Chapter 2 of The Song of the Blood-Red Flower is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter II
Chapter 2 of The Song of the Blood-Red Flower is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
"Shame--ay, 'twas shame I felt for you when you were born, old as I was, and never thinking to have more. Mayhap 'twas a sign you'd bring but shame to me after and all...." The words fell heavy as lead, and brought him to his knees. "Mother!" He could say no more, but hid his face in her lap, and cried like a child.
Chapter 2 of The Song of the Blood-Red Flower is here in full — 405 sentences across 81 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/81 · 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.
brought into existence
From this reading “"Shame--ay, 'twas shame I felt for you when you were born, old as I was, and never thinking to have more.”
of comparatively great physical weight or density
From this reading “The words fell heavy as lead, and brought him to his knees.”
inflected form of “hide” — prevent from being seen or discovered
From this reading “He could say no more, but hid his face in her lap, and cried like a child.”
plural of “knee” — hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading “The words fell heavy as lead, and brought him to his knees.”
lie partly over or alongside of something or of one another
From this reading “He could say no more, but hid his face in her lap, and cried like a child.”
take somebody somewhere
From this reading “The words fell heavy as lead, and brought him to his knees.”
a painful emotion resulting from an awareness of inadequacy or guilt
From this reading “"Shame--ay, 'twas shame I felt for you when you were born, old as I was, and never thinking to have more.”
a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading “Mayhap 'twas a sign you'd bring but shame to me after and all...."”
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 Mayhap 'twas a sign you'd bring but shame to me after and all...."
later than; following
From this reading Mayhap 'twas a sign you'd bring but shame to me after and all...."
(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class
From this reading Mayhap 'twas a sign you'd bring but shame to me after and all...."
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading "Shame--ay, 'twas shame I felt for you when you were born, old as I was, and never thinking to have more.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading "Shame--ay, 'twas shame I felt for you when you were born, old as I was, and never thinking to have more.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Shame--ay, 'twas shame I felt for you when you were born, old as I was, and never thinking to have more.
brought into existence
From this reading "Shame--ay, 'twas shame I felt for you when you were born, old as I was, and never thinking to have more.
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading Mayhap 'twas a sign you'd bring but shame to me after and all...."
inflected form of “bring” — take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading The words fell heavy as lead, and brought him to his knees.
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading Mayhap 'twas a sign you'd bring but shame to me after and all...."
a young person of either sex
From this reading He could say no more, but hid his face in her lap, and cried like a child.
the past of “can”; used for possibility or polite requests
From this reading He could say no more, but hid his face in her lap, and cried like a child.
inflected form of “cry” — utter a sudden loud cry
From this reading He could say no more, but hid his face in her lap, and cried like a child.
the front of the human head from the forehead to the chin and ear to ear
From this reading He could say no more, but hid his face in her lap, and cried like a child.
cause to fall by or as if by delivering a blow
From this reading The words fell heavy as lead, and brought him to his knees.
mat together and make felt-like
From this reading "Shame--ay, 'twas shame I felt for you when you were born, old as I was, and never thinking to have more.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading "Shame--ay, 'twas shame I felt for you when you were born, old as I was, and never thinking to have more.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading "Shame--ay, 'twas shame I felt for you when you were born, old as I was, and never thinking to have more.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He could say no more, but hid his face in her lap, and cried like a child.
of comparatively great physical weight or density
From this reading The words fell heavy as lead, and brought him to his knees.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading He could say no more, but hid his face in her lap, and cried like a child.
inflected form of “hide” — prevent from being seen or discovered
From this reading He could say no more, but hid his face in her lap, and cried like a child.
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading The words fell heavy as lead, and brought him to his knees.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading The words fell heavy as lead, and brought him to his knees.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading "Shame--ay, 'twas shame I felt for you when you were born, old as I was, and never thinking to have more.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading He could say no more, but hid his face in her lap, and cried like a child.
plural of “knee” — hinge joint in the human leg connecting the tibia and fibula with the femur and protected in front by the patella
From this reading The words fell heavy as lead, and brought him to his knees.
lie partly over or alongside of something or of one another
From this reading He could say no more, but hid his face in her lap, and cried like a child.
take somebody somewhere
From this reading The words fell heavy as lead, and brought him to his knees.
prefer or wish to do something
From this reading He could say no more, but hid his face in her lap, and cried like a child.
by chance
From this reading Mayhap 'twas a sign you'd bring but shame to me after and all...."
the person speaking, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Mayhap 'twas a sign you'd bring but shame to me after and all...."
(comparative of “much” used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree
From this reading "Shame--ay, 'twas shame I felt for you when you were born, old as I was, and never thinking to have more.
a woman who has given birth to a child (also used as a term of address to your mother)
From this reading "Mother!"
not ever; at no time in the past or future
From this reading "Shame--ay, 'twas shame I felt for you when you were born, old as I was, and never thinking to have more.
not any; not one
From this reading He could say no more, but hid his face in her lap, and cried like a child.
(used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age
From this reading "Shame--ay, 'twas shame I felt for you when you were born, old as I was, and never thinking to have more.
express in words
From this reading He could say no more, but hid his face in her lap, and cried like a child.
a painful emotion resulting from an awareness of inadequacy or guilt
From this reading "Shame--ay, 'twas shame I felt for you when you were born, old as I was, and never thinking to have more.
a perceptible indication of something not immediately apparent (as a visible clue that something has happened)
From this reading Mayhap 'twas a sign you'd bring but shame to me after and all...."
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The words fell heavy as lead, and brought him to his knees.
the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
From this reading "Shame--ay, 'twas shame I felt for you when you were born, old as I was, and never thinking to have more.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading "Shame--ay, 'twas shame I felt for you when you were born, old as I was, and never thinking to have more.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading "Shame--ay, 'twas shame I felt for you when you were born, old as I was, and never thinking to have more.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading "Shame--ay, 'twas shame I felt for you when you were born, old as I was, and never thinking to have more.
the past form of “be” used with you, we, they, or a plural noun
From this reading "Shame--ay, 'twas shame I felt for you when you were born, old as I was, and never thinking to have more.
at the time that
From this reading "Shame--ay, 'twas shame I felt for you when you were born, old as I was, and never thinking to have more.
the words that are spoken
From this reading The words fell heavy as lead, and brought him to his knees.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading "Shame--ay, 'twas shame I felt for you when you were born, old as I was, and never thinking to have more.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Mayhap 'twas a sign you'd bring but shame to me after and all...."
Chapter 2 of The Song of the Blood-Red Flower by Johannes Linnankoski holds 405 sentences, grouped into 81 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 2 holds 405 sentences of The Song of the Blood-Red Flower, unabridged, divided into 81 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 2 of The Song of the Blood-Red Flower by Johannes Linnankoski exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 405 sentences, grouped into 81 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 81 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 81 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 2 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 Song of the Blood-Red Flower by Johannes Linnankoski on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 5302 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #12935 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #12935, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 441 minutes of reading across 1061 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Song of the Blood-Red Flower section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 13 chapters of The Song of the Blood-Red Flower 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 Song of the Blood-Red Flower, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
