THE VOICE OF THE RAIN II NCERT CLASS 11 II
THE VOICE OF THE RAIN
ABOUT THE POET : WALT WHITMAN:
Walt Whitman was an American poet. He was born on 31 May, 1819. He was an essayist, poet, journalist. Whitman was known to be a humanist as well. As a poet he was very influential. He is known as the father of free verse. This great poet is best known for his 'Leaves of Grass.' This famous work was published in 1855. One of his famous poems is 'Song of Myself. 'In his leaves of grass, Whitman celebrated democracy, nature, love and friendship.
This famous poet died on 26 march,1892.
ABOUT THE POEM : THE VOICE OF THE RAIN, A CRITICAL NOTE
Rainfall is a natural phenomenon. Everywhere in this world rainfall occurs due to seasonal changes. one day the poet asks rain what its identity is. It is strange that the speaker gets his reply also. It replies that it is the poem of the earth. Also it rises up from every nook and corner of the earth towards the infinity and takes a vogue shape, which we call cloud. Then in due course it falls down and in its way it cleans all forms of dust and dirt as if nature takes bath. Thus, rain cleans the nature and comes down to its birthplace. Obviously, it gives life to nature and also rejuvenate it. Overall it purifies our surrounding.
THE VOICE OF THE RAIN :: (TEXT)
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,
Eternal I rise impalpable out of the land and of the bottomless
sea,
Upward to heaven, whence, vaguely form'd, altogether changed,
and yet the same,
I descend to lave the drought, atomies, dust-layers of the
globe,
And all that in them without me were seeds only, latent,
unborn;
And forever, by day and night, I give back to my own
origin,
And make pure and beautify it;
(for song, issuing from its birth-place, after fulfilment,
wandering
Reck'd or unreck'd, duly with love returns.)
Word Notes::
impalpable : that cannot be touched
lave : bathe
atomies : tiny particles.
latent : hidden.
TEXTUAL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:
THINK IT OUT::
1. There are two voices in the poem . Who do they belong to ? Which lines indicate this ?
Answer:
Between the two voices, one belongs to the poet and the other to the rain.
The first voice is that of the poet and he asks "who art thou?"
The second voice is of the rain. It says, "I am the poem of earth."
2. What does the phrase "strange to tell mean ?
Answer:
As the poet curiously asks the shower about its identity, it replied promptly to the poet's question. The reply was a wonder for him since he was shocked to hear the answer of the soft falling shower. So, he regards it strange to tell.
3.There is a parallel drawn between rain and music. Which words indicate this ? Explain the similarity between the two.
Answer:
In the third line of the poem, the rain says : " I am the poem of Earth." This implies that rain is the music of the earth.
In the last two lines of the poem :
"For song, issuing from it's birthplace, after fulfilment, wandering , reck'd or unreck'd, dully with love returns."--- this also says about song and music.
Thus, in both the cases of song and rain, they go back to their origin, after fulfilment of purposes. They have different tasks. For instance, rain makes the earth clean and purifies it, whereas, song or music entertains as well as makes us happy. Thus we find similarity between the two.
4. How is the cyclic movement of rain brought out in the poem? Compare it with what you have learnt in science.
Answer:
The poet has successfully brought out the cyclic movement of rain in the poem. With the increasing intensity of sunlight, water vapor from various water bodies on earth, rises up gradually and take the shape of cloud in the sky .Then after a period of time, it pours in the form of rainwater on the earth. While falling on earth it cleans and purifies the nature removing dust and dirt. This is of course scientifically proved.
Again, the cyclic movement of the rain which we read in science is also same. Even if we compare both the phenomenon, we do not find any basic difference.
5. Why are the last two lines put within brackets ?
Answer:
The last two lines of the poem do not form part of the voice of the rain or that of the poet. They are, indeed, comments on the poem or on the nature of the music. So they are put within brackets.
6. List the pairs of opposites found in the poem.
Answer:
Day -- night
Land -- sea
Same --changed
ADDITIONAL QUESTION ANSWERS:
1. Where does the rain take form ?
Answer:
The rain takes it's form in the upper layer of the sky.
2. How does the rain take it's form?
Answer:
When the Sun continuously puts heat on water, water vapor rises above and form the cloud. It becomes heavy and finally it falls down in the form of rain.
3. what does the rain do in the earth ?
Answer:
The rain drops falling down to the earth, removes the dirt and dust layers from the surface of the earth. It also gives life to the latent seeds and also gives life to almost every tree and plant.
4. what is strange to the poet?
Answer:
The soft falling shower's reply to the poet that it is the poem of the earth - is strange to him.
5. What does the poet say about 'song' in the end of the poem ?
Answer:
The poet says that a song, after issuing from it's birthplace, reck'd or unreck'd, goes back to it's origin.
IMPORTANT WORD MEANING :
Thou -- you
Eternal --heavenly
Vaguely -- not clear or distinct.
descend -- to come down
drought -- dry
atomies -- particle of dust.
latent -- hidden.
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