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

Chapter IV · Chapter 4

Chapter 4 of Poems is here in full — 121 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for Poems
Context Illustration Reading 1/24 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
== And every now and then comes the bursting of a shell immediately overhead, and the rattle of its fragments on the roof of the bomb-proof dug-out.
Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!
The solitude of sentry-duty evidently comes to him as something of a relief.
"It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."
== The sentinel has ample time for reflection.
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.

Poems

Chapter IV · Chapter 4

Chapter 4 of Poems is here in full — 121 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/24 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
== And every now and then comes the bursting of a shell immediately overhead, and the rattle of its fragments on the roof of the bomb-proof dug-out.
Line 2
Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!
Line 3
The solitude of sentry-duty evidently comes to him as something of a relief.
Line 4
"It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."
Line 5
== The sentinel has ample time for reflection.

All words in this reading · 95

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.

a

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

From this reading == And every now and then comes the bursting of a shell immediately overhead, and the rattle of its fragments on the roof of the bomb-proof dug-out.

after

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

From this reading Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!

all

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

also

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

ample

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

From this reading == The sentinel has ample time for reflection.

And

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

From this reading == And every now and then comes the bursting of a shell immediately overhead, and the rattle of its fragments on the roof of the bomb-proof dug-out.

ardent

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

From this reading Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!

as

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

From this reading The solitude of sentry-duty evidently comes to him as something of a relief.

back

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

bad

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

be

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

beauty

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

blaze

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

bomb-proof

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

From this reading == And every now and then comes the bursting of a shell immediately overhead, and the rattle of its fragments on the roof of the bomb-proof dug-out.

breaks

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

brings

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

bursting

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

From this reading == And every now and then comes the bursting of a shell immediately overhead, and the rattle of its fragments on the roof of the bomb-proof dug-out.

but

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

chill

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

From this reading Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!

cloud-banks

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

comes

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

From this reading == And every now and then comes the bursting of a shell immediately overhead, and the rattle of its fragments on the roof of the bomb-proof dug-out.

concert

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

From this reading Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!

day

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

From this reading Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!

dug-out

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

From this reading == And every now and then comes the bursting of a shell immediately overhead, and the rattle of its fragments on the roof of the bomb-proof dug-out.

eager

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

From this reading Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!

every

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

From this reading == And every now and then comes the bursting of a shell immediately overhead, and the rattle of its fragments on the roof of the bomb-proof dug-out.

evidently

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

From this reading The solitude of sentry-duty evidently comes to him as something of a relief.

exaltation

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

for

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

From this reading == The sentinel has ample time for reflection.

fragments

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

From this reading == And every now and then comes the bursting of a shell immediately overhead, and the rattle of its fragments on the roof of the bomb-proof dug-out.

grand

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

From this reading Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!

has

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

From this reading == The sentinel has ample time for reflection.

have

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

From this reading Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!

he

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

heavens

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

hills

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

him

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

From this reading The solitude of sentry-duty evidently comes to him as something of a relief.

human

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

From this reading Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!

if

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

immediately

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

From this reading == And every now and then comes the bursting of a shell immediately overhead, and the rattle of its fragments on the roof of the bomb-proof dug-out.

in

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

From this reading Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!

is

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

it

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

From this reading Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!

its

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

From this reading == And every now and then comes the bursting of a shell immediately overhead, and the rattle of its fragments on the roof of the bomb-proof dug-out.

madness

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

From this reading Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!

may

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

meant

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

From this reading Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!

melancholy

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

moans

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

moments

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

moonlight

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

music

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

From this reading Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!

must

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

From this reading Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!

night

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

northern

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

now

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

From this reading == And every now and then comes the bursting of a shell immediately overhead, and the rattle of its fragments on the roof of the bomb-proof dug-out.

of

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

From this reading == And every now and then comes the bursting of a shell immediately overhead, and the rattle of its fragments on the roof of the bomb-proof dug-out.

on

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

From this reading == And every now and then comes the bursting of a shell immediately overhead, and the rattle of its fragments on the roof of the bomb-proof dug-out.

or

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

orchestral

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

From this reading Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!

out

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

From this reading Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!

over

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

overhead

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

From this reading == And every now and then comes the bursting of a shell immediately overhead, and the rattle of its fragments on the roof of the bomb-proof dug-out.

pines

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

pleasure-loving

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

From this reading Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!

rattle

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

From this reading == And every now and then comes the bursting of a shell immediately overhead, and the rattle of its fragments on the roof of the bomb-proof dug-out.

reflection

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

From this reading == The sentinel has ample time for reflection.

relief

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

From this reading The solitude of sentry-duty evidently comes to him as something of a relief.

roll

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

roof

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

From this reading == And every now and then comes the bursting of a shell immediately overhead, and the rattle of its fragments on the roof of the bomb-proof dug-out.

says

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

sentinel

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

From this reading == The sentinel has ample time for reflection.

sentry-duty

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

From this reading The solitude of sentry-duty evidently comes to him as something of a relief.

shell

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

From this reading == And every now and then comes the bursting of a shell immediately overhead, and the rattle of its fragments on the roof of the bomb-proof dug-out.

sit

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

From this reading Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!

sodden

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

From this reading Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!

solitude

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

From this reading The solitude of sentry-duty evidently comes to him as something of a relief.

something

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

From this reading The solitude of sentry-duty evidently comes to him as something of a relief.

spirit

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

From this reading Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!

stars

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

that

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

the

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

From this reading == And every now and then comes the bursting of a shell immediately overhead, and the rattle of its fragments on the roof of the bomb-proof dug-out.

then

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

From this reading == And every now and then comes the bursting of a shell immediately overhead, and the rattle of its fragments on the roof of the bomb-proof dug-out.

Think

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

From this reading Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!

this

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

From this reading Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!

through

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

time

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

From this reading == The sentinel has ample time for reflection.

to

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

From this reading Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!

trench

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

From this reading Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!

verminous

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

From this reading Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!

what

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

From this reading Think what it must have meant to this eager, ardent, pleasure-loving spirit to sit out, day after day, in a chill, sodden, verminous trench, a grand orchestral concert of this music of human madness!

wind

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

windless

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

winter

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

with

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

From this reading "It may," he says, "be all that is melancholy if the night is bad and the winter wind moans through the pines"; but it also "brings moments of exaltation, if the cloud-banks roll back, if the moonlight breaks over the windless hills, or the heavens blaze with the beauty of the northern stars."

Chapter 4 of Poems by Alan Seeger holds 121 sentences, grouped into 25 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 4 of Poems contain?

Chapter 4 holds 121 sentences of Poems, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 4 of Poems by Alan Seeger exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 121 sentences, grouped into 25 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 4 of Poems?

Work through the 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 25 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 4 be read aloud to me?

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.

Questions about reading Poems

Common questions about reading Poems by Alan Seeger on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of Poems?

Yes. All 1386 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #617 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of Poems is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #617, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does Poems take to read?

About 115 minutes of reading across 278 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read Poems section by section

How to work through Poems section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

    Choose one of the 12 chapters of Poems 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 Poems

Words and structures a reader meets early in Poems, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Italicized
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Poems; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Words
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Poems; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Phrases
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Poems; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Capitalized
A word that appears in the opening chapter of Poems; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.