were ‘diamonds’—you could not, I think, speak so to my heart of any diamonds.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading You were right to bid me never again wish my poor flowers were ‘diamonds’—you could not, I think, speak so to my heart of any diamonds.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading II.
march in a procession
From this reading [Post-mark, March 25, 1846.]
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading You were right to bid me never again wish my poor flowers were ‘diamonds’—you could not, I think, speak so to my heart of any diamonds.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading You were right to bid me never again wish my poor flowers were ‘diamonds’—you could not, I think, speak so to my heart of any diamonds.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading You were right to bid me never again wish my poor flowers were ‘diamonds’—you could not, I think, speak so to my heart of any diamonds.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading You were right to bid me never again wish my poor flowers were ‘diamonds’—you could not, I think, speak so to my heart of any diamonds.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading You were right to bid me never again wish my poor flowers were ‘diamonds’—you could not, I think, speak so to my heart of any diamonds.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading You were right to bid me never again wish my poor flowers were ‘diamonds’—you could not, I think, speak so to my heart of any diamonds.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading [Post-mark, March 25, 1846.]
a unit of radiation exposure; the dose of ionizing radiation that will produce 1 electrostatic unit of electricity in 1 cc of dry air
From this reading [All rights reserved] _R.B. to E.B.B._ Wednesday.
set aside for the use of a particular person or party
From this reading [All rights reserved] _R.B. to E.B.B._ Wednesday.
precisely, exactly
From this reading You were right to bid me never again wish my poor flowers were ‘diamonds’—you could not, I think, speak so to my heart of any diamonds.
plural of “right” — an abstract idea of that which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature
From this reading [All rights reserved] _R.B. to E.B.B._ Wednesday.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading You were right to bid me never again wish my poor flowers were ‘diamonds’—you could not, I think, speak so to my heart of any diamonds.
express in speech
From this reading You were right to bid me never again wish my poor flowers were ‘diamonds’—you could not, I think, speak so to my heart of any diamonds.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading You were right to bid me never again wish my poor flowers were ‘diamonds’—you could not, I think, speak so to my heart of any diamonds.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading [All rights reserved] _R.B. to E.B.B._ Wednesday.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading VOL.
the fourth day of the week; the third working day
From this reading [All rights reserved] _R.B. to E.B.B._ Wednesday.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading You were right to bid me never again wish my poor flowers were ‘diamonds’—you could not, I think, speak so to my heart of any diamonds.
hope for; have a wish
From this reading You were right to bid me never again wish my poor flowers were ‘diamonds’—you could not, I think, speak so to my heart of any diamonds.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You were right to bid me never again wish my poor flowers were ‘diamonds’—you could not, I think, speak so to my heart of any diamonds.
Chapter 1 of The letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth — Vol. 2 by Robert Browning holds 392 sentences, grouped into 79 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 1 holds 392 sentences of The letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth — Vol. 2, unabridged, divided into 79 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth — Vol. 2 by Robert Browning exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 392 sentences, grouped into 79 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 79 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 79 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 1 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 letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth — Vol. 2 by Robert Browning on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 10205 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #73891 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #73891, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2041 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth — Vol. 2 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of The letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth — Vol. 2 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 letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth — Vol. 2, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
