Chapter 3 of Wessex Poems and Other Verses is here in full — 145 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter III
Chapter 3 of Wessex Poems and Other Verses is here in full — 145 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
“Three sky-lights then from the girdling trine Told, ‘Ready!’ As they rose Their flashes seemed his Judgment-Sign For bleeding Europe’s woes. “’Twas seen how the French watch-fires that night Glowed still and steadily; And the Three rejoiced, for they read in the sight That the One disdained to flee .
Chapter 3 of Wessex Poems and Other Verses is here in full — 145 sentences across 29 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/29 · 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 flow of blood from a ruptured blood vessel
From this reading “As they rose Their flashes seemed his Judgment-Sign For bleeding Europe’s woes.”
past form of “disdain” — look down on with disdain
From this reading ““’Twas seen how the French watch-fires that night Glowed still and steadily; And the Three rejoiced, for they read in the sight That the One disdained to flee .”
possessive form of “europe” — the 2nd smallest continent (actually a vast peninsula of Eurasia); the British use “Europe” to refer to all of the continent except the British Isles
plural of “flash” — a sudden intense burst of radiant energy
From this reading “As they rose Their flashes seemed his Judgment-Sign For bleeding Europe’s woes.”
run away quickly
From this reading ““’Twas seen how the French watch-fires that night Glowed still and steadily; And the Three rejoiced, for they read in the sight That the One disdained to flee .”
past form of “glow” — emit a steady even light without flames
From this reading ““’Twas seen how the French watch-fires that night Glowed still and steadily; And the Three rejoiced, for they read in the sight That the One disdained to flee .”
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading ““Three sky-lights then from the girdling trine Told, ‘Ready!’”
plural of “woe” — misery resulting from affliction
From this reading “As they rose Their flashes seemed his Judgment-Sign For bleeding Europe’s woes.”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading “’Twas seen how the French watch-fires that night Glowed still and steadily; And the Three rejoiced, for they read in the sight That the One disdained to flee .
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading As they rose Their flashes seemed his Judgment-Sign For bleeding Europe’s woes.
the flow of blood from a ruptured blood vessel
From this reading As they rose Their flashes seemed his Judgment-Sign For bleeding Europe’s woes.
past form of “disdain” — look down on with disdain
From this reading “’Twas seen how the French watch-fires that night Glowed still and steadily; And the Three rejoiced, for they read in the sight That the One disdained to flee .
possessive form of “europe” — the 2nd smallest continent (actually a vast peninsula of Eurasia); the British use “Europe” to refer to all of the continent except the British Isles
From this reading As they rose Their flashes seemed his Judgment-Sign For bleeding Europe’s woes.
plural of “flash” — a sudden intense burst of radiant energy
From this reading As they rose Their flashes seemed his Judgment-Sign For bleeding Europe’s woes.
run away quickly
From this reading “’Twas seen how the French watch-fires that night Glowed still and steadily; And the Three rejoiced, for they read in the sight That the One disdained to flee .
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading As they rose Their flashes seemed his Judgment-Sign For bleeding Europe’s woes.
the Romance language spoken in France and in countries colonized by France
From this reading “’Twas seen how the French watch-fires that night Glowed still and steadily; And the Three rejoiced, for they read in the sight That the One disdained to flee .
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading “Three sky-lights then from the girdling trine Told, ‘Ready!’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Three sky-lights then from the girdling trine Told, ‘Ready!’
past form of “glow” — emit a steady even light without flames
From this reading “’Twas seen how the French watch-fires that night Glowed still and steadily; And the Three rejoiced, for they read in the sight That the One disdained to flee .
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading As they rose Their flashes seemed his Judgment-Sign For bleeding Europe’s woes.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “’Twas seen how the French watch-fires that night Glowed still and steadily; And the Three rejoiced, for they read in the sight That the One disdained to flee .
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “’Twas seen how the French watch-fires that night Glowed still and steadily; And the Three rejoiced, for they read in the sight That the One disdained to flee .
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading As they rose Their flashes seemed his Judgment-Sign For bleeding Europe’s woes.
the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside
From this reading “’Twas seen how the French watch-fires that night Glowed still and steadily; And the Three rejoiced, for they read in the sight That the One disdained to flee .
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading “’Twas seen how the French watch-fires that night Glowed still and steadily; And the Three rejoiced, for they read in the sight That the One disdained to flee .
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading “’Twas seen how the French watch-fires that night Glowed still and steadily; And the Three rejoiced, for they read in the sight That the One disdained to flee .
completely prepared or in condition for immediate action or use or progress
From this reading “Three sky-lights then from the girdling trine Told, ‘Ready!’
past form of “rejoice” — feel happiness or joy
From this reading “’Twas seen how the French watch-fires that night Glowed still and steadily; And the Three rejoiced, for they read in the sight That the One disdained to flee .
any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
From this reading As they rose Their flashes seemed his Judgment-Sign For bleeding Europe’s woes.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading As they rose Their flashes seemed his Judgment-Sign For bleeding Europe’s woes.
inflected form of “see” — perceive by sight or have the power to perceive by sight
From this reading “’Twas seen how the French watch-fires that night Glowed still and steadily; And the Three rejoiced, for they read in the sight That the One disdained to flee .
an instance of visual perception
From this reading “’Twas seen how the French watch-fires that night Glowed still and steadily; And the Three rejoiced, for they read in the sight That the One disdained to flee .
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “Three sky-lights then from the girdling trine Told, ‘Ready!’
at a steady rate or pace
From this reading “’Twas seen how the French watch-fires that night Glowed still and steadily; And the Three rejoiced, for they read in the sight That the One disdained to flee .
not in physical motion
From this reading “’Twas seen how the French watch-fires that night Glowed still and steadily; And the Three rejoiced, for they read in the sight That the One disdained to flee .
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading “’Twas seen how the French watch-fires that night Glowed still and steadily; And the Three rejoiced, for they read in the sight That the One disdained to flee .
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading “Three sky-lights then from the girdling trine Told, ‘Ready!’
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading As they rose Their flashes seemed his Judgment-Sign For bleeding Europe’s woes.
subsequently or soon afterward (often used as sentence connectors)
From this reading “Three sky-lights then from the girdling trine Told, ‘Ready!’
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading As they rose Their flashes seemed his Judgment-Sign For bleeding Europe’s woes.
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading “Three sky-lights then from the girdling trine Told, ‘Ready!’
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading “’Twas seen how the French watch-fires that night Glowed still and steadily; And the Three rejoiced, for they read in the sight That the One disdained to flee .
inflected form of “tell” — express in words
From this reading “Three sky-lights then from the girdling trine Told, ‘Ready!’
the cardinal number that is the sum of one and one and one
From this reading “Three sky-lights then from the girdling trine Told, ‘Ready!’
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “’Twas seen how the French watch-fires that night Glowed still and steadily; And the Three rejoiced, for they read in the sight That the One disdained to flee .
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading “’Twas seen how the French watch-fires that night Glowed still and steadily; And the Three rejoiced, for they read in the sight That the One disdained to flee .
plural of “woe” — misery resulting from affliction
From this reading As they rose Their flashes seemed his Judgment-Sign For bleeding Europe’s woes.
Chapter 3 of Wessex Poems and Other Verses by Thomas Hardy holds 145 sentences, grouped into 29 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 3 holds 145 sentences of Wessex Poems and Other Verses, unabridged, divided into 29 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of Wessex Poems and Other Verses by Thomas Hardy exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 145 sentences, grouped into 29 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 29 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 29 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 3 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 Wessex Poems and Other Verses by Thomas Hardy on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 796 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #3167 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #3167, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 66 minutes of reading across 160 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Wessex Poems and Other Verses section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of Wessex Poems and Other Verses 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 Wessex Poems and Other Verses, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
