Chapter 4 of The Wings of Icarus is here in full — 43 sentences across 9 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Wings of Icarus is here in full — 43 sentences across 9 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
GRAYSMILL, August 2d. Now that's the kind of letter I like to have! Only my heart sickens for thee. At each word I hear your voice; at every pause, the little ripples that run away with it so sweetly. I cannot even find it in me to scold you for your many follies.
Chapter 4 of The Wings of Icarus is here in full — 43 sentences across 9 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/8 · 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.
the month following July and preceding September
From this reading “GRAYSMILL, August 2d.”
a revue with elaborate costuming
From this reading “I cannot even find it in me to scold you for your many follies.”
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading “At each word I hear your voice; at every pause, the little ripples that run away with it so sweetly.”
plural of “ripple” — a small wave on the surface of a liquid
From this reading “At each word I hear your voice; at every pause, the little ripples that run away with it so sweetly.”
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading “At each word I hear your voice; at every pause, the little ripples that run away with it so sweetly.”
censure severely or angrily
From this reading “I cannot even find it in me to scold you for your many follies.”
in an affectionate or loving manner (“sweet” is sometimes a poetic or informal variant of “sweetly”)
From this reading “At each word I hear your voice; at every pause, the little ripples that run away with it so sweetly.”
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading “Only my heart sickens for thee.”
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 GRAYSMILL, August 2d.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading At each word I hear your voice; at every pause, the little ripples that run away with it so sweetly.
the month following July and preceding September
From this reading GRAYSMILL, August 2d.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading At each word I hear your voice; at every pause, the little ripples that run away with it so sweetly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I cannot even find it in me to scold you for your many follies.
a fat-soluble vitamin that prevents rickets
From this reading GRAYSMILL, August 2d.
every one of two or more people or things, taken separately
From this reading At each word I hear your voice; at every pause, the little ripples that run away with it so sweetly.
divisible by two
From this reading I cannot even find it in me to scold you for your many follies.
all the members of a group, with none left out
From this reading At each word I hear your voice; at every pause, the little ripples that run away with it so sweetly.
come upon, as if by accident; meet with
From this reading I cannot even find it in me to scold you for your many follies.
a revue with elaborate costuming
From this reading I cannot even find it in me to scold you for your many follies.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Only my heart sickens for thee.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading GRAYSMILL, August 2d.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Now that's the kind of letter I like to have!
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading At each word I hear your voice; at every pause, the little ripples that run away with it so sweetly.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading Only my heart sickens for thee.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Now that's the kind of letter I like to have!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading I cannot even find it in me to scold you for your many follies.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading At each word I hear your voice; at every pause, the little ripples that run away with it so sweetly.
having or showing a tender and considerate and helpful nature; used especially of persons and their behavior
From this reading Now that's the kind of letter I like to have!
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading Now that's the kind of letter I like to have!
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading Now that's the kind of letter I like to have!
limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
From this reading At each word I hear your voice; at every pause, the little ripples that run away with it so sweetly.
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “as” or “too” or “so” or “that”; amounting to a large but indefinite number
From this reading I cannot even find it in me to scold you for your many follies.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading I cannot even find it in me to scold you for your many follies.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Only my heart sickens for thee.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Now that's the kind of letter I like to have!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Now that's the kind of letter I like to have!
and nothing more
From this reading Only my heart sickens for thee.
a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
From this reading At each word I hear your voice; at every pause, the little ripples that run away with it so sweetly.
plural of “ripple” — a small wave on the surface of a liquid
From this reading At each word I hear your voice; at every pause, the little ripples that run away with it so sweetly.
move fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any given time
From this reading At each word I hear your voice; at every pause, the little ripples that run away with it so sweetly.
censure severely or angrily
From this reading I cannot even find it in me to scold you for your many follies.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Only my heart sickens for thee.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading At each word I hear your voice; at every pause, the little ripples that run away with it so sweetly.
in an affectionate or loving manner (“sweet” is sometimes a poetic or informal variant of “sweetly”)
From this reading At each word I hear your voice; at every pause, the little ripples that run away with it so sweetly.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading At each word I hear your voice; at every pause, the little ripples that run away with it so sweetly.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Now that's the kind of letter I like to have!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Now that's the kind of letter I like to have!
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading Only my heart sickens for thee.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Now that's the kind of letter I like to have!
the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech
From this reading At each word I hear your voice; at every pause, the little ripples that run away with it so sweetly.
in the company of; together with
From this reading At each word I hear your voice; at every pause, the little ripples that run away with it so sweetly.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading At each word I hear your voice; at every pause, the little ripples that run away with it so sweetly.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I cannot even find it in me to scold you for your many follies.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading At each word I hear your voice; at every pause, the little ripples that run away with it so sweetly.
Chapter 4 of The Wings of Icarus by Laurence Alma-Tadema holds 43 sentences, grouped into 9 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 43 sentences of The Wings of Icarus, unabridged, divided into 9 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Wings of Icarus by Laurence Alma-Tadema exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 43 sentences, grouped into 9 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 9 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 9 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 Wings of Icarus by Laurence Alma-Tadema on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2158 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17255 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17255, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 179 minutes of reading across 432 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Wings of Icarus section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 35 chapters of The Wings of Icarus 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 Wings of Icarus, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
