Chapter 2 of The Poems and Prose of Ernest Dowson, With is here in full — 360 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Poems and Prose of Ernest Dowson, With is here in full — 360 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
It may be, said I, who can tell, These things shall be my less despair? And so I made a Villanelle! I took her whiteness virginal And from her cheek two roses rare: I took her dainty eyes as well. I said: "It may be possible Her image from my heart to tear!" And so I made a Villanelle.
Chapter 2 of The Poems and Prose of Ernest Dowson, With is here in full — 360 sentences across 72 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/72 · 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.
either side of the face below the eyes
From this reading “I took her whiteness virginal And from her cheek two roses rare: I took her dainty eyes as well.”
delicately beautiful
From this reading “I took her whiteness virginal And from her cheek two roses rare: I took her dainty eyes as well.”
an iconic mental representation
From this reading “I said: "It may be possible Her image from my heart to tear!"”
not widely known; especially valued for its uncommonness
From this reading “I took her whiteness virginal And from her cheek two roses rare: I took her dainty eyes as well.”
plural of “rose” — any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading “I took her whiteness virginal And from her cheek two roses rare: I took her dainty eyes as well.”
separate or cause to separate abruptly
From this reading “I said: "It may be possible Her image from my heart to tear!"”
characteristic of a virgin or virginity
From this reading “I took her whiteness virginal And from her cheek two roses rare: I took her dainty eyes as well.”
the quality or state of the achromatic color of greatest lightness (bearing the least resemblance to black)
From this reading “I took her whiteness virginal And from her cheek two roses rare: I took her dainty eyes as well.”
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 And so I made a Villanelle!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And so I made a Villanelle!
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading I took her whiteness virginal And from her cheek two roses rare: I took her dainty eyes as well.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading It may be, said I, who can tell, These things shall be my less despair?
to be able to, or to be allowed to
From this reading It may be, said I, who can tell, These things shall be my less despair?
either side of the face below the eyes
From this reading I took her whiteness virginal And from her cheek two roses rare: I took her dainty eyes as well.
delicately beautiful
From this reading I took her whiteness virginal And from her cheek two roses rare: I took her dainty eyes as well.
a state in which all hope is lost or absent
From this reading It may be, said I, who can tell, These things shall be my less despair?
opinion or judgment
From this reading I took her whiteness virginal And from her cheek two roses rare: I took her dainty eyes as well.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading I took her whiteness virginal And from her cheek two roses rare: I took her dainty eyes as well.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading I said: "It may be possible Her image from my heart to tear!"
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading I took her whiteness virginal And from her cheek two roses rare: I took her dainty eyes as well.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading It may be, said I, who can tell, These things shall be my less despair?
an iconic mental representation
From this reading I said: "It may be possible Her image from my heart to tear!"
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It may be, said I, who can tell, These things shall be my less despair?
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading It may be, said I, who can tell, These things shall be my less despair?
produced by a manufacturing process
From this reading And so I made a Villanelle!
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading It may be, said I, who can tell, These things shall be my less despair?
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading It may be, said I, who can tell, These things shall be my less despair?
capable of happening or existing
From this reading I said: "It may be possible Her image from my heart to tear!"
not widely known; especially valued for its uncommonness
From this reading I took her whiteness virginal And from her cheek two roses rare: I took her dainty eyes as well.
plural of “rose” — any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading I took her whiteness virginal And from her cheek two roses rare: I took her dainty eyes as well.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading It may be, said I, who can tell, These things shall be my less despair?
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading It may be, said I, who can tell, These things shall be my less despair?
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading And so I made a Villanelle!
separate or cause to separate abruptly
From this reading I said: "It may be possible Her image from my heart to tear!"
express in words
From this reading It may be, said I, who can tell, These things shall be my less despair?
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading It may be, said I, who can tell, These things shall be my less despair?
any movable possession (especially articles of clothing)
From this reading It may be, said I, who can tell, These things shall be my less despair?
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I said: "It may be possible Her image from my heart to tear!"
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading I took her whiteness virginal And from her cheek two roses rare: I took her dainty eyes as well.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one or a numeral representing this number
From this reading I took her whiteness virginal And from her cheek two roses rare: I took her dainty eyes as well.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And so I made a Villanelle!
characteristic of a virgin or virginity
From this reading I took her whiteness virginal And from her cheek two roses rare: I took her dainty eyes as well.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading I took her whiteness virginal And from her cheek two roses rare: I took her dainty eyes as well.
the quality or state of the achromatic color of greatest lightness (bearing the least resemblance to black)
From this reading I took her whiteness virginal And from her cheek two roses rare: I took her dainty eyes as well.
which person or people
From this reading It may be, said I, who can tell, These things shall be my less despair?
Chapter 2 of The Poems and Prose of Ernest Dowson, With by Ernest Christopher Dowson holds 360 sentences, grouped into 72 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 2 holds 360 sentences of The Poems and Prose of Ernest Dowson, With, unabridged, divided into 72 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Poems and Prose of Ernest Dowson, With by Ernest Christopher Dowson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 360 sentences, grouped into 72 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 72 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 72 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 2 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.
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Yes. All 2277 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #8497 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #8497, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 189 minutes of reading across 456 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Poems and Prose of Ernest Dowson, With section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of The Poems and Prose of Ernest Dowson, With to begin.
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Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Poems and Prose of Ernest Dowson, With, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
