Learn English through classic literature • Five-line readings • Clear US narration
VELMORA ACADEMY
Academy of Archival Languages & Memory Studies
Menu Close
The Wood Beyond the World
The Wood Beyond the World

Chapter XXXVI · Chapter 36

Chapter 36 of The Wood Beyond the World is here in full — 33 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for The Wood Beyond the World
Context Illustration Reading 1/6 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?
Doth not the city, and the thronging folk, and the watching eyes of the great ones .
. doth it not all lie heavy on thee, as it doth upon me?"
She said: "And where is the city now? is not this the wilderness again, and thou and I alone together therein?"
0:00 / 0:00
Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

The Wood Beyond the World

Chapter XXXVI · Chapter 36

Chapter 36 of The Wood Beyond the World is here in full — 33 sentences across 7 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/6 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?
/lɔːŋ ɪt wɑːz ˌɪnˈdiːd tɪl ðə ˈwɪmən baɪ ðə kɪŋz kəˈmænd hæd brɔːt ðə meɪd tuː ðə kɪŋz ˈtʃeɪmbər ənd hiː met hɜːr ənd tʊk hɜːr baɪ ðə ˈʃoʊldərz ənd kɪst hɜːr ənd sed ɑːrt ðaʊ nɑːt ˈwɪri ˈswiːthɑːrt/
Line 2
Doth not the city, and the thronging folk, and the watching eyes of the great ones .
Line 3
Line 4
. doth it not all lie heavy on thee, as it doth upon me?"
/dɔːθ ɪt nɑːt ɔːl laɪ ˈhevi ɑːn ðiː æz ɪt dɔːθ əˈpɑːn miː/
Line 5
She said: "And where is the city now? is not this the wilderness again, and thou and I alone together therein?"
/ʃiː sed ənd wer ɪz ðə ˈsɪti naʊ ɪz nɑːt ðɪs ðə ˈwɪldərnəs əˈɡen ənd ðaʊ ənd aɪ əˈloʊn təˈɡeðər ðeˈrɪn/

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.

doth auxiliary verb US /dɔːθ/

an old form of “does”

From this reading “Doth not the city, and the thronging folk, and the watching eyes of the great ones .”

folk noun US /foʊk/

people in general (often used in the plural)

From this reading “Doth not the city, and the thronging folk, and the watching eyes of the great ones .”

King's noun US /kɪŋz/

possessive form of “king” — a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom

From this reading “Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?”

Maid noun US /meɪd/

a female domestic

From this reading “Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?”

sweetheart noun US /ˈswiːthɑːrt/

a person loved by another person

From this reading “Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?”

therein adverb US /ðeˈrɪn/

(formal) in or into that thing or place

From this reading “She said: "And where is the city now? is not this the wilderness again, and thou and I alone together therein?"”

weary verb US /ˈwɪri/

exhaust or get tired through overuse or great strain or stress

From this reading “Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?”

wilderness noun US /ˈwɪldərnəs/

(politics) a state of disfavor

From this reading “She said: "And where is the city now? is not this the wilderness again, and thou and I alone together therein?"”

All words in this reading · 56

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.

againadverbUS /əˈɡen/

anew

From this reading She said: "And where is the city now? is not this the wilderness again, and thou and I alone together therein?"

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(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 . doth it not all lie heavy on thee, as it doth upon me?"

aloneadjectiveUS /əˈloʊn/

Having no one else present.

From this reading She said: "And where is the city now? is not this the wilderness again, and thou and I alone together therein?"

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

Artauxiliary verbUS /ɑːrt/

an old form of “are”, used with “thou”

From this reading Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

asconjunctionUS /æz/

at the same time that; because; in the way that

From this reading . doth it not all lie heavy on thee, as it doth upon me?"

broughtverbUS /brɔːt/

inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere

From this reading Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

byprepositionUS /baɪ/

showing who or what does the action

From this reading Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

chambernounUS /ˈtʃeɪmbər/

a natural or artificial enclosed space

From this reading Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

citynounUS /ˈsɪti/

a large and densely populated urban area; may include several independent administrative districts

From this reading Doth not the city, and the thronging folk, and the watching eyes of the great ones .

commandnounUS /kəˈmænd/

an authoritative direction or instruction to do something

From this reading Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

Dothauxiliary verbUS /dɔːθ/

an old form of “does”

From this reading Doth not the city, and the thronging folk, and the watching eyes of the great ones .

eyesnounUS /aɪz/

opinion or judgment

From this reading Doth not the city, and the thronging folk, and the watching eyes of the great ones .

folknounUS /foʊk/

people in general (often used in the plural)

From this reading Doth not the city, and the thronging folk, and the watching eyes of the great ones .

greatadjectiveUS /ɡreɪt/

relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind

From this reading Doth not the city, and the thronging folk, and the watching eyes of the great ones .

hadauxiliary verbUS /hæd/

the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect

From this reading Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

hepronounUS /hiː/

a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

heavyadjectiveUS /ˈhevi/

of comparatively great physical weight or density

From this reading . doth it not all lie heavy on thee, as it doth upon me?"

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

IpronounUS /aɪ/

the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb

From this reading She said: "And where is the city now? is not this the wilderness again, and thou and I alone together therein?"

indeedadverbUS /ˌɪnˈdiːd/

in truth (often tends to intensify)

From this reading Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

isauxiliary verbUS /ɪz/

the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading She said: "And where is the city now? is not this the wilderness again, and thou and I alone together therein?"

itpronounUS /ɪt/

a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned

From this reading Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

King'snounUS /kɪŋz/

possessive form of “king” — a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom

From this reading Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

kissedverbUS /kɪst/

past form of “kiss” — touch with the lips or press the lips (against someone's mouth or other body part) as an expression of love, greeting, etc.

From this reading Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

lieverbUS /laɪ/

be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position

From this reading . doth it not all lie heavy on thee, as it doth upon me?"

LongadjectiveUS /lɔːŋ/

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 Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

MaidnounUS /meɪd/

a female domestic

From this reading Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

mepronounUS /miː/

the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading . doth it not all lie heavy on thee, as it doth upon me?"

metverbUS /met/

inflected form of “meet” — come together

From this reading Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

notadverbUS /nɑːt/

used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative

From this reading Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

nowadverbUS /naʊ/

in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events

From this reading She said: "And where is the city now? is not this the wilderness again, and thou and I alone together therein?"

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading Doth not the city, and the thronging folk, and the watching eyes of the great ones .

onprepositionUS /ɑːn/

touching and supported by a surface

From this reading . doth it not all lie heavy on thee, as it doth upon me?"

onesnounUS /wʌnz/

plural of “one” — the smallest whole number or a numeral representing this number

From this reading Doth not the city, and the thronging folk, and the watching eyes of the great ones .

saidadjectiveUS /sed/

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

ShepronounUS /ʃiː/

a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject

From this reading She said: "And where is the city now? is not this the wilderness again, and thou and I alone together therein?"

shouldersnounUS /ˈʃoʊldərz/

plural of “shoulder” — the part of the body between the neck and the upper arm

From this reading Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

sweetheartnounUS /ˈswiːthɑːrt/

a person loved by another person

From this reading Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

theepronounUS /ðiː/

an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person

From this reading . doth it not all lie heavy on thee, as it doth upon me?"

thereinadverbUS /ðeˈrɪn/

(formal) in or into that thing or place

From this reading She said: "And where is the city now? is not this the wilderness again, and thou and I alone together therein?"

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading She said: "And where is the city now? is not this the wilderness again, and thou and I alone together therein?"

thoupronounUS /ðaʊ/

an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person

From this reading Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

thronging

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading Doth not the city, and the thronging folk, and the watching eyes of the great ones .

tillprepositionUS /tɪl/

up to a particular time

From this reading Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

togetheradverbUS /təˈɡeðər/

in contact with each other or in proximity

From this reading She said: "And where is the city now? is not this the wilderness again, and thou and I alone together therein?"

tookverbUS /tʊk/

inflected form of “take” — carry out

From this reading Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

uponprepositionUS /əˈpɑːn/

a formal word for “on”

From this reading . doth it not all lie heavy on thee, as it doth upon me?"

wasauxiliary verbUS /wɑːz/

the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun

From this reading Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

watchingnounUS /ˈwɑːtʃɪŋ/

the act of observing; taking a patient look

From this reading Doth not the city, and the thronging folk, and the watching eyes of the great ones .

wearyverbUS /ˈwɪri/

exhaust or get tired through overuse or great strain or stress

From this reading Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

whereconjunctionUS /wer/

in or at the place that

From this reading She said: "And where is the city now? is not this the wilderness again, and thou and I alone together therein?"

wildernessnounUS /ˈwɪldərnəs/

(politics) a state of disfavor

From this reading She said: "And where is the city now? is not this the wilderness again, and thou and I alone together therein?"

womennounUS /ˈwɪmən/

plural of “woman” — an adult female person (as opposed to a man)

From this reading Long it was, indeed, till the women, by the King's command, had brought the Maid to the King's chamber; and he met her, and took her by the shoulders and kissed her, and said: "Art thou not weary, sweetheart?

Chapter 36 of The Wood Beyond the World by William Morris holds 33 sentences, grouped into 7 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.

What does chapter 36 of The Wood Beyond the World contain?

Chapter 36 holds 33 sentences of The Wood Beyond the World, unabridged, divided into 7 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 36 of The Wood Beyond the World by William Morris exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 33 sentences, grouped into 7 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 36 of The Wood Beyond the World?

Work through the 7 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 7 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 36 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 36 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 Wood Beyond the World

Common questions about reading The Wood Beyond the World by William Morris on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of The Wood Beyond the World?

Yes. All 1543 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3055 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of The Wood Beyond the World is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #3055, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does The Wood Beyond the World take to read?

About 128 minutes of reading across 309 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read The Wood Beyond the World section by section

How to work through The Wood Beyond the World section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 36 chapters of The Wood Beyond the World to begin.

  2. Read one section

    Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.

  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in The Wood Beyond the World

Words and structures a reader meets early in The Wood Beyond the World, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Awhile
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Wood Beyond the World; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Young
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Wood Beyond the World; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Dwelling
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Wood Beyond the World; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Great
A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Wood Beyond the World; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.