Chapter 77 of The Man Who Laughs is here in full — 157 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter LXXVII
Chapter 77 of The Man Who Laughs is here in full — 157 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
FASCINATION. It takes time to rise to the surface. And Gwynplaine had been thrown into an abyss of stupefaction. We do not gain our footing at once in unknown depths. There are routs of ideas, as there are routs of armies.
Chapter 77 of The Man Who Laughs is here in full — 157 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 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.
a bottomless gulf or pit; any unfathomable (or apparently unfathomable) cavity or chasm or void extending below (often used figuratively)
From this reading “And Gwynplaine had been thrown into an abyss of stupefaction.”
plural of “army” — a permanent organization of the military land forces of a nation or state
From this reading “There are routs of ideas, as there are routs of armies.”
(plural) the deepest and most remote part
From this reading “We do not gain our footing at once in unknown depths.”
the state of being intensely interested (as by awe or terror)
From this reading “FASCINATION.”
status with respect to the relations between people or groups
From this reading “We do not gain our footing at once in unknown depths.”
obtain
From this reading “We do not gain our footing at once in unknown depths.”
plural of “idea” — the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading “There are routs of ideas, as there are routs of armies.”
the outer boundary of an artifact or a material layer constituting or resembling such a boundary
From this reading “It takes time to rise to the surface.”
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.
a bottomless gulf or pit; any unfathomable (or apparently unfathomable) cavity or chasm or void extending below (often used figuratively)
From this reading And Gwynplaine had been thrown into an abyss of stupefaction.
the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound
From this reading And Gwynplaine had been thrown into an abyss of stupefaction.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And Gwynplaine had been thrown into an abyss of stupefaction.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading There are routs of ideas, as there are routs of armies.
plural of “army” — a permanent organization of the military land forces of a nation or state
From this reading There are routs of ideas, as there are routs of armies.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading There are routs of ideas, as there are routs of armies.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading We do not gain our footing at once in unknown depths.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading And Gwynplaine had been thrown into an abyss of stupefaction.
(plural) the deepest and most remote part
From this reading We do not gain our footing at once in unknown depths.
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading We do not gain our footing at once in unknown depths.
the state of being intensely interested (as by awe or terror)
From this reading FASCINATION.
status with respect to the relations between people or groups
From this reading We do not gain our footing at once in unknown depths.
obtain
From this reading We do not gain our footing at once in unknown depths.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And Gwynplaine had been thrown into an abyss of stupefaction.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading And Gwynplaine had been thrown into an abyss of stupefaction.
plural of “idea” — the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading There are routs of ideas, as there are routs of armies.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading We do not gain our footing at once in unknown depths.
moving to the inside of something
From this reading And Gwynplaine had been thrown into an abyss of stupefaction.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It takes time to rise to the surface.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading We do not gain our footing at once in unknown depths.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading And Gwynplaine had been thrown into an abyss of stupefaction.
on one occasion
From this reading We do not gain our footing at once in unknown depths.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading We do not gain our footing at once in unknown depths.
move upward
From this reading It takes time to rise to the surface.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There are routs of ideas, as there are routs of armies.
a feeling of stupefied astonishment
From this reading And Gwynplaine had been thrown into an abyss of stupefaction.
the outer boundary of an artifact or a material layer constituting or resembling such a boundary
From this reading It takes time to rise to the surface.
plural of “take” — the income or profit arising from such transactions as the sale of land or other property
From this reading It takes time to rise to the surface.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It takes time to rise to the surface.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There are routs of ideas, as there are routs of armies.
caused to fall to the ground
From this reading And Gwynplaine had been thrown into an abyss of stupefaction.
an instance or single occasion for some event
From this reading It takes time to rise to the surface.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading It takes time to rise to the surface.
not known
From this reading We do not gain our footing at once in unknown depths.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We do not gain our footing at once in unknown depths.
Chapter 77 of The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo holds 157 sentences, grouped into 32 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 77 holds 157 sentences of The Man Who Laughs, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 77 of The Man Who Laughs by Victor Hugo exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 157 sentences, grouped into 32 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 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 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 77 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.
