Chapter 23 of The Wood Beyond the World is here in full — 29 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XXIII
Chapter 23 of The Wood Beyond the World is here in full — 29 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Thereafter Walter led the Maid down again, and said to her: "Now, sweetling, shall the story be told." "Nay, friend," she said, "not here. This place hath been polluted by my craven fear, and the horror of the vile wretch, of whom no words may tell his vileness. Let us hence and onward. Thou seest I have once more come to life again."
Chapter 23 of The Wood Beyond the World is here in full — 29 sentences across 6 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/5 · 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.
lacking even the rudiments of courage; abjectly fearful
From this reading “This place hath been polluted by my craven fear, and the horror of the vile wretch, of whom no words may tell his vileness.”
for this reason
From this reading “Let us hence and onward.”
forward in time or order or degree
From this reading “Let us hence and onward.”
rendered unwholesome by contaminants and pollution
From this reading “This place hath been polluted by my craven fear, and the horror of the vile wretch, of whom no words may tell his vileness.”
from that time on
From this reading “Thereafter Walter led the Maid down again, and said to her: "Now, sweetling, shall the story be told."”
morally reprehensible
From this reading “This place hath been polluted by my craven fear, and the horror of the vile wretch, of whom no words may tell his vileness.”
German conductor (1876-1962)
From this reading “Thereafter Walter led the Maid down again, and said to her: "Now, sweetling, shall the story be told."”
performs some wicked deed
From this reading “This place hath been polluted by my craven fear, and the horror of the vile wretch, of whom no words may tell his vileness.”
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.
anew
From this reading Thereafter Walter led the Maid down again, and said to her: "Now, sweetling, shall the story be told."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Thereafter Walter led the Maid down again, and said to her: "Now, sweetling, shall the story be told."
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Thereafter Walter led the Maid down again, and said to her: "Now, sweetling, shall the story be told."
the past participle of “be”
From this reading This place hath been polluted by my craven fear, and the horror of the vile wretch, of whom no words may tell his vileness.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading This place hath been polluted by my craven fear, and the horror of the vile wretch, of whom no words may tell his vileness.
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading Thou seest I have once more come to life again."
lacking even the rudiments of courage; abjectly fearful
From this reading This place hath been polluted by my craven fear, and the horror of the vile wretch, of whom no words may tell his vileness.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading Thereafter Walter led the Maid down again, and said to her: "Now, sweetling, shall the story be told."
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading This place hath been polluted by my craven fear, and the horror of the vile wretch, of whom no words may tell his vileness.
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust
From this reading "Nay, friend," she said, "not here.
an old form of “has”
From this reading This place hath been polluted by my craven fear, and the horror of the vile wretch, of whom no words may tell his vileness.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading Thou seest I have once more come to life again."
for this reason
From this reading Let us hence and onward.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading Thereafter Walter led the Maid down again, and said to her: "Now, sweetling, shall the story be told."
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading "Nay, friend," she said, "not here.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading This place hath been polluted by my craven fear, and the horror of the vile wretch, of whom no words may tell his vileness.
intense and profound fear
From this reading This place hath been polluted by my craven fear, and the horror of the vile wretch, of whom no words may tell his vileness.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Thou seest I have once more come to life again."
diode such that light emitted at a p-n junction is proportional to the bias current; color depends on the material used
From this reading Thereafter Walter led the Maid down again, and said to her: "Now, sweetling, shall the story be told."
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Let us hence and onward.
a characteristic state or mode of living
From this reading Thou seest I have once more come to life again."
a female domestic
From this reading Thereafter Walter led the Maid down again, and said to her: "Now, sweetling, shall the story be told."
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading This place hath been polluted by my craven fear, and the horror of the vile wretch, of whom no words may tell his vileness.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading Thou seest I have once more come to life again."
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading This place hath been polluted by my craven fear, and the horror of the vile wretch, of whom no words may tell his vileness.
an old word for “no”
From this reading "Nay, friend," she said, "not here.
not any; not one
From this reading This place hath been polluted by my craven fear, and the horror of the vile wretch, of whom no words may tell his vileness.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading "Nay, friend," she said, "not here.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Thereafter Walter led the Maid down again, and said to her: "Now, sweetling, shall the story be told."
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading This place hath been polluted by my craven fear, and the horror of the vile wretch, of whom no words may tell his vileness.
on one occasion
From this reading Thou seest I have once more come to life again."
forward in time or order or degree
From this reading Let us hence and onward.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading This place hath been polluted by my craven fear, and the horror of the vile wretch, of whom no words may tell his vileness.
rendered unwholesome by contaminants and pollution
From this reading This place hath been polluted by my craven fear, and the horror of the vile wretch, of whom no words may tell his vileness.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading Thereafter Walter led the Maid down again, and said to her: "Now, sweetling, shall the story be told."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Thou seest I have once more come to life again."
used with I and we for the future, or to offer and suggest
From this reading Thereafter Walter led the Maid down again, and said to her: "Now, sweetling, shall the story be told."
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading "Nay, friend," she said, "not here.
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
From this reading Thereafter Walter led the Maid down again, and said to her: "Now, sweetling, shall the story be told."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Thereafter Walter led the Maid down again, and said to her: "Now, sweetling, shall the story be told."
express in words
From this reading This place hath been polluted by my craven fear, and the horror of the vile wretch, of whom no words may tell his vileness.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Thereafter Walter led the Maid down again, and said to her: "Now, sweetling, shall the story be told."
from that time on
From this reading Thereafter Walter led the Maid down again, and said to her: "Now, sweetling, shall the story be told."
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This place hath been polluted by my craven fear, and the horror of the vile wretch, of whom no words may tell his vileness.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading Thou seest I have once more come to life again."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Thereafter Walter led the Maid down again, and said to her: "Now, sweetling, shall the story be told."
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading Thereafter Walter led the Maid down again, and said to her: "Now, sweetling, shall the story be told."
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Let us hence and onward.
morally reprehensible
From this reading This place hath been polluted by my craven fear, and the horror of the vile wretch, of whom no words may tell his vileness.
the quality of being wicked
From this reading This place hath been polluted by my craven fear, and the horror of the vile wretch, of whom no words may tell his vileness.
German conductor (1876-1962)
From this reading Thereafter Walter led the Maid down again, and said to her: "Now, sweetling, shall the story be told."
the form of “who” used as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading This place hath been polluted by my craven fear, and the horror of the vile wretch, of whom no words may tell his vileness.
the words that are spoken
From this reading This place hath been polluted by my craven fear, and the horror of the vile wretch, of whom no words may tell his vileness.
performs some wicked deed
From this reading This place hath been polluted by my craven fear, and the horror of the vile wretch, of whom no words may tell his vileness.
Chapter 23 of The Wood Beyond the World by William Morris holds 29 sentences, grouped into 6 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 23 holds 29 sentences of The Wood Beyond the World, unabridged, divided into 6 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 23 of The Wood Beyond the World by William Morris exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 29 sentences, grouped into 6 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 6 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 6 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 23 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 Wood Beyond the World by William Morris on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1543 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3055 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3055, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 128 minutes of reading across 309 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Wood Beyond the World section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 36 chapters of The Wood Beyond the World 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 Wood Beyond the World, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
