Chapter 4 of Sword Blades and Poppy Seed is here in full — 176 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of Sword Blades and Poppy Seed is here in full — 176 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
You said so, and laughed At my old-fashioned hose, At the cut of my hair, At the length of my nose. To carve it to pattern I think you propose. Your pardon, young Sir, But my nose and my sword Are proving themselves In quite perfect accord. I grieve to have spotted Your shirt. On my word!
Chapter 4 of Sword Blades and Poppy Seed is here in full — 176 sentences across 36 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/35 · 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.
go together
From this reading “Your pardon, young Sir, But my nose and my sword Are proving themselves In quite perfect accord.”
form by carving
From this reading “To carve it to pattern I think you propose.”
feel grief
From this reading “I grieve to have spotted Your shirt.”
socks and stockings and tights collectively (the British include underwear)
From this reading “You said so, and laughed At my old-fashioned hose, At the cut of my hair, At the length of my nose.”
out of fashion
From this reading “You said so, and laughed At my old-fashioned hose, At the cut of my hair, At the length of my nose.”
a perceptual structure
From this reading “To carve it to pattern I think you propose.”
-ing form of “prove” — be shown or be found to be
From this reading “Your pardon, young Sir, But my nose and my sword Are proving themselves In quite perfect accord.”
having spots or patches (small areas of contrasting color or texture)
From this reading “I grieve to have spotted Your shirt.”
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.
go together
From this reading Your pardon, young Sir, But my nose and my sword Are proving themselves In quite perfect accord.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading You said so, and laughed At my old-fashioned hose, At the cut of my hair, At the length of my nose.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Your pardon, young Sir, But my nose and my sword Are proving themselves In quite perfect accord.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading You said so, and laughed At my old-fashioned hose, At the cut of my hair, At the length of my nose.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Your pardon, young Sir, But my nose and my sword Are proving themselves In quite perfect accord.
form by carving
From this reading To carve it to pattern I think you propose.
separate with or as if with an instrument
From this reading You said so, and laughed At my old-fashioned hose, At the cut of my hair, At the length of my nose.
feel grief
From this reading I grieve to have spotted Your shirt.
a covering for the body (or parts of it) consisting of a dense growth of threadlike structures (as on the human head); helps to prevent heat loss
From this reading You said so, and laughed At my old-fashioned hose, At the cut of my hair, At the length of my nose.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I grieve to have spotted Your shirt.
socks and stockings and tights collectively (the British include underwear)
From this reading You said so, and laughed At my old-fashioned hose, At the cut of my hair, At the length of my nose.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading To carve it to pattern I think you propose.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Your pardon, young Sir, But my nose and my sword Are proving themselves In quite perfect accord.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading To carve it to pattern I think you propose.
past form of “laugh” — produce laughter
From this reading You said so, and laughed At my old-fashioned hose, At the cut of my hair, At the length of my nose.
the linear extent in space from one end to the other; the longest dimension of something that is fixed in place
From this reading You said so, and laughed At my old-fashioned hose, At the cut of my hair, At the length of my nose.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading You said so, and laughed At my old-fashioned hose, At the cut of my hair, At the length of my nose.
the organ of smell and entrance to the respiratory tract; the prominent part of the face of man or other mammals
From this reading You said so, and laughed At my old-fashioned hose, At the cut of my hair, At the length of my nose.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading You said so, and laughed At my old-fashioned hose, At the cut of my hair, At the length of my nose.
out of fashion
From this reading You said so, and laughed At my old-fashioned hose, At the cut of my hair, At the length of my nose.
touching and supported by a surface
From this reading On my word!
accept an excuse for
From this reading Your pardon, young Sir, But my nose and my sword Are proving themselves In quite perfect accord.
a perceptual structure
From this reading To carve it to pattern I think you propose.
being complete of its kind and without defect or blemish
From this reading Your pardon, young Sir, But my nose and my sword Are proving themselves In quite perfect accord.
make a proposal, declare a plan for something
From this reading To carve it to pattern I think you propose.
-ing form of “prove” — be shown or be found to be
From this reading Your pardon, young Sir, But my nose and my sword Are proving themselves In quite perfect accord.
to a degree (not used with a negative)
From this reading Your pardon, young Sir, But my nose and my sword Are proving themselves In quite perfect accord.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading You said so, and laughed At my old-fashioned hose, At the cut of my hair, At the length of my nose.
a garment worn on the upper half of the body
From this reading I grieve to have spotted Your shirt.
term of address for a man
From this reading Your pardon, young Sir, But my nose and my sword Are proving themselves In quite perfect accord.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading You said so, and laughed At my old-fashioned hose, At the cut of my hair, At the length of my nose.
having spots or patches (small areas of contrasting color or texture)
From this reading I grieve to have spotted Your shirt.
a cutting or thrusting weapon that has a long metal blade and a hilt with a hand guard
From this reading Your pardon, young Sir, But my nose and my sword Are proving themselves In quite perfect accord.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading You said so, and laughed At my old-fashioned hose, At the cut of my hair, At the length of my nose.
used when the people doing the action are also its object
From this reading Your pardon, young Sir, But my nose and my sword Are proving themselves In quite perfect accord.
judge or regard; look upon; judge
From this reading To carve it to pattern I think you propose.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading To carve it to pattern I think you propose.
a unit of language that native speakers can identify
From this reading On my word!
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading You said so, and laughed At my old-fashioned hose, At the cut of my hair, At the length of my nose.
(used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
From this reading Your pardon, young Sir, But my nose and my sword Are proving themselves In quite perfect accord.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading Your pardon, young Sir, But my nose and my sword Are proving themselves In quite perfect accord.
Chapter 4 of Sword Blades and Poppy Seed by Amy Lowell holds 176 sentences, grouped into 36 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 176 sentences of Sword Blades and Poppy Seed, unabridged, divided into 36 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of Sword Blades and Poppy Seed by Amy Lowell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 176 sentences, grouped into 36 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 36 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 36 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 Sword Blades and Poppy Seed by Amy Lowell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1947 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1020 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1020, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 162 minutes of reading across 390 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Sword Blades and Poppy Seed section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of Sword Blades and Poppy Seed 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 Sword Blades and Poppy Seed, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
