Class Notes

Class: 11 Topic: The Voice of Rain

Subject: English

Central Idea

The poem The Voice of the Rain’ by Walt Whitman signifies

the eternal role that the rain plays in nurturing, quenching and
purifying the various elements of Earth. The rain returns the
favour to its place of origin from where it rises unseen from
the depths of the water and from the land. The rain itself is
explaining to the reader about its origin, work and its cyclic
movement. A comparison has also been drawn between rain
and music as both of them make the world more lively and
return to their place of origin after fulfilling their purpose
EXTRACTS
1. Read the extract carefully and answer the questions that follow:

And who art thou? Said I to the soft falling shower,

Which, strange to tell, gave me an answer, as here Translated:
I am the poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain,

Q1. Who does ‘I’ refer to in the first and third lines of this extract?

Ans. ‘I’ in the first line is referred to as the poet asking a question.
‘I’ in the third line is the raindrop.

Q2. What do you understand by the phrase ‘Strange to tell’?

Ans. Strange to tell’ means that it is an unusual and extraordinary
answer given by the raindrops to the poet who asked who ‘it’ was.

Q3. How has the answer been conveyed to us and what is it?

Ans. The poet has personified the raindrop and it is answering the
poet’s question by saying that it is the ‘poem of the Earth’.

2. Read the extract carefully and answer the questions that

follow:

Eternal I rise impalpable out of the land and the bottomless sea,
Upwards to heaven, whence, vaguely form’d, altogether
Changed, and yet the
Same.

Q1. From where does the rain originate?

Ans. The rain originates from the land and the bottomless (deep
sea) in the form of water vapour.

Q2. How does it originate?

Ans. With the heat of the sun, the water evaporates from the sea
or land and forms water- vapour which rises up in the
atmosphere.

Q3. What happens to the rain in the sky?

Ans. In the sky, the raindrops form the rain. Their form has
changed but the essence has remained the same.
3. Read the extract carefully and answer the questions that
follow:

I descend to leave the droughts, Atomies, dust- layers of the

globe,
And all that in them without me were seeds only, latent, unborn;

Q1. With what purpose does the rain descend from the sky?

Ans. The raindrops fall from the sky in order to give life to the
dry areas and wash the famine-stricken lands.

Q2. How does the rain help the seeds?

Ans. The rain helps the seeds to germinate and grow into a new
life.

Q3. What is latent and unborn and why?

Ans. The seeds are dormant and unborn because of lack of

water which is needed for them to germinate and form a new
plant.

4. Read the extract carefully and answer the questions that

follow:

And forever, by day and night, I give back life to my own origin,
And make pure and beautify it.

Q1. In what manner does the rain help its own origin?
Ans. The rain helps its own origin by watering the land and
quenching the thirst of drought-stricken areas.

Q2. Why has the poet given the life cycle of the song?

Ans. The poet has compared the life cycle of the raindrops to
that of the song saying that they both return to their origin after
fulfilling their tasks.

Q3. What does’ I ‘do for its origin?

Ans. It makes the earth pure and beautify it.

Q4. Which words in the given lines mean: (a) forever (b) source.

Ans. (a) Forever = eternal, (b) source = origin

5. Read the extract carefully and answer the questions that

follow:

(For song, issuing from its birth-place, after fulfillment,

wandering
Reck’d or unreck’d, duly with love returns.)

Q1. Why are the last lines put within brackets?

Ans. The last lines are put in brackets because they do not form
the voice of the rain or the poet. They only certain a general
observation by the poet about the course of a song.

Q2. ‘Reck’d or unreck’d’, what does this phrase mean?

Ans. Reck’d or unreck’d means whether cared for or not cared
for.

Q3. Where does the song return?

Ans. The song returns to the place of its origin i.e. comes back
to the poet

Question 1:
There are two voices in the poem. Who do they belong to?
Which lines indicate this?

One of them belongs to the poet and the other to the rain. These
are indicated in
lines 1-2 and 3-9 respectively.

Question 2:
What does the phrase ‘strange to tell’ mean?

The phrase refers to a strange phenomenon—the rain gives an

answer to the poet’s query. It is surprising to report the answer.

Question 3:
There is a parallel drawn between r« in and music. Which words
indicate this? Explain the similarity between the two.

The following words/phrases indicate the parallel between rain

and music: ‘Poem of Earth’, ‘eternal I rise impalpable out of land
and the bottomless sea’ ‘For song duly with love returns.’
Both originate from a source, rise up, reach fulfilment, wander
about whether cared about or not and finally return to source of
origin with love.
Question 4:
How is the cyclic movement of rein brought out in the poem?

Rain water rises untouched out of the land and deep sea and
gathers in the sky, where it changes form, and then comes down
to earth to bathe the dry tiny particles of dust layers and all that
lies buried under it. Then it returns to the place of its origin.
Science textbooks indicate that water vapours from the rivers
and ocean rise up to the sky due to the intense heat. They
assume the form of clouds and after condensation drop down as
rain. The water flows back through rivers to the seas and
oceans.

Question 5:
Why are the last two lines put within brackets?

The last two lines contain a comment about music and its cycle.
These differ from the first nine lines. The first two lines are the
voice of the poet whereas lines three to nine are spoken by rain.
The cycle of song is put within brackets to mark the difference
in speakers but similarity in content.

Question 6:
List the pairs of opposites found in the poem.

rise-descend; day-night; reck’d-unreck’d

Question 1:
The poem begins in a conversational tone. Who are the two
participants? What is the advantage of this method?
The two participants are the poet and the rain. The poet makes
the rain relate its own story. This direct presentation makes the
narration more authentic, interesting and captivating.

Question 2:
“Behind the apparent simplicity, the poem hides a deep
meaning.” What exactly does the poem convey to the reader?

The poem is not merely a description of life-cycle of rain. It has

deeper meaning. Rain is a poem or thing of beauty of Earth and
so is song or music. The comparison between rain and music
.and their function: making the Earth pure and beautiful conveys
the eternal role of natural phenomenon and art in real life.

Question 3:
How does the rain justify its claim: “I am the Poem of Earth’”?

The rain narrates the journey of its life—from birth to return to

origin in mythical terms. The facts are scientific but the phrases
that convey them are metaphoric and literary. The whole journey
has a beauty and charm associated with a poem.

Question 1.
Why does the poet call the poem a translation?
Answer:
The poet asks the rain a question. The rain in its heavenly voice,
answers the question. The poet has to translate that answer in
simple English.

Question 2.
How are the clouds formed?
Answer:
Clouds are born out of the union of the sky and the ocean. The
hot sun takes the water vapours upward. The clouds dissolve
into water again in rainy season.

Question 3.
How does the rain describe herself?
Answer:
The soft falling shower calls itself the Poem of Earth. It is
immortal. It may change! in shape but it remains the same water.

Question 4.
‘Altogether change, and yet the same’. Say, what it means.
Answer:
The sea. water in summer turns into water vapours which rise to
the sky in the form of clouds. The clouds come down again in
the form of rain water. So the change is apparent, but not real.

Question 5.
How does ‘it’ descend ? What does it do ?
Answer:
The clouds descend or come down to the earth again here and
there. It takes on funny and terrifying shape. When it comes
down, it waters the dry fields and forests. It washes away dust
particles and give a new life to seeds.

Question 6.
I give back life to my own origin. How does the rain do it ?
Answer:
The rain originates from the land and sea. It rises to the sky only
to come down again. It enables the seeds to sprout and grow
water is the soul of nature. Without rain, the earth would become
a deadly desert.
Question 7.
What is the ‘fulfilment’ of the rain ?
Answer:
The fulfilment of the rain is in its service to nature. It gives a new
life to seeds, to grass and to earth.

Question 8.
Sum up the life story of the rain or the cloud in about 80 words.
Answer:
The poet asks the gentle shower about its origin and function.
The clouds carry water in the form of vapours. They draw this
water from the land and the sea. They change in form only. They
come to earth’s rescue when its becomes dry and thirsty. They
wash away the dust particles in the air as well as earthly objects.
The seeds wake up and come alive. The cloud returns to the
earth what it takes out of it. This cycle gives on and on eternally.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1:
How is the cyclic movement of rain brought out in the poem
“The Voice of the Rain”? What points of similarity do you notice
between rain and music?

The rain calls itself the poem of earth. It is everlasting and

perpetual. It is something that cannot be touched. It originates
from the land and the deep sea. Then it rises upward to heaven
where it changes its form into a cloud, yet remains the same in
quality. From the sky it pours down on earth to wash the dry tiny
particles and dust layers of the earth. The rain helps the unborn
seeds to sprout. These seeds lay hidden and unborn under the
layers of earth. Rain gives back life to its origin making it pure
and beautiful. Rain and music are both beautiful and life-giving.
They are eternal sources of joy and go on perpetually. They
inspire even dormant objects and persons with life and activity
Literary Devices

Personification – the poet used a non-living thing as a living

thing in the poet
I am the Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain
Metaphor – an indirect comparison between the qualities of
different things
I am the Poem of Earth – rain is being compared to a poem
Hyperbole – exaggerated statements
Bottomless sea
Imagery – visual description of something
Soft-falling shower

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