About Carmen
Carmen by Prosper Mérimée is a medium read in English (romance, classics). It takes about 2 h at 200 words per minute, a comfortable pace for language learners. The book is in the public domain and comes from Project Gutenberg.
When you open it, the text is downloaded once and saved in your browser, so you can keep reading offline and your progress stays on your device.
Main characters in Carmen
An archaeologist travelling in Andalusia meets a bandit, Don José, and later the Gypsy woman Carmen. In his cell, awaiting execution, Don José tells how his love for Carmen led him from soldier to smuggler to murderer.
Carmen
The independent, defiant Gypsy woman who will not be possessed by anyone.
Don José
A Basque soldier who loses everything for Carmen.
The narrator
The French archaeologist who meets both and recounts the story.
Lucas
The picador (bullfighter) whom Carmen falls in love with.
García the One-Eyed
Carmen's violent husband, a bandit.
Questions about Carmen
- How many words are in Carmen?
- Carmen by Prosper Mérimée has about 24,000 words. At 200 words per minute, a comfortable pace for language learners, it takes about 2 h to read.
- Who are the main characters in Carmen?
- The main characters are Carmen, Don José, The narrator, Lucas and García the One-Eyed.
- Can I read Carmen for free?
- Yes. Carmen is in the public domain, and you can read it free in English on PolyglotReader with inline translation, word lookup and audio.
Carmen is more than a book: it is a language-learning tool
Most people learn a language from lessons and word lists that have nothing to do with what they enjoy. Here you learn from a real story. You read Carmen in English, and every step that helps you understand and remember it is one tap away. The words you meet in the book are the words you practise.
- Read
- Look up
- Listen
- Save
- Practise
- Inline translation
Stay in the original text and check the meaning only when you need to.
- Word lookup
A dictionary entry gives you ten meanings. A contextual lookup gives you the one that fits.
- Audio narration
Hear how the text sounds while your eyes follow the words.
- B1 simplification
Read the book you want now, at a level you can follow, and move up to the original later.
- Flashcards
Practise the words you actually met, in the books you actually chose.
- Word games
Test yourself on the exact sentences you just read.
- My Dictionary
One searchable list of every word you chose to keep, with the meaning you picked.
- Daily goal
A small target you meet every day beats a long session you never get round to.
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Play word games with Carmen
Reading shows you the words, games make you use them. Press Play in the reading toolbar and PolyglotReader builds short games from the English page you are on, so you practise the vocabulary of Carmen itself.
Fill the blanks
One word is hidden in a sentence from the page. Pick the right one from four choices.
Type the word
Type the hidden word. The first letter is shown, and Say it lets you hear the word.
Unscramble
The words of a sentence are shuffled. Tap them back into the right order.
Games are made in your browser from the book text, with points, streaks and stars. How the word games work