Chapter 25 of The Poems of John Donne, Volume 2 (of 2) is here in full — 383 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXV
Chapter 25 of The Poems of John Donne, Volume 2 (of 2) is here in full — 383 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
l. 302. _better through pierc'd then through penury_. I have no doubt that the 'through penury' of the 1635-69 editions and the MSS. is what Donne wrote. The 1633 editor changed it to 'by penury'.
Chapter 25 of The Poems of John Donne, Volume 2 (of 2) is here in full — 383 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/76 · 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.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
made or become different in nature or form
From this reading “The 1633 editor changed it to 'by penury'.”
English clergyman and metaphysical poet celebrated as a preacher (1572-1631)
From this reading “I have no doubt that the 'through penury' of the 1635-69 editions and the MSS. is what Donne wrote.”
the state of being unsure of something
From this reading “I have no doubt that the 'through penury' of the 1635-69 editions and the MSS. is what Donne wrote.”
plural of “edition” — the form in which a text (especially a printed book) is published
From this reading “I have no doubt that the 'through penury' of the 1635-69 editions and the MSS. is what Donne wrote.”
a person responsible for the editorial aspects of publication; the person who determines the final content of a text (especially of a newspaper or magazine)
From this reading “The 1633 editor changed it to 'by penury'.”
a state of extreme poverty or destitution
From this reading “I have no doubt that the 'through penury' of the 1635-69 editions and the MSS. is what Donne wrote.”
inflected form of “write” — produce a literary work
From this reading “I have no doubt that the 'through penury' of the 1635-69 editions and the MSS. is what Donne wrote.”
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.
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The 1633 editor changed it to 'by penury'.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have no doubt that the 'through penury' of the 1635-69 editions and the MSS. is what Donne wrote.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 302.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have no doubt that the 'through penury' of the 1635-69 editions and the MSS. is what Donne wrote.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I have no doubt that the 'through penury' of the 1635-69 editions and the MSS. is what Donne wrote.
(comparative of “good”) superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another
From this reading _better through pierc'd then through penury_.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The 1633 editor changed it to 'by penury'.
made or become different in nature or form
From this reading The 1633 editor changed it to 'by penury'.
English clergyman and metaphysical poet celebrated as a preacher (1572-1631)
From this reading I have no doubt that the 'through penury' of the 1635-69 editions and the MSS. is what Donne wrote.
the state of being unsure of something
From this reading I have no doubt that the 'through penury' of the 1635-69 editions and the MSS. is what Donne wrote.
plural of “edition” — the form in which a text (especially a printed book) is published
From this reading I have no doubt that the 'through penury' of the 1635-69 editions and the MSS. is what Donne wrote.
a person responsible for the editorial aspects of publication; the person who determines the final content of a text (especially of a newspaper or magazine)
From this reading The 1633 editor changed it to 'by penury'.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I have no doubt that the 'through penury' of the 1635-69 editions and the MSS. is what Donne wrote.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I have no doubt that the 'through penury' of the 1635-69 editions and the MSS. is what Donne wrote.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I have no doubt that the 'through penury' of the 1635-69 editions and the MSS. is what Donne wrote.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading The 1633 editor changed it to 'by penury'.
a metric unit of capacity, formerly defined as the volume of one kilogram of pure water under standard conditions; now equal to 1,000 cubic centimeters (or approximately 1.75 pints)
From this reading l.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I have no doubt that the 'through penury' of the 1635-69 editions and the MSS. is what Donne wrote.
not any; not one
From this reading I have no doubt that the 'through penury' of the 1635-69 editions and the MSS. is what Donne wrote.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I have no doubt that the 'through penury' of the 1635-69 editions and the MSS. is what Donne wrote.
a state of extreme poverty or destitution
From this reading _better through pierc'd then through penury_.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _better through pierc'd then through penury_.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I have no doubt that the 'through penury' of the 1635-69 editions and the MSS. is what Donne wrote.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I have no doubt that the 'through penury' of the 1635-69 editions and the MSS. is what Donne wrote.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading _better through pierc'd then through penury_.
from one end or side of something to the other
From this reading _better through pierc'd then through penury_.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading The 1633 editor changed it to 'by penury'.
used to ask for information about something
From this reading I have no doubt that the 'through penury' of the 1635-69 editions and the MSS. is what Donne wrote.
inflected form of “write” — produce a literary work
From this reading I have no doubt that the 'through penury' of the 1635-69 editions and the MSS. is what Donne wrote.
Chapter 25 of The Poems of John Donne, Volume 2 (of 2) by John Donne holds 383 sentences, grouped into 77 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 25 holds 383 sentences of The Poems of John Donne, Volume 2 (of 2), unabridged, divided into 77 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 25 of The Poems of John Donne, Volume 2 (of 2) by John Donne exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 383 sentences, grouped into 77 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 77 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 77 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 25 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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Project Gutenberg eBook #48772, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 2065 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
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Words and structures a reader meets early in The Poems of John Donne, Volume 2 (of 2), each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
