Chapter 4 of The Flower of the Mind is here in full — 20 sentences across 4 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Flower of the Mind is here in full — 20 sentences across 4 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
‘I fear thee, ancient Mariner! I fear thy skinny hand! And thou art long, and lank, and brown, As is the ribbed sea-sand. ‘I fear thee and thy glittering eye, And thy skinny hand so brown.’— Fear not, fear not, thou Wedding-Guest! This body dropt not down.
Chapter 4 of The Flower of the Mind is here in full — 20 sentences across 4 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/4 · 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.
Belonging to the very distant past and no longer in existence or deeply revered.
From this reading “‘I fear thee, ancient Mariner!”
an old form of “are”, used with “thou”
From this reading “And thou art long, and lank, and brown, As is the ribbed sea-sand.”
an orange of low brightness and saturation
From this reading “And thou art long, and lank, and brown, As is the ribbed sea-sand.”
having brief brilliant points or flashes of light
From this reading “‘I fear thee and thy glittering eye, And thy skinny hand so brown.’— Fear not, fear not, thou Wedding-Guest!”
long and thin and often limp
From this reading “And thou art long, and lank, and brown, As is the ribbed sea-sand.”
a man who serves as a sailor
From this reading “‘I fear thee, ancient Mariner!”
furnished or strengthened with ribs
From this reading “And thou art long, and lank, and brown, As is the ribbed sea-sand.”
being very thin
From this reading “I fear thy skinny hand!”
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.
Belonging to the very distant past and no longer in existence or deeply revered.
From this reading ‘I fear thee, ancient Mariner!
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading And thou art long, and lank, and brown, As is the ribbed sea-sand.
an old form of “are”, used with “thou”
From this reading And thou art long, and lank, and brown, As is the ribbed sea-sand.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading And thou art long, and lank, and brown, As is the ribbed sea-sand.
the entire physical structure of an organism (an animal, plant, or human being)
From this reading This body dropt not down.
an orange of low brightness and saturation
From this reading And thou art long, and lank, and brown, As is the ribbed sea-sand.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading This body dropt not down.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading This body dropt not down.
the organ of sight
From this reading ‘I fear thee and thy glittering eye, And thy skinny hand so brown.’— Fear not, fear not, thou Wedding-Guest!
be afraid or feel anxious or apprehensive about a possible or probable situation or event
From this reading ‘I fear thee, ancient Mariner!
having brief brilliant points or flashes of light
From this reading ‘I fear thee and thy glittering eye, And thy skinny hand so brown.’— Fear not, fear not, thou Wedding-Guest!
the (prehensile) extremity of the superior limb
From this reading I fear thy skinny hand!
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading ‘I fear thee, ancient Mariner!
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading And thou art long, and lank, and brown, As is the ribbed sea-sand.
long and thin and often limp
From this reading And thou art long, and lank, and brown, As is the ribbed sea-sand.
primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified
From this reading And thou art long, and lank, and brown, As is the ribbed sea-sand.
a man who serves as a sailor
From this reading ‘I fear thee, ancient Mariner!
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading ‘I fear thee and thy glittering eye, And thy skinny hand so brown.’— Fear not, fear not, thou Wedding-Guest!
furnished or strengthened with ribs
From this reading And thou art long, and lank, and brown, As is the ribbed sea-sand.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading And thou art long, and lank, and brown, As is the ribbed sea-sand.
being very thin
From this reading I fear thy skinny hand!
for that reason; with the result that
From this reading ‘I fear thee and thy glittering eye, And thy skinny hand so brown.’— Fear not, fear not, thou Wedding-Guest!
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading And thou art long, and lank, and brown, As is the ribbed sea-sand.
an old word for “you”, as the object, speaking to one person
From this reading ‘I fear thee, ancient Mariner!
used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned
From this reading This body dropt not down.
an old word for “you”, as the subject, speaking to one person
From this reading And thou art long, and lank, and brown, As is the ribbed sea-sand.
an old word for “your”, speaking to one person
From this reading I fear thy skinny hand!
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading ‘I fear thee and thy glittering eye, And thy skinny hand so brown.’— Fear not, fear not, thou Wedding-Guest!
Chapter 4 of The Flower of the Mind by Alice Meynell holds 20 sentences, grouped into 4 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 20 sentences of The Flower of the Mind, unabridged, divided into 4 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Flower of the Mind by Alice Meynell exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 20 sentences, grouped into 4 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 4 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 4 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 Flower of the Mind by Alice Meynell on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 870 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #2080 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #2080, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 72 minutes of reading across 174 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Flower of the Mind section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of The Flower of the Mind 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 Flower of the Mind, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
