Classic
Das ovale Porträt
Edgar Allan Poe
In each language: The Oval Portrait · Das ovale Porträt · El retrato oval · Le Portrait ovale · Il ritratto ovale
Badly wounded, a traveler has his valet break into an abandoned chateau in the Apennines. Feverish in a remote turret room hung with paintings, he discovers by candlelight the portrait of a young girl so lifelike it unsettles him. A small book found on his pillow tells the painter’s story.
In English, German, Spanish, French and Italian · about 1,300 words · 5 min to read.
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Comment ça commence
Das Schloss, in das mein Diener gewaltsam eingedrungen war, anstatt mich in meinem verzweifelt verwundeten Zustand die Nacht unter freiem Himmel verbringen zu lassen, war einer jener Bauten von düsterer und zugleich großartiger Beschaffenheit, wie sie schon so lange in den Apenninen aufragen, nicht weniger in der Wirklichkeit als in der Fantasie von Mrs. Radcliffe.
The château into which my valet had ventured to make forcible entrance, rather than permit me, in my desperately wounded condition, to pass a night in the open air, was one of those piles of commingled gloom and grandeur which have so long frowned among the Appennines, not less in fact than in the fancy of Mrs. Radcliffe.
Dem Anschein nach war es vorübergehend und erst kürzlich verlassen worden. Wir richteten uns in einem der kleinsten und am wenigsten prunkvoll eingerichteten Zimmer ein. Es lag in einem abgelegenen Turm des Gebäudes.
To all appearance it had been temporarily and very lately abandoned. We established ourselves in one of the smallest and least sumptuously furnished apartments. It lay in a remote turret of the building.
Die Ausstattung war reich, doch zerlumpt und antik.
Its decorations were rich, yet tattered and antique.
Languages
- The Oval Portrait · English (original)1,284 words · ~5 min
- Das ovale Porträt · GermanC1 Advanced · 1,244 words · ~5 min
- El retrato oval · SpanishC1 Advanced · 1,279 words · ~5 min
- Le Portrait ovale · FrenchC1 Advanced · 1,349 words · ~5 min
- Il ritratto ovale · ItalianC1 Advanced · 1,225 words · ~5 min
Open in the reader: German with English · Spanish with English · French with English · Italian with English
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Reading it as a parallel text
A parallel text puts a story next to its translation, paragraph by paragraph. Read in the language you are working on and glance across only when a sentence stops you: the story keeps moving, and the words you look up stay in context. More in how to read with a parallel text.
Questions
- Which languages can I read The Oval Portrait in?
- English, German, Spanish, French and Italian. Pick the language you want to read and the one to keep beside it: every paragraph sits next to its translation, so you can check a sentence without losing your place.
- What level is it?
- In translation, German, Spanish, French and Italian are C1 Advanced. Levels follow the Common European Framework, from A1 (beginner) to C2.
- How long is it?
- About 1,284 words: around 5 min of reading, with the translation beside it. The time depends on the edition's level: an easier edition is read more slowly.
- Is it free?
- Yes. Read it online with no account. The e-reader files (EPUB, and AZW3 and MOBI for Kindle) need a free account; the PDF doesn't.
- Can I read it on a Kindle or Kobo?
- Yes. Download the EPUB for Kobo, Apple Books and most e-readers, or the AZW3 or MOBI for a Kindle, with each paragraph followed by its translation. There is also a side-by-side PDF to print, and each language on its own.