Chapter 16 of The Plumed Serpent is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XVI
Chapter 16 of The Plumed Serpent is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“How else should one believe, except by being compelled? I like Ramón for that, that he can compel me. When I grew up, and my god-father could not compel me to believe, I was very unhappy. It made me very unhappy.--But Ramón _compels_ me, and that is very good. It makes me very happy, when I know I can’t escape.
Chapter 16 of The Plumed Serpent is here in full — 410 sentences across 82 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/82 · 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.
force somebody to do something
From this reading “I like Ramón for that, that he can compel me.”
inflected form of “compel” — force somebody to do something
From this reading ““How else should one believe, except by being compelled?”
third-person singular of “compel” — force somebody to do something
the act of escaping physically
From this reading “It makes me very happy, when I know I can’t escape.”
apart from; not including
From this reading ““How else should one believe, except by being compelled?”
inflected form of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading “When I grew up, and my god-father could not compel me to believe, I was very unhappy.”
plural of “make” — a recognizable kind
From this reading “It makes me very happy, when I know I can’t escape.”
experiencing or marked by or causing sadness or sorrow or discontent
From this reading “When I grew up, and my god-father could not compel me to believe, I was very unhappy.”
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.
become an adult
In this reading “When I grew up, and my god-father could not compel me to believe, I was very unhappy.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading When I grew up, and my god-father could not compel me to believe, I was very unhappy.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading “How else should one believe, except by being compelled?
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading “How else should one believe, except by being compelled?
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading It made me very unhappy.--But Ramón _compels_ me, and that is very good.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading “How else should one believe, except by being compelled?
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading I like Ramón for that, that he can compel me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading It makes me very happy, when I know I can’t escape.
force somebody to do something
From this reading I like Ramón for that, that he can compel me.
inflected form of “compel” — force somebody to do something
From this reading “How else should one believe, except by being compelled?
third-person singular of “compel” — force somebody to do something
From this reading It made me very unhappy.--But Ramón _compels_ me, and that is very good.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading When I grew up, and my god-father could not compel me to believe, I was very unhappy.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “How else should one believe, except by being compelled?
the act of escaping physically
From this reading It makes me very happy, when I know I can’t escape.
apart from; not including
From this reading “How else should one believe, except by being compelled?
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I like Ramón for that, that he can compel me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading When I grew up, and my god-father could not compel me to believe, I was very unhappy.
having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified
From this reading It made me very unhappy.--But Ramón _compels_ me, and that is very good.
inflected form of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading When I grew up, and my god-father could not compel me to believe, I was very unhappy.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading It makes me very happy, when I know I can’t escape.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading I like Ramón for that, that he can compel me.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “How else should one believe, except by being compelled?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I like Ramón for that, that he can compel me.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It made me very unhappy.--But Ramón _compels_ me, and that is very good.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It made me very unhappy.--But Ramón _compels_ me, and that is very good.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading It makes me very happy, when I know I can’t escape.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading I like Ramón for that, that he can compel me.
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading It made me very unhappy.--But Ramón _compels_ me, and that is very good.
plural of “make” — a recognizable kind
From this reading It makes me very happy, when I know I can’t escape.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I like Ramón for that, that he can compel me.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading When I grew up, and my god-father could not compel me to believe, I was very unhappy.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading When I grew up, and my god-father could not compel me to believe, I was very unhappy.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “How else should one believe, except by being compelled?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I like Ramón for that, that he can compel me.
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading “How else should one believe, except by being compelled?
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I like Ramón for that, that he can compel me.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading When I grew up, and my god-father could not compel me to believe, I was very unhappy.
experiencing or marked by or causing sadness or sorrow or discontent
From this reading When I grew up, and my god-father could not compel me to believe, I was very unhappy.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading When I grew up, and my god-father could not compel me to believe, I was very unhappy.
precisely as stated
From this reading When I grew up, and my god-father could not compel me to believe, I was very unhappy.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading When I grew up, and my god-father could not compel me to believe, I was very unhappy.
at the time that
From this reading When I grew up, and my god-father could not compel me to believe, I was very unhappy.
Chapter 16 of The Plumed Serpent by D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence holds 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 16 holds 410 sentences of The Plumed Serpent, unabridged, divided into 82 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 16 of The Plumed Serpent by D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 410 sentences, grouped into 82 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 82 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 82 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 16 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 Plumed Serpent by D. H. (David Herbert) Lawrence on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 13514 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #73677 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #73677, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2703 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Plumed Serpent section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 33 chapters of The Plumed Serpent 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 Plumed Serpent, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
