Chapter 4 of Poems by Emily Dickinson, Three Series is here in full — 384 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Poems by Emily Dickinson, Three Series is here in full — 384 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
XVI. SECRETS. The skies can't keep their secret! They tell it to the hills -- The hills just tell the orchards -- And they the daffodils! A bird, by chance, that goes that way Soft overheard the whole.
Chapter 4 of Poems by Emily Dickinson, Three Series is here in full — 384 sentences across 77 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/76 · 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.
warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading “A bird, by chance, that goes that way Soft overheard the whole.”
plural of “daffodil” — any of numerous varieties of Narcissus plants having showy often yellow flowers with a trumpet-shaped central crown
From this reading “They tell it to the hills -- The hills just tell the orchards -- And they the daffodils!”
plural of “hill” — a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading “They tell it to the hills -- The hills just tell the orchards -- And they the daffodils!”
plural of “orchard” — garden consisting of a small cultivated wood without undergrowth
From this reading “They tell it to the hills -- The hills just tell the orchards -- And they the daffodils!”
inflected form of “overhear” — hear, usually without the knowledge of the speakers
From this reading “A bird, by chance, that goes that way Soft overheard the whole.”
plural of “secret” — something that should remain hidden from others (especially information that is not to be passed on)
From this reading “SECRETS.”
plural of “sky” — the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading “The skies can't keep their secret!”
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading “A bird, by chance, that goes that way Soft overheard the whole.”
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 bird, by chance, that goes that way Soft overheard the whole.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading They tell it to the hills -- The hills just tell the orchards -- And they the daffodils!
warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrates characterized by feathers and forelimbs modified as wings
From this reading A bird, by chance, that goes that way Soft overheard the whole.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading A bird, by chance, that goes that way Soft overheard the whole.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The skies can't keep their secret!
a possibility due to a favorable combination of circumstances
From this reading A bird, by chance, that goes that way Soft overheard the whole.
plural of “daffodil” — any of numerous varieties of Narcissus plants having showy often yellow flowers with a trumpet-shaped central crown
From this reading They tell it to the hills -- The hills just tell the orchards -- And they the daffodils!
plural of “go” — a time period for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else)
From this reading A bird, by chance, that goes that way Soft overheard the whole.
plural of “hill” — a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading They tell it to the hills -- The hills just tell the orchards -- And they the daffodils!
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading They tell it to the hills -- The hills just tell the orchards -- And they the daffodils!
and nothing more
From this reading They tell it to the hills -- The hills just tell the orchards -- And they the daffodils!
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading The skies can't keep their secret!
plural of “orchard” — garden consisting of a small cultivated wood without undergrowth
From this reading They tell it to the hills -- The hills just tell the orchards -- And they the daffodils!
inflected form of “overhear” — hear, usually without the knowledge of the speakers
From this reading A bird, by chance, that goes that way Soft overheard the whole.
Something that is kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others.
From this reading The skies can't keep their secret!
plural of “secret” — something that should remain hidden from others (especially information that is not to be passed on)
From this reading SECRETS.
plural of “sky” — the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth
From this reading The skies can't keep their secret!
yielding readily to pressure or weight
From this reading A bird, by chance, that goes that way Soft overheard the whole.
express in words
From this reading They tell it to the hills -- The hills just tell the orchards -- And they the daffodils!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading A bird, by chance, that goes that way Soft overheard the whole.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The skies can't keep their secret!
belonging to the people or things already mentioned
From this reading The skies can't keep their secret!
the people, animals, or things already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading They tell it to the hills -- The hills just tell the orchards -- And they the daffodils!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading They tell it to the hills -- The hills just tell the orchards -- And they the daffodils!
how something is done or how it happens
From this reading A bird, by chance, that goes that way Soft overheard the whole.
including all components without exception; being one unit or constituting the full amount or extent or duration; complete
From this reading A bird, by chance, that goes that way Soft overheard the whole.
the cardinal number that is the sum of fifteen and one
From this reading XVI.
Chapter 4 of Poems by Emily Dickinson, Three Series by Emily Dickinson holds 384 sentences, grouped into 77 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 4 holds 384 sentences of Poems by Emily Dickinson, Three Series, unabridged, divided into 77 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Poems by Emily Dickinson, Three Series by Emily Dickinson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 384 sentences, grouped into 77 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 77 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 77 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 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.
Common questions about reading Poems by Emily Dickinson, Three Series by Emily Dickinson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2327 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12242 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12242, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 193 minutes of reading across 466 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Poems by Emily Dickinson, Three Series section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 6 chapters of Poems by Emily Dickinson, Three 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, Three Series, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
