The Love Affairs of Lord Byron

Chapter VIII

Chapter 8 of The Love Affairs of Lord Byron is here in full — 129 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Francis Henry Gribble • Curated US English Learning Edition

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THE MAID OF ATHENS--MRS.

WERRY--MRS.

PEDLEY--THE SWIMMING OF THE HELLESPONT "_Maid of Athens, ere we part, Give, oh give me back my heart!_" It would be superfluous to quote more of the poem than that; and it would be absurd to attach importance to the episode which it commemorates.

Byron came to Athens after an expedition, with Hobhouse, into the heart of Albania.

He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."

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Chapter VIII Reading 1/25

The Love Affairs of Lord Byron Francis Henry Gribble

Chapter VIII

Chapter 8 of The Love Affairs of Lord Byron is here in full — 129 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

THE MAID OF ATHENS--MRS. WERRY--MRS. PEDLEY--THE SWIMMING OF THE HELLESPONT "_Maid of Athens, ere we part, Give, oh give me back my heart!_" It would be superfluous to quote more of the poem than that; and it would be absurd to attach importance to the episode which it commemorates. Byron came to Athens after an expedition, with Hobhouse, into the heart of Albania. He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."

The Love Affairs of Lord Byron

Chapter VIII

Chapter 8 of The Love Affairs of Lord Byron is here in full — 129 sentences across 26 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/25 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

THE MAID OF ATHENS--MRS.

Line 2

WERRY--MRS.

Line 3

Line 4

Byron came to Athens after an expedition, with Hobhouse, into the heart of Albania.

Line 5

He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."

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.

Albania noun US /ælˈbeɪniə/

a republic in southeastern Europe on the Adriatic coast of the Balkan Peninsula

From this reading “Byron came to Athens after an expedition, with Hobhouse, into the heart of Albania.”

athens noun US /ˈæθənz/

the capital and largest city of Greece; named after Athena (its patron goddess)

From this reading “THE MAID OF ATHENS--MRS.”

attach verb US /əˈtætʃ/

cause to be attached

From this reading “PEDLEY--THE SWIMMING OF THE HELLESPONT "_Maid of Athens, ere we part, Give, oh give me back my heart!_" It would be superfluous to quote more of the poem than that; and it would be absurd to attach importance to the episode which it commemorates.”

canto noun US /ˈkæntoʊ/

the highest part (usually the melody) in a piece of choral music

From this reading “He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."”

commemorates verb US /kəˈmeməreɪts/

third-person singular of “commemorate” — celebrate by some ceremony or observation

quote verb US /kwoʊt/

repeat a passage from

stanzas noun US /ˈstænzəz/

plural of “stanza” — a fixed number of lines of verse forming a unit of a poem

From this reading “He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."”

superfluous adjective US /ˈsuːpərflwʌs/

serving no useful purpose; having no excuse for being

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.

of course preposition + noun

as might be expected

In this reading “He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."”

in writing preposition + noun

written or drawn or engraved

In this reading “He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."”

All words in this reading · 65

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 He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."

absurdadjectiveUS /əbˈsɜːrd/

inconsistent with reason or logic or common sense

From this reading PEDLEY--THE SWIMMING OF THE HELLESPONT "_Maid of Athens, ere we part, Give, oh give me back my heart!_" It would be superfluous to quote more of the poem than that; and it would be absurd to attach importance to the episode which it commemorates.

accordingadjectiveUS /əˈkɔːrdɪŋ/

(followed by “to”) in agreement with or accordant with

From this reading He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."

afterprepositionUS /ˈæftər/

later than; following

From this reading Byron came to Athens after an expedition, with Hobhouse, into the heart of Albania.

AlbanianounUS /ælˈbeɪniə/

a republic in southeastern Europe on the Adriatic coast of the Balkan Peninsula

From this reading Byron came to Athens after an expedition, with Hobhouse, into the heart of Albania.

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 He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."

andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

From this reading Byron came to Athens after an expedition, with Hobhouse, into the heart of Albania.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

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

ATHENSnounUS /ˈæθənz/

the capital and largest city of Greece; named after Athena (its patron goddess)

From this reading THE MAID OF ATHENS--MRS.

attachverbUS /əˈtætʃ/

cause to be attached

backadverbUS /bæk/

in or to or toward a former location

beauxiliary verbUS /biː/

used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses

beingauxiliary verbUS /ˈbiːɪŋ/

the -ing form of “be”

From this reading He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."

ByronnounUS /ˈbaɪrən/

English romantic poet notorious for his rebellious and unconventional lifestyle (1788-1824)

From this reading Byron came to Athens after an expedition, with Hobhouse, into the heart of Albania.

cameverbUS /keɪm/

inflected form of “come” — move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody

From this reading Byron came to Athens after an expedition, with Hobhouse, into the heart of Albania.

cantonounUS /ˈkæntoʊ/

the highest part (usually the melody) in a piece of choral music

From this reading He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."

Childe

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."

commemoratesverbUS /kəˈmeməreɪts/

third-person singular of “commemorate” — celebrate by some ceremony or observation

coursenounUS /kɔːrs/

education imparted in a series of lessons or meetings

From this reading He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."

DiarynounUS /ˈdaɪəri/

a daily written record of (usually personal) experiences and observations

From this reading He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."

engagedadjectiveUS /enˈɡeɪdʒd/

having ones attention or mind or energy engaged

From this reading He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."

episodenounUS /ˈepəsoʊd/

a happening that is distinctive in a series of related events

ereconjunctionUS /er/

an old word for “before”

expeditionnounUS /ˌekspəˈdɪʃən/

a military campaign designed to achieve a specific objective in a foreign country

From this reading Byron came to Athens after an expedition, with Hobhouse, into the heart of Albania.

firstadjectiveUS /fɜːrst/

preceding all others in time or space or degree

From this reading He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."

GiveverbUS /ɡɪv/

cause to have, in the abstract sense or physical sense

Harold

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."

HepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."

heartnounUS /hɑːrt/

the locus of feelings and intuitions

HELLESPONTnoun

the strait between the Aegean and the Sea of Marmara that separates European Turkey from Asian Turkey

Hobhouse

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Byron came to Athens after an expedition, with Hobhouse, into the heart of Albania.

Hobhouse's

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."

importancenounUS /ˌɪmˈpɔːrtəns/

the quality of being important and worthy of note

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

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

From this reading He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."

intoprepositionUS /ˈɪntuː/

moving to the inside of something

From this reading Byron came to Athens after an expedition, with Hobhouse, into the heart of Albania.

ItpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

longadjectiveUS /lɔːŋ/

primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified

From this reading He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."

MAIDnounUS /meɪd/

a female domestic

From this reading THE MAID OF ATHENS--MRS.

mepronounUS /miː/

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

moreadjectiveUS /mɔːr/

(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree

MRSnounUS /ˈmɪsɪz/

a form of address for a married woman

From this reading THE MAID OF ATHENS--MRS.

mydeterminerUS /maɪ/

belonging to the person speaking

OFprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading THE MAID OF ATHENS--MRS.

ohnounUS /oʊ/

a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region

partnounUS /pɑːrt/

something determined in relation to something that includes it

PEDLEY

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

poemnounUS /ˈpoʊəm/

a composition written in metrical feet forming rhythmical lines

quoteverbUS /kwoʊt/

repeat a passage from

Spenserian

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."

stanzasnounUS /ˈstænzəz/

plural of “stanza” — a fixed number of lines of verse forming a unit of a poem

From this reading He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."

superfluousadjectiveUS /ˈsuːpərflwʌs/

serving no useful purpose; having no excuse for being

SWIMMINGnounUS /ˈswɪmɪŋ/

the act of swimming

thanconjunctionUS /ðæn/

used to introduce the second part of a comparison

thatconjunctionUS /ðæt/

used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt

THEdeterminerUS /ðə/

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

From this reading THE MAID OF ATHENS--MRS.

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."

timenounUS /taɪm/

an instance or single occasion for some event

From this reading He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."

toparticleUS /tuː/

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

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."

wepronounUS /wiː/

the speaker together with one or more other people

WERRY

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading WERRY--MRS.

whichpronounUS /wɪtʃ/

used to introduce a clause giving more about a thing just mentioned

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading Byron came to Athens after an expedition, with Hobhouse, into the heart of Albania.

wouldmodal verbUS /wʊd/

used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past

writingnounUS /ˈraɪtɪŋ/

the act of creating written works

From this reading He was, according to Hobhouse's Diary, "all this time engaged in writing a long poem in the Spenserian stanzas," the poem being, of course, the first canto of "Childe Harold."

Chapter 8 of The Love Affairs of Lord Byron by Francis Henry Gribble holds 129 sentences, grouped into 26 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 8 of The Love Affairs of Lord Byron contain?

Chapter 8 holds 129 sentences of The Love Affairs of Lord Byron, unabridged, divided into 26 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 8 of The Love Affairs of Lord Byron by Francis Henry Gribble exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 129 sentences, grouped into 26 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 8 of The Love Affairs of Lord Byron?

Work through the 26 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 26 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 8 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 8 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 Love Affairs of Lord Byron

Common questions about reading The Love Affairs of Lord Byron by Francis Henry Gribble on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Love Affairs of Lord Byron?

Yes. All 3464 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #41701 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Love Affairs of Lord Byron is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #41701, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Love Affairs of Lord Byron take to read?

About 288 minutes of reading across 693 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

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Vocabulary met early in The Love Affairs of Lord Byron

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Love Affairs of Lord Byron, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Whether: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Love Affairs of Lord Byron; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Called: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Love Affairs of Lord Byron; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Affairs: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Love Affairs of Lord Byron; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Byron: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Love Affairs of Lord Byron; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.

Chapter VIII

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