Chapter 11 of Sword Blades and Poppy Seed is here in full — 161 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XI
Chapter 11 of Sword Blades and Poppy Seed is here in full — 161 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Beautiful Holy Lady, take my shame away from me! Let this fear be only seeming, let it be that I am dreaming. For months I have hoped it was so, now I am afraid I know. Lady, why should this be shame, just because I haven't got his name. He loved me, yes, Lady, he did, and he couldn't keep it hid.
Chapter 11 of Sword Blades and Poppy Seed is here in full — 161 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/32 · 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.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading “For months I have hoped it was so, now I am afraid I know.”
imaginative thoughts indulged in while awake
From this reading “Let this fear be only seeming, let it be that I am dreaming.”
inflected form of “hide” — prevent from being seen or discovered
From this reading “He loved me, yes, Lady, he did, and he couldn't keep it hid.”
a sacred place of pilgrimage
From this reading “Beautiful Holy Lady, take my shame away from me!”
past form of “hope” — expect and wish
From this reading “For months I have hoped it was so, now I am afraid I know.”
plural of “month” — one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading “For months I have hoped it was so, now I am afraid I know.”
appearing as such but not necessarily so
From this reading “Let this fear be only seeming, let it be that I am dreaming.”
a painful emotion resulting from an awareness of inadequacy or guilt
From this reading “Beautiful Holy Lady, take my shame away from me!”
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.
filled with fear or apprehension
From this reading For months I have hoped it was so, now I am afraid I know.
the form of “be” used with “I”
From this reading Let this fear be only seeming, let it be that I am dreaming.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading He loved me, yes, Lady, he did, and he couldn't keep it hid.
from a particular thing or place or position (“forth” is obsolete)
From this reading Beautiful Holy Lady, take my shame away from me!
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Let this fear be only seeming, let it be that I am dreaming.
delighting the senses or exciting intellectual or emotional admiration
From this reading Beautiful Holy Lady, take my shame away from me!
for the reason that
From this reading Lady, why should this be shame, just because I haven't got his name.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He loved me, yes, Lady, he did, and he couldn't keep it hid.
the past form of “do”, used in questions and negatives
From this reading He loved me, yes, Lady, he did, and he couldn't keep it hid.
imaginative thoughts indulged in while awake
From this reading Let this fear be only seeming, let it be that I am dreaming.
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading Let this fear be only seeming, let it be that I am dreaming.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For months I have hoped it was so, now I am afraid I know.
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading Beautiful Holy Lady, take my shame away from me!
inflected form of “get” — come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
From this reading Lady, why should this be shame, just because I haven't got his name.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading For months I have hoped it was so, now I am afraid I know.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Lady, why should this be shame, just because I haven't got his name.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He loved me, yes, Lady, he did, and he couldn't keep it hid.
inflected form of “hide” — prevent from being seen or discovered
From this reading He loved me, yes, Lady, he did, and he couldn't keep it hid.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading Lady, why should this be shame, just because I haven't got his name.
a sacred place of pilgrimage
From this reading Beautiful Holy Lady, take my shame away from me!
past form of “hope” — expect and wish
From this reading For months I have hoped it was so, now I am afraid I know.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading Let this fear be only seeming, let it be that I am dreaming.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Let this fear be only seeming, let it be that I am dreaming.
and nothing more
From this reading Lady, why should this be shame, just because I haven't got his name.
cause to continue in a certain state, position, or activity; e.g., “keep clean”
From this reading He loved me, yes, Lady, he did, and he couldn't keep it hid.
be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information; possess knowledge or information about
From this reading For months I have hoped it was so, now I am afraid I know.
a polite name for any woman
From this reading Beautiful Holy Lady, take my shame away from me!
used to make a suggestion or a command including the speaker
From this reading Let this fear be only seeming, let it be that I am dreaming.
held dear
From this reading He loved me, yes, Lady, he did, and he couldn't keep it hid.
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Beautiful Holy Lady, take my shame away from me!
plural of “month” — one of the twelve divisions of the calendar year
From this reading For months I have hoped it was so, now I am afraid I know.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading Beautiful Holy Lady, take my shame away from me!
assign a specified (usually proper) proper name to
From this reading Lady, why should this be shame, just because I haven't got his name.
in the historical present; at this point in the narration of a series of past events
From this reading For months I have hoped it was so, now I am afraid I know.
and nothing more
From this reading Let this fear be only seeming, let it be that I am dreaming.
appearing as such but not necessarily so
From this reading Let this fear be only seeming, let it be that I am dreaming.
a painful emotion resulting from an awareness of inadequacy or guilt
From this reading Beautiful Holy Lady, take my shame away from me!
used to say what is right, expected, or advisable
From this reading Lady, why should this be shame, just because I haven't got his name.
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading For months I have hoped it was so, now I am afraid I know.
carry out
From this reading Beautiful Holy Lady, take my shame away from me!
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading Let this fear be only seeming, let it be that I am dreaming.
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading Let this fear be only seeming, let it be that I am dreaming.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading For months I have hoped it was so, now I am afraid I know.
the cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase “the whys and wherefores”
From this reading Lady, why should this be shame, just because I haven't got his name.
an affirmative
From this reading He loved me, yes, Lady, he did, and he couldn't keep it hid.
Chapter 11 of Sword Blades and Poppy Seed by Amy Lowell holds 161 sentences, grouped into 33 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the public-domain source, 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 11 holds 161 sentences of Sword Blades and Poppy Seed, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 11 of Sword Blades and Poppy Seed by Amy Lowell exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 161 sentences, grouped into 33 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 33 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 33 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 11 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, a public-domain edition. 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.
