Chapter 4 of The Book of American Negro Poetry is here in full — 334 sentences across 67 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Book of American Negro Poetry is here in full — 334 sentences across 67 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"O Miss Julie, Who-ah! Love me truly, Who-ah! Who-ah!" Hyah 'im scol' 'is mule so, W'en 'e try to mek 'im go: "Gee! Whoa!
Chapter 4 of The Book of American Negro Poetry is here in full — 334 sentences across 67 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/66 · 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.
a unit of force equal to the force exerted by gravity; used to indicate the force to which a body is subjected when it is accelerated
From this reading “Hyah 'im scol' 'is mule so, W'en 'e try to mek 'im go: "Gee!”
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading “Love me truly, Who-ah!”
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading “"O Miss Julie, Who-ah!”
hybrid offspring of a male donkey and a female horse; usually sterile
From this reading “Hyah 'im scol' 'is mule so, W'en 'e try to mek 'im go: "Gee!”
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading “Love me truly, Who-ah!”
make an effort or attempt
From this reading “Hyah 'im scol' 'is mule so, W'en 'e try to mek 'im go: "Gee!”
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.
a fat-soluble vitamin that is essential for normal reproduction; an important antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals in the body
From this reading Hyah 'im scol' 'is mule so, W'en 'e try to mek 'im go: "Gee!
a unit of force equal to the force exerted by gravity; used to indicate the force to which a body is subjected when it is accelerated
From this reading Hyah 'im scol' 'is mule so, W'en 'e try to mek 'im go: "Gee!
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading Hyah 'im scol' 'is mule so, W'en 'e try to mek 'im go: "Gee!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hyah 'im scol' 'is mule so, W'en 'e try to mek 'im go: "Gee!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hyah 'im scol' 'is mule so, W'en 'e try to mek 'im go: "Gee!
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading Hyah 'im scol' 'is mule so, W'en 'e try to mek 'im go: "Gee!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "O Miss Julie, Who-ah!
a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
From this reading Love me truly, Who-ah!
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Love me truly, Who-ah!
a terrorist organization formed in the 1960s by children of Iranian merchants
From this reading Hyah 'im scol' 'is mule so, W'en 'e try to mek 'im go: "Gee!
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading "O Miss Julie, Who-ah!
hybrid offspring of a male donkey and a female horse; usually sterile
From this reading Hyah 'im scol' 'is mule so, W'en 'e try to mek 'im go: "Gee!
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 Miss Julie, Who-ah!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hyah 'im scol' 'is mule so, W'en 'e try to mek 'im go: "Gee!
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading Hyah 'im scol' 'is mule so, W'en 'e try to mek 'im go: "Gee!
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Hyah 'im scol' 'is mule so, W'en 'e try to mek 'im go: "Gee!
in accordance with truth or fact or reality
From this reading Love me truly, Who-ah!
make an effort or attempt
From this reading Hyah 'im scol' 'is mule so, W'en 'e try to mek 'im go: "Gee!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Hyah 'im scol' 'is mule so, W'en 'e try to mek 'im go: "Gee!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "O Miss Julie, Who-ah!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Whoa!
Chapter 4 of The Book of American Negro Poetry by James Weldon [Editor] Johnson holds 334 sentences, grouped into 67 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 334 sentences of The Book of American Negro Poetry, unabridged, divided into 67 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Book of American Negro Poetry by James Weldon [Editor] Johnson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 334 sentences, grouped into 67 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 67 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 67 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 The Book of American Negro Poetry by James Weldon [Editor] Johnson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1729 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #11986 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #11986, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 144 minutes of reading across 346 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Book of American Negro Poetry section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 5 chapters of The Book of American Negro Poetry 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 The Book of American Negro Poetry, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
