Chapter 4 of The Congo, and Other Poems is here in full — 162 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Congo, and Other Poems is here in full — 162 sentences across 33 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
# The minstrel replies. # "First race, first men from anywhere To face you, eye to eye. For _that_ do you curse Avalon And raise a hue and cry? These toilers cannot kiss your hand, Or fawn with hearts bowed down. Be glad for them, and Avalon, And Arthur's ghostly crown.
Chapter 4 of The Congo, and Other Poems is here in full — 162 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.
at or in or to any place
From this reading “# "First race, first men from anywhere To face you, eye to eye.”
possessive form of “arthur” — elected vice president and became 21st President of the United States when Garfield was assassinated (1830-1886)
From this reading “Be glad for them, and Avalon, And Arthur's ghostly crown.”
profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger
From this reading “For _that_ do you curse Avalon And raise a hue and cry?”
a color or pigment varying around a light grey-brown color
From this reading “These toilers cannot kiss your hand, Or fawn with hearts bowed down.”
resembling or characteristic of a phantom
From this reading “Be glad for them, and Avalon, And Arthur's ghostly crown.”
the quality of a color as determined by its dominant wavelength
From this reading “For _that_ do you curse Avalon And raise a hue and cry?”
a singer of folk songs
From this reading “# The minstrel replies.”
plural of “reply” — a statement (either spoken or written) that is made to reply to a question or request or criticism or accusation
From this reading “# The minstrel replies.”
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 before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading For _that_ do you curse Avalon And raise a hue and cry?
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading For _that_ do you curse Avalon And raise a hue and cry?
at or in or to any place
From this reading # "First race, first men from anywhere To face you, eye to eye.
possessive form of “arthur” — elected vice president and became 21st President of the United States when Garfield was assassinated (1830-1886)
From this reading Be glad for them, and Avalon, And Arthur's ghostly crown.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading For _that_ do you curse Avalon And raise a hue and cry?
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading Be glad for them, and Avalon, And Arthur's ghostly crown.
of a stringed instrument; sounded by stroking with a bow
From this reading These toilers cannot kiss your hand, Or fawn with hearts bowed down.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading These toilers cannot kiss your hand, Or fawn with hearts bowed down.
the Crown (or the reigning monarch) as the symbol of the power and authority of a monarchy
From this reading Be glad for them, and Avalon, And Arthur's ghostly crown.
utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading For _that_ do you curse Avalon And raise a hue and cry?
profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger
From this reading For _that_ do you curse Avalon And raise a hue and cry?
used to form questions and negatives, and to give emphasis
From this reading For _that_ do you curse Avalon And raise a hue and cry?
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading These toilers cannot kiss your hand, Or fawn with hearts bowed down.
the organ of sight
From this reading # "First race, first men from anywhere To face you, eye to eye.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading # "First race, first men from anywhere To face you, eye to eye.
a color or pigment varying around a light grey-brown color
From this reading These toilers cannot kiss your hand, Or fawn with hearts bowed down.
preceding all others in time or space or degree
From this reading # "First race, first men from anywhere To face you, eye to eye.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading For _that_ do you curse Avalon And raise a hue and cry?
showing where something starts, or who sent it
From this reading # "First race, first men from anywhere To face you, eye to eye.
resembling or characteristic of a phantom
From this reading Be glad for them, and Avalon, And Arthur's ghostly crown.
showing or causing joy and pleasure; especially made happy
From this reading Be glad for them, and Avalon, And Arthur's ghostly crown.
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading These toilers cannot kiss your hand, Or fawn with hearts bowed down.
a form of whist in which players avoid winning tricks containing hearts or the queen of spades
From this reading These toilers cannot kiss your hand, Or fawn with hearts bowed down.
the quality of a color as determined by its dominant wavelength
From this reading For _that_ do you curse Avalon And raise a hue and cry?
the act of caressing with the lips (or an instance thereof)
From this reading These toilers cannot kiss your hand, Or fawn with hearts bowed down.
the force of workers available
From this reading # "First race, first men from anywhere To face you, eye to eye.
a singer of folk songs
From this reading # The minstrel replies.
used to join alternatives or possibilities
From this reading These toilers cannot kiss your hand, Or fawn with hearts bowed down.
any competition
From this reading # "First race, first men from anywhere To face you, eye to eye.
raise the level or amount of something
From this reading For _that_ do you curse Avalon And raise a hue and cry?
plural of “reply” — a statement (either spoken or written) that is made to reply to a question or request or criticism or accusation
From this reading # The minstrel replies.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading For _that_ do you curse Avalon And raise a hue and cry?
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading # The minstrel replies.
the people or things already mentioned, as the object
From this reading Be glad for them, and Avalon, And Arthur's ghostly crown.
the plural of “this”: the people or things near, or just mentioned
From this reading These toilers cannot kiss your hand, Or fawn with hearts bowed down.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading # "First race, first men from anywhere To face you, eye to eye.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading These toilers cannot kiss your hand, Or fawn with hearts bowed down.
in the company of; together with
From this reading These toilers cannot kiss your hand, Or fawn with hearts bowed down.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading # "First race, first men from anywhere To face you, eye to eye.
belonging to the person or people being spoken to
From this reading These toilers cannot kiss your hand, Or fawn with hearts bowed down.
Chapter 4 of The Congo, and Other Poems by Vachel Lindsay holds 162 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 4 holds 162 sentences of The Congo, and Other Poems, unabridged, divided into 33 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Congo, and Other Poems by Vachel Lindsay exactly as it stands in the public-domain source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 162 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 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 Congo, and Other Poems by Vachel Lindsay on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1123 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #1021 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #1021, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 93 minutes of reading across 225 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Congo, and Other Poems section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of The Congo, and Other Poems 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 Congo, and Other Poems, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
