Chapter 4 of The Poison Tree is here in full — 51 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IV
Chapter 4 of The Poison Tree is here in full — 51 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
TARA CHARAN. The Poet Kalidas was supplied with flowers by a _Malini_ (flower-girl). He, being a poor Brahmin, could not pay for the flowers, but in place of that he used to read some of his own verses to the _Malini_. One day there bloomed in the _Malini's_ tank a lily of unparalleled beauty. Plucking it, the _Malini_ offered it to Kalidas.
Chapter 4 of The Poison Tree is here in full — 51 sentences across 11 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/10 · 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.
past form of “bloom” — produce or yield flowers
From this reading “One day there bloomed in the _Malini's_ tank a lily of unparalleled beauty.”
a member of a social and cultural elite (especially a descendant of an old New England family)
From this reading “He, being a poor Brahmin, could not pay for the flowers, but in place of that he used to read some of his own verses to the _Malini_.”
any liliaceous plant of the genus Lilium having showy pendulous flowers
From this reading “One day there bloomed in the _Malini's_ tank a lily of unparalleled beauty.”
-ing form of “pluck” — pull or pull out sharply
From this reading “Plucking it, the _Malini_ offered it to Kalidas.”
inflected form of “supply” — give something useful or necessary to
From this reading “The Poet Kalidas was supplied with flowers by a _Malini_ (flower-girl).”
an enclosed armored military vehicle; has a cannon and moves on caterpillar treads
From this reading “One day there bloomed in the _Malini's_ tank a lily of unparalleled beauty.”
a village in eastern Ireland (northwest of Dublin); seat of Irish kings until 6th century
From this reading “TARA CHARAN.”
radically distinctive and without equal
From this reading “One day there bloomed in the _Malini's_ tank a lily of unparalleled beauty.”
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 The Poet Kalidas was supplied with flowers by a _Malini_ (flower-girl).
the qualities that give pleasure to the senses
From this reading One day there bloomed in the _Malini's_ tank a lily of unparalleled beauty.
the -ing form of “be”
From this reading He, being a poor Brahmin, could not pay for the flowers, but in place of that he used to read some of his own verses to the _Malini_.
past form of “bloom” — produce or yield flowers
From this reading One day there bloomed in the _Malini's_ tank a lily of unparalleled beauty.
a member of a social and cultural elite (especially a descendant of an old New England family)
From this reading He, being a poor Brahmin, could not pay for the flowers, but in place of that he used to read some of his own verses to the _Malini_.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading He, being a poor Brahmin, could not pay for the flowers, but in place of that he used to read some of his own verses to the _Malini_.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading The Poet Kalidas was supplied with flowers by a _Malini_ (flower-girl).
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading TARA CHARAN.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He, being a poor Brahmin, could not pay for the flowers, but in place of that he used to read some of his own verses to the _Malini_.
time for Earth to make a complete rotation on its axis
From this reading One day there bloomed in the _Malini's_ tank a lily of unparalleled beauty.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Poet Kalidas was supplied with flowers by a _Malini_ (flower-girl).
plural of “flower” — a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms
From this reading The Poet Kalidas was supplied with flowers by a _Malini_ (flower-girl).
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading He, being a poor Brahmin, could not pay for the flowers, but in place of that he used to read some of his own verses to the _Malini_.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He, being a poor Brahmin, could not pay for the flowers, but in place of that he used to read some of his own verses to the _Malini_.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading He, being a poor Brahmin, could not pay for the flowers, but in place of that he used to read some of his own verses to the _Malini_.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He, being a poor Brahmin, could not pay for the flowers, but in place of that he used to read some of his own verses to the _Malini_.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading Plucking it, the _Malini_ offered it to Kalidas.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Poet Kalidas was supplied with flowers by a _Malini_ (flower-girl).
any liliaceous plant of the genus Lilium having showy pendulous flowers
From this reading One day there bloomed in the _Malini's_ tank a lily of unparalleled beauty.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The Poet Kalidas was supplied with flowers by a _Malini_ (flower-girl).
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading One day there bloomed in the _Malini's_ tank a lily of unparalleled beauty.
used to make a word, phrase, or sentence negative
From this reading He, being a poor Brahmin, could not pay for the flowers, but in place of that he used to read some of his own verses to the _Malini_.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading He, being a poor Brahmin, could not pay for the flowers, but in place of that he used to read some of his own verses to the _Malini_.
past form of “offer” — make available or accessible, provide or furnish
From this reading Plucking it, the _Malini_ offered it to Kalidas.
used to mean any person in general, including the speaker
From this reading One day there bloomed in the _Malini's_ tank a lily of unparalleled beauty.
have ownership or possession of
From this reading He, being a poor Brahmin, could not pay for the flowers, but in place of that he used to read some of his own verses to the _Malini_.
give money, usually in exchange for goods or services
From this reading He, being a poor Brahmin, could not pay for the flowers, but in place of that he used to read some of his own verses to the _Malini_.
a point located with respect to surface features of some region
From this reading He, being a poor Brahmin, could not pay for the flowers, but in place of that he used to read some of his own verses to the _Malini_.
-ing form of “pluck” — pull or pull out sharply
From this reading Plucking it, the _Malini_ offered it to Kalidas.
a writer of poems (the term is usually reserved for writers of good poetry)
From this reading The Poet Kalidas was supplied with flowers by a _Malini_ (flower-girl).
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading He, being a poor Brahmin, could not pay for the flowers, but in place of that he used to read some of his own verses to the _Malini_.
interpret something that is written or printed
From this reading He, being a poor Brahmin, could not pay for the flowers, but in place of that he used to read some of his own verses to the _Malini_.
(quantifier) used with either mass nouns or plural count nouns to indicate an unspecified number or quantity
From this reading He, being a poor Brahmin, could not pay for the flowers, but in place of that he used to read some of his own verses to the _Malini_.
inflected form of “supply” — give something useful or necessary to
From this reading The Poet Kalidas was supplied with flowers by a _Malini_ (flower-girl).
an enclosed armored military vehicle; has a cannon and moves on caterpillar treads
From this reading One day there bloomed in the _Malini's_ tank a lily of unparalleled beauty.
a village in eastern Ireland (northwest of Dublin); seat of Irish kings until 6th century
From this reading TARA CHARAN.
used to introduce what somebody said, thought, or felt
From this reading He, being a poor Brahmin, could not pay for the flowers, but in place of that he used to read some of his own verses to the _Malini_.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The Poet Kalidas was supplied with flowers by a _Malini_ (flower-girl).
in or at that place or location
From this reading One day there bloomed in the _Malini's_ tank a lily of unparalleled beauty.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He, being a poor Brahmin, could not pay for the flowers, but in place of that he used to read some of his own verses to the _Malini_.
radically distinctive and without equal
From this reading One day there bloomed in the _Malini's_ tank a lily of unparalleled beauty.
employed in accomplishing something
From this reading He, being a poor Brahmin, could not pay for the flowers, but in place of that he used to read some of his own verses to the _Malini_.
plural of “verse” — literature in metrical form
From this reading He, being a poor Brahmin, could not pay for the flowers, but in place of that he used to read some of his own verses to the _Malini_.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading The Poet Kalidas was supplied with flowers by a _Malini_ (flower-girl).
in the company of; together with
From this reading The Poet Kalidas was supplied with flowers by a _Malini_ (flower-girl).
Chapter 4 of The Poison Tree by Bankimacandra Cattopadhyaya holds 51 sentences, grouped into 11 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 51 sentences of The Poison Tree, unabridged, divided into 11 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 4 of The Poison Tree by Bankimacandra Cattopadhyaya exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 51 sentences, grouped into 11 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 11 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 11 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 Poison Tree by Bankimacandra Cattopadhyaya on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3130 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #17455 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #17455, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 260 minutes of reading across 626 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Poison Tree section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 39 chapters of The Poison Tree 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 Poison Tree, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
