Chapter 1 of The Mother's Dream, and Other Poems is here in full — 349 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
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Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Mother's Dream, and Other Poems is here in full — 349 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE MOTHER'S DREAM, AND OTHER POEMS. BY HANNAH F. GOULD. BOSTON: CROSBY, NICHOLS, & CO. 1853. Half our sorrows, half our troubles, Making head and heart to ache, Are the fruit of blowing bubbles, Bright to view, but quick to break.
Chapter 1 of The Mother's Dream, and Other Poems is here in full — 349 sentences across 70 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/69 · 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.
feel physical pain
From this reading “Half our sorrows, half our troubles, Making head and heart to ache, Are the fruit of blowing bubbles, Bright to view, but quick to break.”
processing that involves blowing a gas
From this reading “Half our sorrows, half our troubles, Making head and heart to ache, Are the fruit of blowing bubbles, Bright to view, but quick to break.”
plural of “bubble” — a hollow globule of gas (e.g., air or carbon dioxide)
From this reading “Half our sorrows, half our troubles, Making head and heart to ache, Are the fruit of blowing bubbles, Bright to view, but quick to break.”
United States singer and film actor (1903-1977)
From this reading “BOSTON: CROSBY, NICHOLS, & CO.”
United States paleontologist and popularizer of science (1941-2002)
From this reading “BY HANNAH F. GOULD.”
plural of “poem” — a composition written in metrical feet forming rhythmical lines
From this reading “THE MOTHER'S DREAM, AND OTHER POEMS.”
plural of “sorrow” — an emotion of great sadness associated with loss or bereavement
From this reading “Half our sorrows, half our troubles, Making head and heart to ache, Are the fruit of blowing bubbles, Bright to view, but quick to break.”
plural of “trouble” — a source of difficulty
From this reading “Half our sorrows, half our troubles, Making head and heart to ache, Are the fruit of blowing bubbles, Bright to view, but quick to break.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
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.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading 1853.
feel physical pain
From this reading Half our sorrows, half our troubles, Making head and heart to ache, Are the fruit of blowing bubbles, Bright to view, but quick to break.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading THE MOTHER'S DREAM, AND OTHER POEMS.
the form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading Half our sorrows, half our troubles, Making head and heart to ache, Are the fruit of blowing bubbles, Bright to view, but quick to break.
processing that involves blowing a gas
From this reading Half our sorrows, half our troubles, Making head and heart to ache, Are the fruit of blowing bubbles, Bright to view, but quick to break.
state capital and largest city of Massachusetts; a major center for banking and financial services
From this reading BOSTON: CROSBY, NICHOLS, & CO.
terminate
From this reading Half our sorrows, half our troubles, Making head and heart to ache, Are the fruit of blowing bubbles, Bright to view, but quick to break.
emitting or reflecting light readily or in large amounts
From this reading Half our sorrows, half our troubles, Making head and heart to ache, Are the fruit of blowing bubbles, Bright to view, but quick to break.
plural of “bubble” — a hollow globule of gas (e.g., air or carbon dioxide)
From this reading Half our sorrows, half our troubles, Making head and heart to ache, Are the fruit of blowing bubbles, Bright to view, but quick to break.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Half our sorrows, half our troubles, Making head and heart to ache, Are the fruit of blowing bubbles, Bright to view, but quick to break.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading BY HANNAH F. GOULD.
an odorless very poisonous gas that is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon
From this reading BOSTON: CROSBY, NICHOLS, & CO.
United States singer and film actor (1903-1977)
From this reading BOSTON: CROSBY, NICHOLS, & CO.
A series of thoughts, images, or emotions during sleep.
From this reading THE MOTHER'S DREAM, AND OTHER POEMS.
a degree on the Fahrenheit scale of temperature
From this reading BY HANNAH F. GOULD.
the ripened reproductive body of a seed plant
From this reading Half our sorrows, half our troubles, Making head and heart to ache, Are the fruit of blowing bubbles, Bright to view, but quick to break.
United States paleontologist and popularizer of science (1941-2002)
From this reading BY HANNAH F. GOULD.
consisting of one of two equivalent parts in value or quantity
From this reading Half our sorrows, half our troubles, Making head and heart to ache, Are the fruit of blowing bubbles, Bright to view, but quick to break.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BY HANNAH F. GOULD.
the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains
From this reading Half our sorrows, half our troubles, Making head and heart to ache, Are the fruit of blowing bubbles, Bright to view, but quick to break.
the locus of feelings and intuitions
From this reading Half our sorrows, half our troubles, Making head and heart to ache, Are the fruit of blowing bubbles, Bright to view, but quick to break.
the act that results in something coming to be
From this reading Half our sorrows, half our troubles, Making head and heart to ache, Are the fruit of blowing bubbles, Bright to view, but quick to break.
possessive form of “mother” — a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading THE MOTHER'S DREAM, AND OTHER POEMS.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading BOSTON: CROSBY, NICHOLS, & CO.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading Half our sorrows, half our troubles, Making head and heart to ache, Are the fruit of blowing bubbles, Bright to view, but quick to break.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading THE MOTHER'S DREAM, AND OTHER POEMS.
belonging to the speaker and others
From this reading Half our sorrows, half our troubles, Making head and heart to ache, Are the fruit of blowing bubbles, Bright to view, but quick to break.
plural of “poem” — a composition written in metrical feet forming rhythmical lines
From this reading THE MOTHER'S DREAM, AND OTHER POEMS.
accomplished rapidly and without delay
From this reading Half our sorrows, half our troubles, Making head and heart to ache, Are the fruit of blowing bubbles, Bright to view, but quick to break.
plural of “sorrow” — an emotion of great sadness associated with loss or bereavement
From this reading Half our sorrows, half our troubles, Making head and heart to ache, Are the fruit of blowing bubbles, Bright to view, but quick to break.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE MOTHER'S DREAM, AND OTHER POEMS.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading Half our sorrows, half our troubles, Making head and heart to ache, Are the fruit of blowing bubbles, Bright to view, but quick to break.
plural of “trouble” — a source of difficulty
From this reading Half our sorrows, half our troubles, Making head and heart to ache, Are the fruit of blowing bubbles, Bright to view, but quick to break.
a way of regarding situations or topics etc.
From this reading Half our sorrows, half our troubles, Making head and heart to ache, Are the fruit of blowing bubbles, Bright to view, but quick to break.
Chapter 1 of The Mother's Dream, and Other Poems by Hannah Flagg Gould holds 349 sentences, grouped into 70 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 1 holds 349 sentences of The Mother's Dream, and Other Poems, unabridged, divided into 70 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Mother's Dream, and Other Poems by Hannah Flagg Gould exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 349 sentences, grouped into 70 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 70 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 70 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 1 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 Mother's Dream, and Other Poems by Hannah Flagg Gould on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1379 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44444 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #44444, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 114 minutes of reading across 276 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Mother's Dream, and Other Poems section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 4 chapters of The Mother's Dream, 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 Mother's Dream, and Other Poems, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
