Chapter 2 of Poems of Nature, Poems Subjective — Volume II is here in full — 316 sentences across 64 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter II
Chapter 2 of Poems of Nature, Poems Subjective — Volume II is here in full — 316 sentences across 64 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
1858. THE RIVER PATH. No bird-song floated down the hill, The tangled bank below was still; No rustle from the birchen stem, No ripple from the water's hem. The dusk of twilight round us grew, We felt the falling of the dew;
Chapter 2 of Poems of Nature, Poems Subjective — Volume II is here in full — 316 sentences across 64 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/63 · 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.
water that has condensed on a cool surface overnight from water vapor in the air
From this reading “The dusk of twilight round us grew, We felt the falling of the dew;”
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading “The dusk of twilight round us grew, We felt the falling of the dew;”
the edge of a piece of cloth; especially the finished edge that has been doubled under and stitched down
From this reading “No rustle from the birchen stem, No ripple from the water's hem.”
a small wave on the surface of a liquid
From this reading “No rustle from the birchen stem, No ripple from the water's hem.”
make a dry crackling sound
From this reading “No rustle from the birchen stem, No ripple from the water's hem.”
(linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed
From this reading “No rustle from the birchen stem, No ripple from the water's hem.”
in a confused mass
From this reading “No bird-song floated down the hill, The tangled bank below was still;”
possessive form of “water” — binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading “No rustle from the birchen stem, No ripple from the water's hem.”
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 1858.
sloping land (especially the slope beside a body of water)
From this reading No bird-song floated down the hill, The tangled bank below was still;
at or to a lower level than something
From this reading No bird-song floated down the hill, The tangled bank below was still;
consisting of or made of wood of the birch tree
From this reading No rustle from the birchen stem, No ripple from the water's hem.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading No bird-song floated down the hill, The tangled bank below was still;
water that has condensed on a cool surface overnight from water vapor in the air
From this reading The dusk of twilight round us grew, We felt the falling of the dew;
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading No bird-song floated down the hill, The tangled bank below was still;
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading The dusk of twilight round us grew, We felt the falling of the dew;
decreasing in amount or degree
From this reading The dusk of twilight round us grew, We felt the falling of the dew;
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading The dusk of twilight round us grew, We felt the falling of the dew;
past form of “float” — be in motion due to some air or water current
From this reading No bird-song floated down the hill, The tangled bank below was still;
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading No rustle from the birchen stem, No ripple from the water's hem.
inflected form of “grow” — pass into a condition gradually, take on a specific property or attribute; become
From this reading The dusk of twilight round us grew, We felt the falling of the dew;
the edge of a piece of cloth; especially the finished edge that has been doubled under and stitched down
From this reading No rustle from the birchen stem, No ripple from the water's hem.
a local and well-defined elevation of the land
From this reading No bird-song floated down the hill, The tangled bank below was still;
not any; not one
From this reading No bird-song floated down the hill, The tangled bank below was still;
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The dusk of twilight round us grew, We felt the falling of the dew;
a course of conduct
From this reading THE RIVER PATH.
a small wave on the surface of a liquid
From this reading No rustle from the birchen stem, No ripple from the water's hem.
a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)
From this reading THE RIVER PATH.
a charge of ammunition for a single shot
From this reading The dusk of twilight round us grew, We felt the falling of the dew;
make a dry crackling sound
From this reading No rustle from the birchen stem, No ripple from the water's hem.
(linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed
From this reading No rustle from the birchen stem, No ripple from the water's hem.
not in physical motion
From this reading No bird-song floated down the hill, The tangled bank below was still;
in a confused mass
From this reading No bird-song floated down the hill, The tangled bank below was still;
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE RIVER PATH.
the time of day immediately following sunset
From this reading The dusk of twilight round us grew, We felt the falling of the dew;
the speaker and others, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The dusk of twilight round us grew, We felt the falling of the dew;
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading No bird-song floated down the hill, The tangled bank below was still;
possessive form of “water” — binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading No rustle from the birchen stem, No ripple from the water's hem.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading The dusk of twilight round us grew, We felt the falling of the dew;
Chapter 2 of Poems of Nature, Poems Subjective — Volume II by John Greenleaf Whittier holds 316 sentences, grouped into 64 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 316 sentences of Poems of Nature, Poems Subjective — Volume II, unabridged, divided into 64 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of Poems of Nature, Poems Subjective — Volume II by John Greenleaf Whittier exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 316 sentences, grouped into 64 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 64 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 64 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 of Nature, Poems Subjective — Volume II by John Greenleaf Whittier on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 2492 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #9574 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #9574, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 207 minutes of reading across 499 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Poems of Nature, Poems Subjective — Volume II section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 8 chapters of Poems of Nature, Poems Subjective — Volume II 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 of Nature, Poems Subjective — Volume II, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
