Chapter 4 of Tragic Romances is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Tragic Romances is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
With that, seeing the great bull did not move, he struck it full in the face with clenched fist. There was a hoarse strangling roar, and the seal champion was upon him with lacerating fangs. Mànus swayed this way and that. All he could hear now was the snarling and growling and choking cries of the maddened seals. As he fell, they closed in upon him.
Chapter 4 of Tragic Romances is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
someone who has won first place in a competition
From this reading “There was a hoarse strangling roar, and the seal champion was upon him with lacerating fangs.”
Causing difficulty in breathing.
From this reading “All he could hear now was the snarling and growling and choking cries of the maddened seals.”
plural of “fang” — a Bantu language spoken in Cameroon
From this reading “There was a hoarse strangling roar, and the seal champion was upon him with lacerating fangs.”
a gruff or angry utterance (suggestive of the growling of an animal)
From this reading “All he could hear now was the snarling and growling and choking cries of the maddened seals.”
plural of “seal” — fastener consisting of a resinous composition that is plastic when warm; used for sealing documents and parcels and letters
From this reading “All he could hear now was the snarling and growling and choking cries of the maddened seals.”
-ing form of “snarl” — utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
From this reading “All he could hear now was the snarling and growling and choking cries of the maddened seals.”
the act of suffocating (someone) by constricting the windpipe
From this reading “There was a hoarse strangling roar, and the seal champion was upon him with lacerating fangs.”
past form of “sway” — move back and forth or sideways
From this reading “Mànus swayed this way and that.”
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.
a hand with the fingers clenched in the palm (as for hitting)
In this reading “With that, seeing the great bull did not move, he struck it full in the face with clenched fist.”
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 before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading There was a hoarse strangling roar, and the seal champion was upon him with lacerating fangs.
(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 he could hear now was the snarling and growling and choking cries of the maddened seals.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading There was a hoarse strangling roar, and the seal champion was upon him with lacerating fangs.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As he fell, they closed in upon him.
uncastrated adult male of domestic cattle
From this reading With that, seeing the great bull did not move, he struck it full in the face with clenched fist.
someone who has won first place in a competition
From this reading There was a hoarse strangling roar, and the seal champion was upon him with lacerating fangs.
Causing difficulty in breathing.
From this reading All he could hear now was the snarling and growling and choking cries of the maddened seals.
closed or squeezed together tightly
From this reading With that, seeing the great bull did not move, he struck it full in the face with clenched fist.
not open or affording passage or access
From this reading As he fell, they closed in upon him.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading All he could hear now was the snarling and growling and choking cries of the maddened seals.
plural of “cry” — a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition
From this reading All he could hear now was the snarling and growling and choking cries of the maddened seals.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading With that, seeing the great bull did not move, he struck it full in the face with clenched fist.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading With that, seeing the great bull did not move, he struck it full in the face with clenched fist.
plural of “fang” — a Bantu language spoken in Cameroon
From this reading There was a hoarse strangling roar, and the seal champion was upon him with lacerating fangs.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading As he fell, they closed in upon him.
a hand with the fingers clenched in the palm (as for hitting)
From this reading With that, seeing the great bull did not move, he struck it full in the face with clenched fist.
containing as much or as many as is possible or normal
From this reading With that, seeing the great bull did not move, he struck it full in the face with clenched fist.
relatively large in size or number or extent; larger than others of its kind
From this reading With that, seeing the great bull did not move, he struck it full in the face with clenched fist.
a gruff or angry utterance (suggestive of the growling of an animal)
From this reading All he could hear now was the snarling and growling and choking cries of the maddened seals.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading With that, seeing the great bull did not move, he struck it full in the face with clenched fist.
perceive (sound) via the auditory sense
From this reading All he could hear now was the snarling and growling and choking cries of the maddened seals.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading There was a hoarse strangling roar, and the seal champion was upon him with lacerating fangs.
deep and harsh sounding as if from shouting or illness or emotion
From this reading There was a hoarse strangling roar, and the seal champion was upon him with lacerating fangs.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading With that, seeing the great bull did not move, he struck it full in the face with clenched fist.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading With that, seeing the great bull did not move, he struck it full in the face with clenched fist.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading There was a hoarse strangling roar, and the seal champion was upon him with lacerating fangs.
marked by extreme anger
From this reading All he could hear now was the snarling and growling and choking cries of the maddened seals.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading With that, seeing the great bull did not move, he struck it full in the face with clenched fist.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mànus swayed this way and that.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading With that, seeing the great bull did not move, he struck it full in the face with clenched fist.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading All he could hear now was the snarling and growling and choking cries of the maddened seals.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading All he could hear now was the snarling and growling and choking cries of the maddened seals.
make a loud noise, as of wind, water, or vehicles
From this reading There was a hoarse strangling roar, and the seal champion was upon him with lacerating fangs.
make tight; secure against leakage
From this reading There was a hoarse strangling roar, and the seal champion was upon him with lacerating fangs.
plural of “seal” — fastener consisting of a resinous composition that is plastic when warm; used for sealing documents and parcels and letters
From this reading All he could hear now was the snarling and growling and choking cries of the maddened seals.
perception by means of the eyes
From this reading With that, seeing the great bull did not move, he struck it full in the face with clenched fist.
-ing form of “snarl” — utter in an angry, sharp, or abrupt tone
From this reading All he could hear now was the snarling and growling and choking cries of the maddened seals.
the act of suffocating (someone) by constricting the windpipe
From this reading There was a hoarse strangling roar, and the seal champion was upon him with lacerating fangs.
(used in combination) affected by something overwhelming
From this reading With that, seeing the great bull did not move, he struck it full in the face with clenched fist.
past form of “sway” — move back and forth or sideways
From this reading Mànus swayed this way and that.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading With that, seeing the great bull did not move, he struck it full in the face with clenched fist.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading With that, seeing the great bull did not move, he struck it full in the face with clenched fist.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There was a hoarse strangling roar, and the seal champion was upon him with lacerating fangs.
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading As he fell, they closed in upon him.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Mànus swayed this way and that.
a formal word for “on”
From this reading There was a hoarse strangling roar, and the seal champion was upon him with lacerating fangs.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There was a hoarse strangling roar, and the seal champion was upon him with lacerating fangs.
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading Mànus swayed this way and that.
in the company of; together with
From this reading With that, seeing the great bull did not move, he struck it full in the face with clenched fist.
Chapter 4 of Tragic Romances by William Sharp holds 405 sentences, grouped into 81 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 405 sentences of Tragic Romances, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Tragic Romances by William Sharp exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 405 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 Tragic Romances by William Sharp on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2824 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #53839 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #53839, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 235 minutes of reading across 565 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tragic Romances section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of Tragic Romances 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 Tragic Romances, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
