Chapter 10 of The Wings of Icarus is here in full — 24 sentences across 5 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter X
Chapter 10 of The Wings of Icarus is here in full — 24 sentences across 5 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
GRAYSMILL, September 20th. Blessings upon you, my sweet dearest; your birthday is the day of days to me. How could I live without you? I am purely selfish when I wish you perfect joy and a long golden life; it is almost like praying for fine weather! All the strings of my heart go towards you, Constance Norris, and are knotted in your bosom.
Chapter 10 of The Wings of Icarus is here in full — 24 sentences across 5 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/4 · 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.
an anniversary of the day on which a person was born (or the celebration of it)
From this reading “Blessings upon you, my sweet dearest; your birthday is the day of days to me.”
plural of “blessing” — the formal act of approving
From this reading “Blessings upon you, my sweet dearest; your birthday is the day of days to me.”
a lake in southeastern Germany on the northern side of the Swiss Alps; forms part of the Rhine River
From this reading “All the strings of my heart go towards you, Constance Norris, and are knotted in your bosom.”
tied with a knot
From this reading “All the strings of my heart go towards you, Constance Norris, and are knotted in your bosom.”
United States writer (1870-1902)
From this reading “All the strings of my heart go towards you, Constance Norris, and are knotted in your bosom.”
-ing form of “pray” — address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
From this reading “I am purely selfish when I wish you perfect joy and a long golden life; it is almost like praying for fine weather!”
restricted to something
From this reading “I am purely selfish when I wish you perfect joy and a long golden life; it is almost like praying for fine weather!”
the section of an orchestra that plays stringed instruments
From this reading “All the strings of my heart go towards you, Constance Norris, and are knotted in your bosom.”
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, September 20th.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading I am purely selfish when I wish you perfect joy and a long golden life; it is almost like praying for fine weather!
(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 All the strings of my heart go towards you, Constance Norris, and are knotted in your bosom.
(of actions or states) slightly short of or not quite accomplished; all but
From this reading I am purely selfish when I wish you perfect joy and a long golden life; it is almost like praying for fine weather!
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading I am purely selfish when I wish you perfect joy and a long golden life; it is almost like praying for fine weather!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I am purely selfish when I wish you perfect joy and a long golden life; it is almost like praying for fine weather!
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading All the strings of my heart go towards you, Constance Norris, and are knotted in your bosom.
an anniversary of the day on which a person was born (or the celebration of it)
From this reading Blessings upon you, my sweet dearest; your birthday is the day of days to me.
plural of “blessing” — the formal act of approving
From this reading Blessings upon you, my sweet dearest; your birthday is the day of days to me.
the chest considered as the place where secret thoughts are kept
From this reading All the strings of my heart go towards you, Constance Norris, and are knotted in your bosom.
a lake in southeastern Germany on the northern side of the Swiss Alps; forms part of the Rhine River
From this reading All the strings of my heart go towards you, Constance Norris, and are knotted in your bosom.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading How could I live without you?
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading Blessings upon you, my sweet dearest; your birthday is the day of days to me.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading Blessings upon you, my sweet dearest; your birthday is the day of days to me.
a beloved person; used as terms of endearment
From this reading Blessings upon you, my sweet dearest; your birthday is the day of days to me.
being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition
From this reading I am purely selfish when I wish you perfect joy and a long golden life; it is almost like praying for fine weather!
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading I am purely selfish when I wish you perfect joy and a long golden life; it is almost like praying for fine weather!
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading All the strings of my heart go towards you, Constance Norris, and are knotted in your bosom.
having the deep slightly brownish color of gold
From this reading I am purely selfish when I wish you perfect joy and a long golden life; it is almost like praying for fine weather!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading GRAYSMILL, September 20th.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading All the strings of my heart go towards you, Constance Norris, and are knotted in your bosom.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading How could I live without you?
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading How could I live without you?
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading All the strings of my heart go towards you, Constance Norris, and are knotted in your bosom.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Blessings upon you, my sweet dearest; your birthday is the day of days to me.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading I am purely selfish when I wish you perfect joy and a long golden life; it is almost like praying for fine weather!
the emotion of great happiness
From this reading I am purely selfish when I wish you perfect joy and a long golden life; it is almost like praying for fine weather!
tied with a knot
From this reading All the strings of my heart go towards you, Constance Norris, and are knotted in your bosom.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading I am purely selfish when I wish you perfect joy and a long golden life; it is almost like praying for fine weather!
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading I am purely selfish when I wish you perfect joy and a long golden life; it is almost like praying for fine weather!
be an inhabitant of or reside in
From this reading How could I live without you?
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading I am purely selfish when I wish you perfect joy and a long golden life; it is almost like praying for fine weather!
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Blessings upon you, my sweet dearest; your birthday is the day of days to me.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Blessings upon you, my sweet dearest; your birthday is the day of days to me.
United States writer (1870-1902)
From this reading All the strings of my heart go towards you, Constance Norris, and are knotted in your bosom.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Blessings upon you, my sweet dearest; your birthday is the day of days to me.
being complete of its kind and without defect or blemish
From this reading I am purely selfish when I wish you perfect joy and a long golden life; it is almost like praying for fine weather!
-ing form of “pray” — address a deity, a prophet, a saint or an object of worship; say a prayer
From this reading I am purely selfish when I wish you perfect joy and a long golden life; it is almost like praying for fine weather!
restricted to something
From this reading I am purely selfish when I wish you perfect joy and a long golden life; it is almost like praying for fine weather!
concerned chiefly or only with yourself and your advantage to the exclusion of others
From this reading I am purely selfish when I wish you perfect joy and a long golden life; it is almost like praying for fine weather!
the month following August and preceding October
From this reading GRAYSMILL, September 20th.
the section of an orchestra that plays stringed instruments
From this reading All the strings of my heart go towards you, Constance Norris, and are knotted in your bosom.
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading Blessings upon you, my sweet dearest; your birthday is the day of days to me.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Blessings upon you, my sweet dearest; your birthday is the day of days to me.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Blessings upon you, my sweet dearest; your birthday is the day of days to me.
in the direction of
From this reading All the strings of my heart go towards you, Constance Norris, and are knotted in your bosom.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading Blessings upon you, my sweet dearest; your birthday is the day of days to me.
the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation
From this reading I am purely selfish when I wish you perfect joy and a long golden life; it is almost like praying for fine weather!
at the time that
From this reading I am purely selfish when I wish you perfect joy and a long golden life; it is almost like praying for fine weather!
hope for; have a wish
From this reading I am purely selfish when I wish you perfect joy and a long golden life; it is almost like praying for fine weather!
not having, not using, or not accompanied by
From this reading How could I live without you?
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Blessings upon you, my sweet dearest; your birthday is the day of days to me.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Blessings upon you, my sweet dearest; your birthday is the day of days to me.
Chapter 10 of The Wings of Icarus by Laurence Alma-Tadema holds 24 sentences, grouped into 5 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 10 holds 24 sentences of The Wings of Icarus, unabridged, divided into 5 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 10 of The Wings of Icarus by Laurence Alma-Tadema exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 24 sentences, grouped into 5 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 5 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 5 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 10 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.
