Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Sword of Damocles is here in full — 1022 sentences across 205 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE JAPHA MYSTERY. XXIII. THE POEM. “I’ve shot my arrow o’er the house And hurt my brother.” —HAMLET.
The Sword of Damocles
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Sword of Damocles is here in full — 1022 sentences across 205 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
English subtitles · tap any word to listen
1 / 5
THE
JAPHA
MYSTERY.
XXIII.
THE
POEM.
“I’ve
shot
my
arrow
o’er
the
house
And
hurt
my
brother.”
—HAMLET.
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
The Sword of Damocles
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Sword of Damocles is here in full — 1022 sentences across 205 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/204 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
Line 1
THE
JAPHA
MYSTERY.
Line 2
XXIII.
Line 3
THE
POEM.
/ðə ˈpoʊəm/
Line 4
“I’ve
shot
my
arrow
o’er
the
house
And
hurt
my
brother.”
Line 5
—HAMLET.
/ˈhæmlət/
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.
arrow
noun
US /ˈæroʊ/
a mark to indicate a direction or relation
From this reading ““I’ve shot my arrow o’er the house And hurt my brother.””
a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading ““I’ve shot my arrow o’er the house And hurt my brother.””
hamlet
noun
US /ˈhæmlət/
a community of people smaller than a village
From this reading “—HAMLET.”
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading ““I’ve shot my arrow o’er the house And hurt my brother.””
be the source of pain
From this reading ““I’ve shot my arrow o’er the house And hurt my brother.””
something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
From this reading “THE JAPHA MYSTERY.”
a composition written in metrical feet forming rhythmical lines
From this reading “THE POEM.”
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading ““I’ve shot my arrow o’er the house And hurt my brother.””
Word partnerships in these lines
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.
All words in this reading · 15
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “I’ve shot my arrow o’er the house And hurt my brother.”
arrownounUS /ˈæroʊ/
a mark to indicate a direction or relation
From this reading “I’ve shot my arrow o’er the house And hurt my brother.”
a male with the same parents as someone else
From this reading “I’ve shot my arrow o’er the house And hurt my brother.”
HAMLETnounUS /ˈhæmlət/
a community of people smaller than a village
From this reading —HAMLET.
a dwelling that serves as living quarters for one or more families
From this reading “I’ve shot my arrow o’er the house And hurt my brother.”
be the source of pain
From this reading “I’ve shot my arrow o’er the house And hurt my brother.”
I've
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “I’ve shot my arrow o’er the house And hurt my brother.”
JAPHA
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE JAPHA MYSTERY.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading “I’ve shot my arrow o’er the house And hurt my brother.”
something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained
From this reading THE JAPHA MYSTERY.
o'eradverb
throughout a period of time
From this reading “I’ve shot my arrow o’er the house And hurt my brother.”
a composition written in metrical feet forming rhythmical lines
From this reading THE POEM.
the act of firing a projectile
From this reading “I’ve shot my arrow o’er the house And hurt my brother.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE JAPHA MYSTERY.
XXIIInoun
the cardinal number that is the sum of twenty-two and one
From this reading XXIII.
Chapter 4 of The Sword of Damocles by Anna Katharine Green holds 1022 sentences, grouped into 205 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.
What does chapter 4 of The Sword of Damocles contain?
Chapter 4 holds 1022 sentences of The Sword of Damocles, unabridged, divided into 205 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Sword of Damocles by Anna Katharine Green exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 1022 sentences, grouped into 205 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 4 of The Sword of Damocles?
Work through the 205 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 205 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 4 be read aloud to me?
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.
Questions about reading The Sword of Damocles
Common questions about reading The Sword of Damocles by Anna Katharine Green on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Is this the complete text of The Sword of Damocles?
Yes. All 6485 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #33301 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Which edition of The Sword of Damocles is used?
Project Gutenberg eBook #33301, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
How long does The Sword of Damocles take to read?
About 540 minutes of reading across 1297 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to read The Sword of Damocles section by section
How to work through The Sword of Damocles section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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Open a chapter
Choose one of the 6 chapters of The Sword of Damocles to begin.
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Read one section
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
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Listen and tap
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Vocabulary met early in The Sword of Damocles
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Sword of Damocles, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
- Story
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Sword of Damocles; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Author
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Sword of Damocles; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Leavenworth
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Sword of Damocles; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Strange
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Sword of Damocles; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.