Chapter 21 of The Man Who Laughs is here in full — 30 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXI
Chapter 21 of The Man Who Laughs is here in full — 30 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
FACE TO FACE WITH NIGHT. Again was the hooker running with the shadow into immeasurable darkness. The _Matutina_, escaped from the Caskets, sank and rose from billow to billow. A respite, but in chaos. Spun round by the wind, tossed by all the thousand motions of the wave, she reflected every mad oscillation of the sea.
Chapter 21 of The Man Who Laughs is here in full — 30 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/6 · 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.
rise up as if in waves
From this reading “The _Matutina_, escaped from the Caskets, sank and rose from billow to billow.”
plural of “casket” — box in which a corpse is buried or cremated
From this reading “The _Matutina_, escaped from the Caskets, sank and rose from billow to billow.”
a state of extreme confusion and disorder
From this reading “A respite, but in chaos.”
United States general in the Union Army who was defeated at Chancellorsville by Robert E. Lee (1814-1879)
From this reading “Again was the hooker running with the shadow into immeasurable darkness.”
impossible to measure
From this reading “Again was the hooker running with the shadow into immeasurable darkness.”
the process of oscillating between states
From this reading “Spun round by the wind, tossed by all the thousand motions of the wave, she reflected every mad oscillation of the sea.”
a (temporary) relief from harm or discomfort
From this reading “A respite, but in chaos.”
inflected form of “spin” — revolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis
From this reading “Spun round by the wind, tossed by all the thousand motions of the wave, she reflected every mad oscillation of the sea.”
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 A respite, but in chaos.
anew
From this reading Again was the hooker running with the shadow into immeasurable darkness.
(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 Spun round by the wind, tossed by all the thousand motions of the wave, she reflected every mad oscillation of the sea.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The _Matutina_, escaped from the Caskets, sank and rose from billow to billow.
rise up as if in waves
From this reading The _Matutina_, escaped from the Caskets, sank and rose from billow to billow.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading A respite, but in chaos.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading Spun round by the wind, tossed by all the thousand motions of the wave, she reflected every mad oscillation of the sea.
plural of “casket” — box in which a corpse is buried or cremated
From this reading The _Matutina_, escaped from the Caskets, sank and rose from billow to billow.
a state of extreme confusion and disorder
From this reading A respite, but in chaos.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading Again was the hooker running with the shadow into immeasurable darkness.
having escaped, especially from confinement
From this reading The _Matutina_, escaped from the Caskets, sank and rose from billow to billow.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading Spun round by the wind, tossed by all the thousand motions of the wave, she reflected every mad oscillation of the sea.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading FACE TO FACE WITH NIGHT.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading The _Matutina_, escaped from the Caskets, sank and rose from billow to billow.
United States general in the Union Army who was defeated at Chancellorsville by Robert E. Lee (1814-1879)
From this reading Again was the hooker running with the shadow into immeasurable darkness.
impossible to measure
From this reading Again was the hooker running with the shadow into immeasurable darkness.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading A respite, but in chaos.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading Again was the hooker running with the shadow into immeasurable darkness.
roused to anger
From this reading Spun round by the wind, tossed by all the thousand motions of the wave, she reflected every mad oscillation of the sea.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The _Matutina_, escaped from the Caskets, sank and rose from billow to billow.
plural of “motion” — the use of movements (especially of the hands) to communicate familiar or prearranged signals
From this reading Spun round by the wind, tossed by all the thousand motions of the wave, she reflected every mad oscillation of the sea.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading FACE TO FACE WITH NIGHT.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Spun round by the wind, tossed by all the thousand motions of the wave, she reflected every mad oscillation of the sea.
the process of oscillating between states
From this reading Spun round by the wind, tossed by all the thousand motions of the wave, she reflected every mad oscillation of the sea.
(especially of incident sound or light) bent or sent back
From this reading Spun round by the wind, tossed by all the thousand motions of the wave, she reflected every mad oscillation of the sea.
a (temporary) relief from harm or discomfort
From this reading A respite, but in chaos.
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading The _Matutina_, escaped from the Caskets, sank and rose from billow to billow.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading Spun round by the wind, tossed by all the thousand motions of the wave, she reflected every mad oscillation of the sea.
(of fluids) moving or issuing in a stream
From this reading Again was the hooker running with the shadow into immeasurable darkness.
inflected form of “sink” — fall or descend to a lower place or level
From this reading The _Matutina_, escaped from the Caskets, sank and rose from billow to billow.
a division of an ocean or a large body of salt water partially enclosed by land
From this reading Spun round by the wind, tossed by all the thousand motions of the wave, she reflected every mad oscillation of the sea.
A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.
From this reading Again was the hooker running with the shadow into immeasurable darkness.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading Spun round by the wind, tossed by all the thousand motions of the wave, she reflected every mad oscillation of the sea.
inflected form of “spin” — revolve quickly and repeatedly around one's own axis
From this reading Spun round by the wind, tossed by all the thousand motions of the wave, she reflected every mad oscillation of the sea.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Again was the hooker running with the shadow into immeasurable darkness.
the cardinal number that is the product of 10 and 100
From this reading Spun round by the wind, tossed by all the thousand motions of the wave, she reflected every mad oscillation of the sea.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading FACE TO FACE WITH NIGHT.
past form of “toss” — throw or toss with a light motion
From this reading Spun round by the wind, tossed by all the thousand motions of the wave, she reflected every mad oscillation of the sea.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Again was the hooker running with the shadow into immeasurable darkness.
one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)
From this reading Spun round by the wind, tossed by all the thousand motions of the wave, she reflected every mad oscillation of the sea.
air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
From this reading Spun round by the wind, tossed by all the thousand motions of the wave, she reflected every mad oscillation of the sea.
in the company of; together with
From this reading FACE TO FACE WITH NIGHT.
Chapter 21 of The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo holds 30 sentences, grouped into 6 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 21 holds 30 sentences of The Man Who Laughs, unabridged, divided into 6 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 21 of The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 30 sentences, grouped into 6 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 6 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 6 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 21 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 Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo 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 Man Who Laughs section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 0 chapters of The Man Who Laughs 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 Man Who Laughs, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
