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The Red Badge of Courage

Chapter VIII · Chapter 8

Chapter 8 of The Red Badge of Courage is here in full — 140 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

By Stephen Crane • Curated US English Learning Edition

Cover illustration for The Red Badge of Courage

English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5

The trees began softly to sing a hymn of twilight.

The sun sank until slanted bronze rays struck the forest.

There was a lull in the noises of insects as if they had bowed their beaks and were making a devotional pause.

There was silence save for the chanted chorus of the trees.

Then, upon this stillness, there suddenly broke a tremendous clangor of sounds.

Narrator

Speed 0.75x

AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English

LEARNER DICTIONARY

Archivist

/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/

Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

Chapter VIII Reading 1/28

The Red Badge of Courage

Chapter VIII · Chapter 8

Chapter 8 of The Red Badge of Courage is here in full — 140 sentences across 28 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/28 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1

The trees began softly to sing a hymn of twilight.

Line 2

The sun sank until slanted bronze rays struck the forest.

Line 3

There was a lull in the noises of insects as if they had bowed their beaks and were making a devotional pause.

Line 4

There was silence save for the chanted chorus of the trees.

Line 5

Then, upon this stillness, there suddenly broke a tremendous clangor of sounds.

Learner Dictionary

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.

Silence noun US /ˈsaɪ.ləns/

Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.

From this reading “There was silence save for the chanted chorus of the trees.”

All words in this reading · 50

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

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The trees began softly to sing a hymn of twilight.

and

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was a lull in the noises of insects as if they had bowed their beaks and were making a devotional pause.

as

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was a lull in the noises of insects as if they had bowed their beaks and were making a devotional pause.

beaks

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was a lull in the noises of insects as if they had bowed their beaks and were making a devotional pause.

began

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The trees began softly to sing a hymn of twilight.

bowed

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was a lull in the noises of insects as if they had bowed their beaks and were making a devotional pause.

broke

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Then, upon this stillness, there suddenly broke a tremendous clangor of sounds.

bronze

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The sun sank until slanted bronze rays struck the forest.

chanted

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was silence save for the chanted chorus of the trees.

chorus

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was silence save for the chanted chorus of the trees.

clangor

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Then, upon this stillness, there suddenly broke a tremendous clangor of sounds.

devotional

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was a lull in the noises of insects as if they had bowed their beaks and were making a devotional pause.

for

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was silence save for the chanted chorus of the trees.

forest

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The sun sank until slanted bronze rays struck the forest.

had

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was a lull in the noises of insects as if they had bowed their beaks and were making a devotional pause.

hymn

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The trees began softly to sing a hymn of twilight.

if

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was a lull in the noises of insects as if they had bowed their beaks and were making a devotional pause.

in

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was a lull in the noises of insects as if they had bowed their beaks and were making a devotional pause.

insects

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was a lull in the noises of insects as if they had bowed their beaks and were making a devotional pause.

lull

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was a lull in the noises of insects as if they had bowed their beaks and were making a devotional pause.

making

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was a lull in the noises of insects as if they had bowed their beaks and were making a devotional pause.

noises

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was a lull in the noises of insects as if they had bowed their beaks and were making a devotional pause.

of

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The trees began softly to sing a hymn of twilight.

pause

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was a lull in the noises of insects as if they had bowed their beaks and were making a devotional pause.

rays

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The sun sank until slanted bronze rays struck the forest.

sank

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The sun sank until slanted bronze rays struck the forest.

save

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was silence save for the chanted chorus of the trees.

silencenounUS /ˈsaɪ.ləns/

Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.

From this reading There was silence save for the chanted chorus of the trees.

sing

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The trees began softly to sing a hymn of twilight.

slanted

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The sun sank until slanted bronze rays struck the forest.

softly

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The trees began softly to sing a hymn of twilight.

sounds

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Then, upon this stillness, there suddenly broke a tremendous clangor of sounds.

stillness

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Then, upon this stillness, there suddenly broke a tremendous clangor of sounds.

struck

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The sun sank until slanted bronze rays struck the forest.

suddenly

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Then, upon this stillness, there suddenly broke a tremendous clangor of sounds.

sun

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The sun sank until slanted bronze rays struck the forest.

The

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The trees began softly to sing a hymn of twilight.

their

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was a lull in the noises of insects as if they had bowed their beaks and were making a devotional pause.

Then

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Then, upon this stillness, there suddenly broke a tremendous clangor of sounds.

There

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was a lull in the noises of insects as if they had bowed their beaks and were making a devotional pause.

they

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was a lull in the noises of insects as if they had bowed their beaks and were making a devotional pause.

this

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Then, upon this stillness, there suddenly broke a tremendous clangor of sounds.

to

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The trees began softly to sing a hymn of twilight.

trees

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The trees began softly to sing a hymn of twilight.

tremendous

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Then, upon this stillness, there suddenly broke a tremendous clangor of sounds.

twilight

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The trees began softly to sing a hymn of twilight.

until

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading The sun sank until slanted bronze rays struck the forest.

upon

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Then, upon this stillness, there suddenly broke a tremendous clangor of sounds.

was

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was a lull in the noises of insects as if they had bowed their beaks and were making a devotional pause.

were

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading There was a lull in the noises of insects as if they had bowed their beaks and were making a devotional pause.

Chapter 8 of The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane holds 140 sentences, grouped into 28 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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.

What does chapter 8 of The Red Badge of Courage contain?

Chapter 8 holds 140 sentences of The Red Badge of Courage, unabridged, divided into 28 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 8 of The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 140 sentences, grouped into 28 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.

How do I study chapter 8 of The Red Badge of Courage?

Work through the 28 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 28 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.

Can chapter 8 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 8 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.

Questions about reading The Red Badge of Courage

Common questions about reading The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Red Badge of Courage?

Yes. All 3525 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #73 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Red Badge of Courage is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #73, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Red Badge of Courage take to read?

About 293 minutes of reading across 705 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Red Badge of Courage section by section

How to work through The Red Badge of Courage section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

Open a chapter

Choose one of the 24 chapters of The Red Badge of Courage to begin.
Read one section

Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Listen and tap

Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Red Badge of Courage

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Red Badge of Courage, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Passed: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Red Badge of Courage; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Reluctantly: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Red Badge of Courage; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Earth: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Red Badge of Courage; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Retiring: A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Red Badge of Courage; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.