Chapter 4 of The Poetical Works of Alexander Pope, Volume 1 is here in full — 633 sentences across 127 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Poetical Works of Alexander Pope, Volume 1 is here in full — 633 sentences across 127 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Again? new tumults in my breast? Ah, spare me, Venus! let me, let me rest! I am not now, alas! the man As in the gentle reign of my Queen Anne. Ah, sound no more thy soft alarms, Nor circle sober fifty with thy charms. Mother too fierce of dear desires!
Chapter 4 of The Poetical Works of Alexander Pope, Volume 1 is here in full — 633 sentences across 127 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/126 · 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.
plural of “alarm” — fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading “Ah, sound no more thy soft alarms, Nor circle sober fifty with thy charms.”
plural of “charm” — attractiveness that interests or pleases or stimulates
From this reading “Ah, sound no more thy soft alarms, Nor circle sober fifty with thy charms.”
ellipse in which the two axes are of equal length; a plane curve generated by one point moving at a constant distance from a fixed point
From this reading “Ah, sound no more thy soft alarms, Nor circle sober fifty with thy charms.”
plural of “desire” — the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state
From this reading “Mother too fierce of dear desires!”
marked by extreme and violent energy
From this reading “Mother too fierce of dear desires!”
have sovereign power
From this reading “I am not now, alas! the man As in the gentle reign of my Queen Anne.”
not affected by a chemical substance (especially alcohol)
From this reading “Ah, sound no more thy soft alarms, Nor circle sober fifty with thy charms.”
the second nearest planet to the sun
From this reading “Ah, spare me, Venus! let me, let me rest!”
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.
anew
From this reading Again? new tumults in my breast?
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Ah, spare me, Venus! let me, let me rest!
plural of “alarm” — fear resulting from the awareness of danger
From this reading Ah, sound no more thy soft alarms, Nor circle sober fifty with thy charms.
used to show sadness, pity, or regret
From this reading I am not now, alas! the man As in the gentle reign of my Queen Anne.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading I am not now, alas! the man As in the gentle reign of my Queen Anne.
Queen of England and Scotland and Ireland; daughter if James II and the last of the Stuart monarchs; in 1707 she was the last English ruler to exercise the royal veto over parliament (1665-1714)
From this reading I am not now, alas! the man As in the gentle reign of my Queen Anne.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading I am not now, alas! the man As in the gentle reign of my Queen Anne.
the front of the trunk from the neck to the abdomen
From this reading Again? new tumults in my breast?
plural of “charm” — attractiveness that interests or pleases or stimulates
From this reading Ah, sound no more thy soft alarms, Nor circle sober fifty with thy charms.
ellipse in which the two axes are of equal length; a plane curve generated by one point moving at a constant distance from a fixed point
From this reading Ah, sound no more thy soft alarms, Nor circle sober fifty with thy charms.
dearly loved
From this reading Mother too fierce of dear desires!
plural of “desire” — the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state
From this reading Mother too fierce of dear desires!
marked by extreme and violent energy
From this reading Mother too fierce of dear desires!
the cardinal number that is the product of ten and five
From this reading Ah, sound no more thy soft alarms, Nor circle sober fifty with thy charms.
soft and mild; not harsh or stern or severe
From this reading I am not now, alas! the man As in the gentle reign of my Queen Anne.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I am not now, alas! the man As in the gentle reign of my Queen Anne.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Again? new tumults in my breast?
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Ah, spare me, Venus! let me, let me rest!
an adult person who is male (as opposed to a woman)
From this reading I am not now, alas! the man As in the gentle reign of my Queen Anne.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Ah, spare me, Venus! let me, let me rest!
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Ah, sound no more thy soft alarms, Nor circle sober fifty with thy charms.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading Mother too fierce of dear desires!
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Again? new tumults in my breast?
not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being or been made or acquired or discovered
From this reading Again? new tumults in my breast?
not any; not one
From this reading Ah, sound no more thy soft alarms, Nor circle sober fifty with thy charms.
and not; used after a negative to add a second negative
From this reading Ah, sound no more thy soft alarms, Nor circle sober fifty with thy charms.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading I am not now, alas! the man As in the gentle reign of my Queen Anne.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading I am not now, alas! the man As in the gentle reign of my Queen Anne.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading I am not now, alas! the man As in the gentle reign of my Queen Anne.
the only fertile female in a colony of social insects such as bees and ants and termites; its function is to lay eggs
From this reading I am not now, alas! the man As in the gentle reign of my Queen Anne.
have sovereign power
From this reading I am not now, alas! the man As in the gentle reign of my Queen Anne.
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading Ah, spare me, Venus! let me, let me rest!
not affected by a chemical substance (especially alcohol)
From this reading Ah, sound no more thy soft alarms, Nor circle sober fifty with thy charms.
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading Ah, sound no more thy soft alarms, Nor circle sober fifty with thy charms.
the particular auditory effect produced by a given cause
From this reading Ah, sound no more thy soft alarms, Nor circle sober fifty with thy charms.
refrain from harming
From this reading Ah, spare me, Venus! let me, let me rest!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I am not now, alas! the man As in the gentle reign of my Queen Anne.
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading Ah, sound no more thy soft alarms, Nor circle sober fifty with thy charms.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading Mother too fierce of dear desires!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Again? new tumults in my breast?
the second nearest planet to the sun
From this reading Ah, spare me, Venus! let me, let me rest!
in the company of; together with
From this reading Ah, sound no more thy soft alarms, Nor circle sober fifty with thy charms.
Chapter 4 of The Poetical Works of Alexander Pope, Volume 1 by Alexander Pope holds 633 sentences, grouped into 127 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 4 holds 633 sentences of The Poetical Works of Alexander Pope, Volume 1, unabridged, divided into 127 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Poetical Works of Alexander Pope, Volume 1 by Alexander Pope exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 633 sentences, grouped into 127 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 127 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 127 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 4 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 Poetical Works of Alexander Pope, Volume 1 by Alexander Pope on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3409 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #9413 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #9413, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 284 minutes of reading across 682 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Poetical Works of Alexander Pope, Volume 1 section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of The Poetical Works of Alexander Pope, Volume 1 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 Poetical Works of Alexander Pope, Volume 1, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
