Chapter 2 of Poems Household Edition is here in full — 287 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Poems Household Edition is here in full — 287 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
O, wondrous craft of plant and stone By eldest science wrought and shown! 'Happy,' I said, 'whose home is here! Fair fortunes to the mountaineer! Boon Nature to his poorest shed Has royal pleasure-grounds outspread.' Intent, I searched the region round, And in low hut the dweller found: Woe is me for my hope's downfall!
Chapter 2 of Poems Household Edition is here in full — 287 sentences across 58 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 37/57 · 5 reading units · Lines 181–185
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.
a desirable state
From this reading “Boon Nature to his poorest shed Has royal pleasure-grounds outspread.'”
failure that results in a loss of position or reputation
From this reading “Intent, I searched the region round, And in low hut the dweller found: Woe is me for my hope's downfall!”
a person who inhabits a particular place
From this reading “Intent, I searched the region round, And in low hut the dweller found: Woe is me for my hope's downfall!”
possessive form of “hope” — a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading “Intent, I searched the region round, And in low hut the dweller found: Woe is me for my hope's downfall!”
someone who climbs mountains
From this reading “Fair fortunes to the mountaineer!”
superlative of “poor” — deserving or inciting pity
From this reading “Boon Nature to his poorest shed Has royal pleasure-grounds outspread.'”
past form of “search” — try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of
From this reading “Intent, I searched the region round, And in low hut the dweller found: Woe is me for my hope's downfall!”
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading “O, wondrous craft of plant and stone By eldest science wrought and shown!”
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 to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading O, wondrous craft of plant and stone By eldest science wrought and shown!
a desirable state
From this reading Boon Nature to his poorest shed Has royal pleasure-grounds outspread.'
showing who or what does the action
From this reading O, wondrous craft of plant and stone By eldest science wrought and shown!
the skilled practice of a practical occupation
From this reading O, wondrous craft of plant and stone By eldest science wrought and shown!
failure that results in a loss of position or reputation
From this reading Intent, I searched the region round, And in low hut the dweller found: Woe is me for my hope's downfall!
a person who inhabits a particular place
From this reading Intent, I searched the region round, And in low hut the dweller found: Woe is me for my hope's downfall!
first in order of birth
From this reading O, wondrous craft of plant and stone By eldest science wrought and shown!
free from favoritism or self-interest or bias or deception; conforming with established standards or rules
From this reading Fair fortunes to the mountaineer!
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading Intent, I searched the region round, And in low hut the dweller found: Woe is me for my hope's downfall!
plural of “fortune” — an unknown and unpredictable phenomenon that causes an event to result one way rather than another
From this reading Fair fortunes to the mountaineer!
set up or found
From this reading Intent, I searched the region round, And in low hut the dweller found: Woe is me for my hope's downfall!
enjoying or showing or marked by joy or pleasure
From this reading 'Happy,' I said, 'whose home is here!
the form of “have” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Boon Nature to his poorest shed Has royal pleasure-grounds outspread.'
in or at this place; where the speaker or writer is
From this reading 'Happy,' I said, 'whose home is here!
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Boon Nature to his poorest shed Has royal pleasure-grounds outspread.'
where you live at a particular time
From this reading 'Happy,' I said, 'whose home is here!
possessive form of “hope” — a specific instance of feeling hopeful
From this reading Intent, I searched the region round, And in low hut the dweller found: Woe is me for my hope's downfall!
temporary military shelter
From this reading Intent, I searched the region round, And in low hut the dweller found: Woe is me for my hope's downfall!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading 'Happy,' I said, 'whose home is here!
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Intent, I searched the region round, And in low hut the dweller found: Woe is me for my hope's downfall!
an anticipated outcome that is intended or that guides your planned actions
From this reading Intent, I searched the region round, And in low hut the dweller found: Woe is me for my hope's downfall!
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading 'Happy,' I said, 'whose home is here!
less than normal in degree or intensity or amount
From this reading Intent, I searched the region round, And in low hut the dweller found: Woe is me for my hope's downfall!
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Intent, I searched the region round, And in low hut the dweller found: Woe is me for my hope's downfall!
someone who climbs mountains
From this reading Fair fortunes to the mountaineer!
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Intent, I searched the region round, And in low hut the dweller found: Woe is me for my hope's downfall!
the essential qualities or characteristics by which something is recognized
From this reading Boon Nature to his poorest shed Has royal pleasure-grounds outspread.'
a nonmetallic bivalent element that is normally a colorless odorless tasteless nonflammable diatomic gas; constitutes 21 percent of the atmosphere by volume; the most abundant element in the earth's crust
From this reading O, wondrous craft of plant and stone By eldest science wrought and shown!
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading O, wondrous craft of plant and stone By eldest science wrought and shown!
fully extended in width
From this reading Boon Nature to his poorest shed Has royal pleasure-grounds outspread.'
put or set (seeds, seedlings, or plants) into the ground
From this reading O, wondrous craft of plant and stone By eldest science wrought and shown!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Boon Nature to his poorest shed Has royal pleasure-grounds outspread.'
superlative of “poor” — deserving or inciting pity
From this reading Boon Nature to his poorest shed Has royal pleasure-grounds outspread.'
the extended spatial location of something
From this reading Intent, I searched the region round, And in low hut the dweller found: Woe is me for my hope's downfall!
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading Intent, I searched the region round, And in low hut the dweller found: Woe is me for my hope's downfall!
of or relating to or indicative of or issued or performed by a king or queen or other monarch
From this reading Boon Nature to his poorest shed Has royal pleasure-grounds outspread.'
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading 'Happy,' I said, 'whose home is here!
a particular branch of scientific knowledge
From this reading O, wondrous craft of plant and stone By eldest science wrought and shown!
past form of “search” — try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of
From this reading Intent, I searched the region round, And in low hut the dweller found: Woe is me for my hope's downfall!
get rid of
From this reading Boon Nature to his poorest shed Has royal pleasure-grounds outspread.'
inflected form of “show” — give an exhibition of to an interested audience
From this reading O, wondrous craft of plant and stone By eldest science wrought and shown!
a lump or mass of hard consolidated mineral matter
From this reading O, wondrous craft of plant and stone By eldest science wrought and shown!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading Fair fortunes to the mountaineer!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Fair fortunes to the mountaineer!
belonging to which person
From this reading 'Happy,' I said, 'whose home is here!
misery resulting from affliction
From this reading Intent, I searched the region round, And in low hut the dweller found: Woe is me for my hope's downfall!
extraordinarily good or great; used especially as intensifiers
From this reading O, wondrous craft of plant and stone By eldest science wrought and shown!
shaped to fit by or as if by altering the contours of a pliable mass (as by work or effort)
From this reading O, wondrous craft of plant and stone By eldest science wrought and shown!
Chapter 2 of Poems Household Edition by Ralph Waldo Emerson holds 287 sentences, grouped into 58 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 287 sentences of Poems Household Edition, unabridged, divided into 58 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Poems Household Edition by Ralph Waldo Emerson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 287 sentences, grouped into 58 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 58 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 58 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 Household Edition by Ralph Waldo Emerson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2204 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12843 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12843, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 183 minutes of reading across 441 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Poems Household Edition section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of Poems Household Edition 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 Household Edition, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
