Chapter 2 of The Sorrows of Young Werther is here in full — 1356 sentences across 272 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Sorrows of Young Werther is here in full — 1356 sentences across 272 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
OCTOBER 20. We arrived here yesterday. The ambassador is indisposed, and will not go out for some days. If he were less peevish and morose, all would be well. I see but too plainly that Heaven has destined me to severe trials; but courage! a light heart may bear anything.
Chapter 2 of The Sorrows of Young Werther is here in full — 1356 sentences across 272 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/271 · 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.
a diplomat of the highest rank; accredited as representative from one country to another
From this reading “The ambassador is indisposed, and will not go out for some days.”
headed or intending to head in a certain direction; often used as a combining form as in “college-bound students”
From this reading “I see but too plainly that Heaven has destined me to severe trials; but courage! a light heart may bear anything.”
showing a brooding ill humor
From this reading “If he were less peevish and morose, all would be well.”
the month following September and preceding November
From this reading “OCTOBER 20.”
easily irritated or annoyed
From this reading “If he were less peevish and morose, all would be well.”
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading “I see but too plainly that Heaven has destined me to severe trials; but courage! a light heart may bear anything.”
intensely or extremely bad or unpleasant in degree or quality
From this reading “I see but too plainly that Heaven has destined me to severe trials; but courage! a light heart may bear anything.”
plural of “trial” — the act of testing something
From this reading “I see but too plainly that Heaven has destined me to severe trials; but courage! a light heart may bear anything.”
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 OCTOBER 20.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading I see but too plainly that Heaven has destined me to severe trials; but courage! a light heart may bear anything.
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading If he were less peevish and morose, all would be well.
a diplomat of the highest rank; accredited as representative from one country to another
From this reading The ambassador is indisposed, and will not go out for some days.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading The ambassador is indisposed, and will not go out for some days.
any thing at all
From this reading I see but too plainly that Heaven has destined me to severe trials; but courage! a light heart may bear anything.
past form of “arrive” — reach a destination; arrive by movement or progress
From this reading We arrived here yesterday.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading If he were less peevish and morose, all would be well.
have
From this reading I see but too plainly that Heaven has destined me to severe trials; but courage! a light heart may bear anything.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading I see but too plainly that Heaven has destined me to severe trials; but courage! a light heart may bear anything.
a quality of spirit that enables you to face danger or pain without showing fear
From this reading I see but too plainly that Heaven has destined me to severe trials; but courage! a light heart may bear anything.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading The ambassador is indisposed, and will not go out for some days.
headed or intending to head in a certain direction; often used as a combining form as in “college-bound students”
From this reading I see but too plainly that Heaven has destined me to severe trials; but courage! a light heart may bear anything.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading The ambassador is indisposed, and will not go out for some days.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading The ambassador is indisposed, and will not go out for some days.
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading I see but too plainly that Heaven has destined me to severe trials; but courage! a light heart may bear anything.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading If he were less peevish and morose, all would be well.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading I see but too plainly that Heaven has destined me to severe trials; but courage! a light heart may bear anything.
any place of complete bliss and delight and peace
From this reading I see but too plainly that Heaven has destined me to severe trials; but courage! a light heart may bear anything.
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading We arrived here yesterday.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I see but too plainly that Heaven has destined me to severe trials; but courage! a light heart may bear anything.
on condition that; in the event that
From this reading If he were less peevish and morose, all would be well.
somewhat ill or prone to illness
From this reading The ambassador is indisposed, and will not go out for some days.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The ambassador is indisposed, and will not go out for some days.
used to form the comparative of some adjectives and adverbs
From this reading If he were less peevish and morose, all would be well.
of comparatively little physical weight or density
From this reading I see but too plainly that Heaven has destined me to severe trials; but courage! a light heart may bear anything.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading I see but too plainly that Heaven has destined me to severe trials; but courage! a light heart may bear anything.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I see but too plainly that Heaven has destined me to severe trials; but courage! a light heart may bear anything.
showing a brooding ill humor
From this reading If he were less peevish and morose, all would be well.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading The ambassador is indisposed, and will not go out for some days.
the month following September and preceding November
From this reading OCTOBER 20.
not allowed to continue to bat or run
From this reading The ambassador is indisposed, and will not go out for some days.
easily irritated or annoyed
From this reading If he were less peevish and morose, all would be well.
unmistakably (“plain” is often used informally for “plainly”)
From this reading I see but too plainly that Heaven has destined me to severe trials; but courage! a light heart may bear anything.
perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading I see but too plainly that Heaven has destined me to severe trials; but courage! a light heart may bear anything.
intensely or extremely bad or unpleasant in degree or quality
From this reading I see but too plainly that Heaven has destined me to severe trials; but courage! a light heart may bear anything.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading The ambassador is indisposed, and will not go out for some days.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I see but too plainly that Heaven has destined me to severe trials; but courage! a light heart may bear anything.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The ambassador is indisposed, and will not go out for some days.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading I see but too plainly that Heaven has destined me to severe trials; but courage! a light heart may bear anything.
to a degree exceeding normal or proper limits
From this reading I see but too plainly that Heaven has destined me to severe trials; but courage! a light heart may bear anything.
plural of “trial” — the act of testing something
From this reading I see but too plainly that Heaven has destined me to severe trials; but courage! a light heart may bear anything.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading We arrived here yesterday.
(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 If he were less peevish and morose, all would be well.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading If he were less peevish and morose, all would be well.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading The ambassador is indisposed, and will not go out for some days.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading If he were less peevish and morose, all would be well.
the day immediately before today
From this reading We arrived here yesterday.
Chapter 2 of The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe holds 1356 sentences, grouped into 272 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.
Chapter 2 holds 1356 sentences of The Sorrows of Young Werther, unabridged, divided into 272 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 1356 sentences, grouped into 272 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 272 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 272 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.
Common questions about reading The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2248 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2527 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2527, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 187 minutes of reading across 450 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Sorrows of Young Werther section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of The Sorrows of Young Werther 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 Sorrows of Young Werther, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
