Chapter 12 of Zanoni is here in full — 48 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XII
Chapter 12 of Zanoni is here in full — 48 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy. Shakespeare. Who so happy as Viola now! A dark load was lifted from her heart: her step seemed to tread on air; she would have sung for very delight as she went gayly home. It is such happiness to the pure to love,--but oh, such more than happiness to believe in the worth of the one beloved.
Chapter 12 of Zanoni is here in full — 48 sentences across 10 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/9 · 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 way two individuals relate to each other
From this reading “Gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy.”
a coating of gold or of something that looks like gold
From this reading “Gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy.”
relating to or inhabiting a divine heaven
From this reading “Gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy.”
English poet and dramatist considered one of the greatest English writers (1564-1616)
From this reading “Shakespeare.”
plural of “stream” — a natural body of running water flowing on or under the earth
From this reading “Gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy.”
the imperial dynasty of China from 960 to 1279; noted for art and literature and philosophy
From this reading “A dark load was lifted from her heart: her step seemed to tread on air; she would have sung for very delight as she went gayly home.”
put down or press the foot, place the foot
From this reading “A dark load was lifted from her heart: her step seemed to tread on air; she would have sung for very delight as she went gayly home.”
any of the numerous plants of the genus Viola
From this reading “Who so happy as Viola now!”
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 A dark load was lifted from her heart: her step seemed to tread on air; she would have sung for very delight as she went gayly home.
a mixture of gases (especially oxygen) required for breathing; the stuff that the wind consists of
From this reading A dark load was lifted from her heart: her step seemed to tread on air; she would have sung for very delight as she went gayly home.
the way two individuals relate to each other
From this reading Gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading Who so happy as Viola now!
accept as true; take to be true
From this reading It is such happiness to the pure to love,--but oh, such more than happiness to believe in the worth of the one beloved.
dearly loved
From this reading It is such happiness to the pure to love,--but oh, such more than happiness to believe in the worth of the one beloved.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading It is such happiness to the pure to love,--but oh, such more than happiness to believe in the worth of the one beloved.
absence of light or illumination
From this reading A dark load was lifted from her heart: her step seemed to tread on air; she would have sung for very delight as she went gayly home.
give pleasure to or be pleasing to
From this reading A dark load was lifted from her heart: her step seemed to tread on air; she would have sung for very delight as she went gayly home.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading A dark load was lifted from her heart: her step seemed to tread on air; she would have sung for very delight as she went gayly home.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading A dark load was lifted from her heart: her step seemed to tread on air; she would have sung for very delight as she went gayly home.
in a joyous manner
From this reading A dark load was lifted from her heart: her step seemed to tread on air; she would have sung for very delight as she went gayly home.
a coating of gold or of something that looks like gold
From this reading Gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy.
state of well-being characterized by emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy
From this reading It is such happiness to the pure to love,--but oh, such more than happiness to believe in the worth of the one beloved.
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading Who so happy as Viola now!
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading A dark load was lifted from her heart: her step seemed to tread on air; she would have sung for very delight as she went gayly home.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading A dark load was lifted from her heart: her step seemed to tread on air; she would have sung for very delight as she went gayly home.
relating to or inhabiting a divine heaven
From this reading Gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading A dark load was lifted from her heart: her step seemed to tread on air; she would have sung for very delight as she went gayly home.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading A dark load was lifted from her heart: her step seemed to tread on air; she would have sung for very delight as she went gayly home.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading It is such happiness to the pure to love,--but oh, such more than happiness to believe in the worth of the one beloved.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading It is such happiness to the pure to love,--but oh, such more than happiness to believe in the worth of the one beloved.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading It is such happiness to the pure to love,--but oh, such more than happiness to believe in the worth of the one beloved.
held up in the air
From this reading A dark load was lifted from her heart: her step seemed to tread on air; she would have sung for very delight as she went gayly home.
weight to be borne or conveyed
From this reading A dark load was lifted from her heart: her step seemed to tread on air; she would have sung for very delight as she went gayly home.
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading It is such happiness to the pure to love,--but oh, such more than happiness to believe in the worth of the one beloved.
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading It is such happiness to the pure to love,--but oh, such more than happiness to believe in the worth of the one beloved.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading Who so happy as Viola now!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading It is such happiness to the pure to love,--but oh, such more than happiness to believe in the worth of the one beloved.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading It is such happiness to the pure to love,--but oh, such more than happiness to believe in the worth of the one beloved.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading A dark load was lifted from her heart: her step seemed to tread on air; she would have sung for very delight as she went gayly home.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading It is such happiness to the pure to love,--but oh, such more than happiness to believe in the worth of the one beloved.
very light colored; highly diluted with white
From this reading Gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy.
free of extraneous elements of any kind
From this reading It is such happiness to the pure to love,--but oh, such more than happiness to believe in the worth of the one beloved.
past form of “seem” — give a certain impression or have a certain outward aspect
From this reading A dark load was lifted from her heart: her step seemed to tread on air; she would have sung for very delight as she went gayly home.
English poet and dramatist considered one of the greatest English writers (1564-1616)
From this reading Shakespeare.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading A dark load was lifted from her heart: her step seemed to tread on air; she would have sung for very delight as she went gayly home.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Who so happy as Viola now!
any maneuver made as part of progress toward a goal
From this reading A dark load was lifted from her heart: her step seemed to tread on air; she would have sung for very delight as she went gayly home.
plural of “stream” — a natural body of running water flowing on or under the earth
From this reading Gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy.
of the kind already mentioned
From this reading It is such happiness to the pure to love,--but oh, such more than happiness to believe in the worth of the one beloved.
the imperial dynasty of China from 960 to 1279; noted for art and literature and philosophy
From this reading A dark load was lifted from her heart: her step seemed to tread on air; she would have sung for very delight as she went gayly home.
used to introduce the second part of a comparison
From this reading It is such happiness to the pure to love,--but oh, such more than happiness to believe in the worth of the one beloved.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading It is such happiness to the pure to love,--but oh, such more than happiness to believe in the worth of the one beloved.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading A dark load was lifted from her heart: her step seemed to tread on air; she would have sung for very delight as she went gayly home.
put down or press the foot, place the foot
From this reading A dark load was lifted from her heart: her step seemed to tread on air; she would have sung for very delight as she went gayly home.
precisely as stated
From this reading A dark load was lifted from her heart: her step seemed to tread on air; she would have sung for very delight as she went gayly home.
any of the numerous plants of the genus Viola
From this reading Who so happy as Viola now!
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading A dark load was lifted from her heart: her step seemed to tread on air; she would have sung for very delight as she went gayly home.
inflected form of “go” — change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading A dark load was lifted from her heart: her step seemed to tread on air; she would have sung for very delight as she went gayly home.
which person or people
From this reading Who so happy as Viola now!
in the company of; together with
From this reading Gilding pale streams with heavenly alchemy.
an indefinite quantity of something having a specified value
From this reading It is such happiness to the pure to love,--but oh, such more than happiness to believe in the worth of the one beloved.
used for something imagined, polite, or habitual in the past
From this reading A dark load was lifted from her heart: her step seemed to tread on air; she would have sung for very delight as she went gayly home.
Chapter 12 of Zanoni by Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron Lytton holds 48 sentences, grouped into 10 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 12 holds 48 sentences of Zanoni, unabridged, divided into 10 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 12 of Zanoni by Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron Lytton exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 48 sentences, grouped into 10 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 10 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 10 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 12 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 Zanoni by Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron Lytton on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7736 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2664 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2664, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 600 minutes of reading across 1548 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Zanoni section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 40 chapters of Zanoni 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 Zanoni, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
