Chapter 2 of Poems by Emily Dickinson, Third Series is here in full — 367 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Poems by Emily Dickinson, Third Series is here in full — 367 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
I got your letter, and the birds'; The maples never knew That you were coming, -- I declare, How red their faces grew! But, March, forgive me -- And all those hills You left for me to hue; There was no purple suitable, You took it all with you. Who knocks? That April! Lock the door!
Chapter 2 of Poems by Emily Dickinson, Third Series is here in full — 367 sentences across 74 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/73 · 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 month following March and preceding May
From this reading “That April!”
state emphatically and authoritatively
From this reading “I got your letter, and the birds'; The maples never knew That you were coming, -- I declare, How red their faces grew!”
the quality of a color as determined by its dominant wavelength
From this reading “But, March, forgive me -- And all those hills You left for me to hue; There was no purple suitable, You took it all with you.”
plural of “knock” — the sound of knocking (as on a door or in an engine or bearing)
From this reading “Who knocks?”
fasten with a lock
From this reading “Lock the door!”
plural of “maple” — wood of any of various maple trees; especially the hard close-grained wood of the sugar maple; used especially for furniture and flooring
From this reading “I got your letter, and the birds'; The maples never knew That you were coming, -- I declare, How red their faces grew!”
a purple color or pigment
From this reading “But, March, forgive me -- And all those hills You left for me to hue; There was no purple suitable, You took it all with you.”
meant or adapted for an occasion or use
From this reading “But, March, forgive me -- And all those hills You left for me to hue; There was no purple suitable, You took it all with you.”
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.
(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 But, March, forgive me -- And all those hills You left for me to hue; There was no purple suitable, You took it all with you.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading I got your letter, and the birds'; The maples never knew That you were coming, -- I declare, How red their faces grew!
the month following March and preceding May
From this reading That April!
plural of “bird” — warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading I got your letter, and the birds'; The maples never knew That you were coming, -- I declare, How red their faces grew!
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading But, March, forgive me -- And all those hills You left for me to hue; There was no purple suitable, You took it all with you.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading I got your letter, and the birds'; The maples never knew That you were coming, -- I declare, How red their faces grew!
state emphatically and authoritatively
From this reading I got your letter, and the birds'; The maples never knew That you were coming, -- I declare, How red their faces grew!
a swinging or sliding barrier that will close the entrance to a room or building or vehicle
From this reading Lock the door!
plural of “face” — the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading I got your letter, and the birds'; The maples never knew That you were coming, -- I declare, How red their faces grew!
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading But, March, forgive me -- And all those hills You left for me to hue; There was no purple suitable, You took it all with you.
stop blaming or grant forgiveness
From this reading But, March, forgive me -- And all those hills You left for me to hue; There was no purple suitable, You took it all with you.
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading I got your letter, and the birds'; The maples never knew That you were coming, -- I declare, How red their faces grew!
inflected form of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading I got your letter, and the birds'; The maples never knew That you were coming, -- I declare, How red their faces grew!
plural of “hill” — a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading But, March, forgive me -- And all those hills You left for me to hue; There was no purple suitable, You took it all with you.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading I got your letter, and the birds'; The maples never knew That you were coming, -- I declare, How red their faces grew!
the quality of a color as determined by its dominant wavelength
From this reading But, March, forgive me -- And all those hills You left for me to hue; There was no purple suitable, You took it all with you.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I got your letter, and the birds'; The maples never knew That you were coming, -- I declare, How red their faces grew!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading But, March, forgive me -- And all those hills You left for me to hue; There was no purple suitable, You took it all with you.
inflected form of “know” — be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading I got your letter, and the birds'; The maples never knew That you were coming, -- I declare, How red their faces grew!
plural of “knock” — the sound of knocking (as on a door or in an engine or bearing)
From this reading Who knocks?
location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east
From this reading But, March, forgive me -- And all those hills You left for me to hue; There was no purple suitable, You took it all with you.
a written message addressed to a person or organization
From this reading I got your letter, and the birds'; The maples never knew That you were coming, -- I declare, How red their faces grew!
fasten with a lock
From this reading Lock the door!
plural of “maple” — wood of any of various maple trees; especially the hard close-grained wood of the sugar maple; used especially for furniture and flooring
From this reading I got your letter, and the birds'; The maples never knew That you were coming, -- I declare, How red their faces grew!
march in a procession
From this reading But, March, forgive me -- And all those hills You left for me to hue; There was no purple suitable, You took it all with you.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading But, March, forgive me -- And all those hills You left for me to hue; There was no purple suitable, You took it all with you.
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading I got your letter, and the birds'; The maples never knew That you were coming, -- I declare, How red their faces grew!
not any; not one
From this reading But, March, forgive me -- And all those hills You left for me to hue; There was no purple suitable, You took it all with you.
a purple color or pigment
From this reading But, March, forgive me -- And all those hills You left for me to hue; There was no purple suitable, You took it all with you.
red color or pigment; the chromatic color resembling the hue of blood
From this reading I got your letter, and the birds'; The maples never knew That you were coming, -- I declare, How red their faces grew!
meant or adapted for an occasion or use
From this reading But, March, forgive me -- And all those hills You left for me to hue; There was no purple suitable, You took it all with you.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading I got your letter, and the birds'; The maples never knew That you were coming, -- I declare, How red their faces grew!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading I got your letter, and the birds'; The maples never knew That you were coming, -- I declare, How red their faces grew!
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading I got your letter, and the birds'; The maples never knew That you were coming, -- I declare, How red their faces grew!
in or at that place or location
From this reading But, March, forgive me -- And all those hills You left for me to hue; There was no purple suitable, You took it all with you.
the plural of “that”: the people or things further away, or already known
From this reading But, March, forgive me -- And all those hills You left for me to hue; There was no purple suitable, You took it all with you.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading But, March, forgive me -- And all those hills You left for me to hue; There was no purple suitable, You took it all with you.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading But, March, forgive me -- And all those hills You left for me to hue; There was no purple suitable, You took it all with you.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading But, March, forgive me -- And all those hills You left for me to hue; There was no purple suitable, You took it all with you.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading I got your letter, and the birds'; The maples never knew That you were coming, -- I declare, How red their faces grew!
which person or people
From this reading Who knocks?
in the company of; together with
From this reading But, March, forgive me -- And all those hills You left for me to hue; There was no purple suitable, You took it all with you.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I got your letter, and the birds'; The maples never knew That you were coming, -- I declare, How red their faces grew!
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I got your letter, and the birds'; The maples never knew That you were coming, -- I declare, How red their faces grew!
Chapter 2 of Poems by Emily Dickinson, Third Series by Emily Dickinson holds 367 sentences, grouped into 74 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 2 holds 367 sentences of Poems by Emily Dickinson, Third Series, unabridged, divided into 74 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Poems by Emily Dickinson, Third Series by Emily Dickinson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 367 sentences, grouped into 74 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 74 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 74 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 2 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 Poems by Emily Dickinson, Third Series by Emily Dickinson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 751 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12241 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12241, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 62 minutes of reading across 151 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Poems by Emily Dickinson, Third Series section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 2 chapters of Poems by Emily Dickinson, Third Series 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 Poems by Emily Dickinson, Third Series, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
