The Voice of the Rain

(Q.) There are two voices in the poem. Who do they belong to? Which linesindicate this?

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(Ans) The two voices in the poem are the voice of the rain and the voice of the poet. Thelines are And who art thou? Said I .. and I am the poem of Earth.

(Q.)What does the phrase strange to tell mean?

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The phrase strange to tell means that it is an unusual and extraordinary answergiven by the rain drops to the poet who asked who it was.

(Q.)There is a parallel drawn between rain and music. Which words indicatethis? Explain the similarity between the two?

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I am the poem of EarthFor song, issuing from its birth placeAfter fulfillment, wandering, reckd orUnreckd, duly with love returns. They bothreturn to the place of their origin after fulfilling their tasks.

(Q.)How is the cyclic movement of rain brought out in the poem?

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The poet explains that the rain drops in the form of water vapour rise up from landand sea and then descend again on the earth and dry land in order to wash it downand hence comes back to its origin. This is the cyclic movement explained by thepoet.

(Q.)

Why are the last two lines put within brackets?

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The last two lines are put within brackets because they do not form the voice of therain or the poet. They only contain a general observation made by the poet aboutthe course of a song.

(Q.)

List the pairs of opposites found in the poem.

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The opposite pairs found in the poem arei) day and nightii) reckd or unreckd

(Q.)

The poem begins with a conversational tone. Who are the twoparticipants? What is the advantage of this method?

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The two participants are the poet and the voice of the rain which answer the poetsquestion. The advantage of this method is to maintain continuity of thoughts andideas expressed by the poet and to bring about clarity in what he wants to express.

(Q.)

Behind the apparent simplicity, the poem hides a deep meaning. Whatexactly does the poem convey to the reader?

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The poem conveys that like a poem, the rain is also everlasting and has anunbreakable chain of life cycle. It rises from the earth, comes back to it. The songalso issues from its birth place, wanders here and there, whether heeded to or not,returns with love to its own origin.

(Q.)

How does the rain justify its claim I am the Poem of Earth?

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The rain calls itself the poem of earth because, the poem rendered by a poet, hasthe task of bringing joy, happiness, life to its readers. In the manner, the rain drops,and falling over drought stricken earth, brings new life to the land as it also returnsto its origin just like the rain drops.

(Q.)

What does the rain do to the things day and night?

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The rain falls on the earth, and washes away the drought, it also helps the seeds togerminate and bring forth new life on the earth.Without it, all life on earth wouldbecome lifeless.

(Q.)

What answer did the rain give to the poet about its origin?

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The rain answered that it was the poem of the earth. It rose eternally out of the landand bottomless sea into the sky. There its form changed but essence remained thesame.

(Q.)

On what does the rain descend? What does it do to the things on whichit falls?

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The rain descends on droughts, atoms and dust particles on the surface of the earth.It also falls on everything that is on the earth. It gives life to the things on which itfalls. The things that do not get rain, remain like seeds latent and unborn.

(Q.)

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

This, strange to tell, gave me an answer, as hereTranslated:

I am the poem of Earth, said the voice of the raina)

Name the poem and the poet.b)

Who does I refer to in the first and third line of this extract?c)

What do you understand by the phrase Strange to tell?d)

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

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a) The

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oem is The Voice of the Rain and the name of the poet is Walt Whitman.b) I in the first line is referred to the poet asking a question. I in the third line isthe rain drop.c) Strange to tell means that it is an unusual and extraordinary answer given by theraindrops to the poet who asked who it was.d) The poet has personified the rain drop and it is answering the poets question bysaying that it is the poem of the Earth.

(Q.)

Eternal I rise impalpable out of the landAnd the bottomless sea,Upwards to heaven, whence, vaguely formd altogetherChanged, and yet the samea)

From where does the rain originate?b)

How does it originate?c)

What happens to the rain in the sky?d)

Name the poem and the poet.

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a) The rain originates from the land and the bottomless (deep sea) in the form ofwater vapour.b) With the heat of the sun, the water evaporates from the sea or land and formswater- vapour which rises up in the atmosphere.c) In the sky, the rain drops form the rain. Their form has changed but the essencehas remained the same.d) The poem is The Voice of the Rain and the poet is Walt Whitman.

(Q.)

I descend to lave the droughts,

Atomies, dust- layers of the globe,And all that in them without me were seedsOnly, latent, unborna)

With what purpose does the rain descend from the sky?b)

How does the rain help the seeds?c)

Give the meanings of the words from the given lines:i)

come downii)

to washd)

What is latent and unborn and why?

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a) The rain drops fall from the sky in order to give life to the dry areas and wash thefamine-stricken lands.b) The rain helps the seeds to germinate and grow into a new life.

c) i) descend ii) laved) The seeds are dormant and unborn because of lack of water which is needed forthem to germinate and form a new plant.

(Q.)

And forever, by day and night, I give

Back life to my own origin,And make pure and beautify it;a)

In what manner does the rain help its own origin?b)

Why has the poet given the life cycle of the song?c)

What is made pure?d)

Which words in the given lines meani)

eternalii)

source

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a) The rain helps its own origin by watering the land and quenching the thirst ofdrought stricken areas.b) The poet has compared the life cycle of the rain drops to that of the song sayingthat they both return to their origin after fulfilling their tasks.c) The earth on which rain falls is made pure.d) i) forever ii) origin

(Q.)

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

Reckd or unreckd, duly with love returns).a)

Why are the last lines put within brackets?b)

Reckd or unreckd, what does this phrase mean?c)

Where does the song return?d)

Which word in the lines means originating?

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a) The last lines are put in brackets because they do not form the voice of the rain orthe poet. They only certain a general observation by the poet about the course of asong.b) Reckd or unreckd means whether cared for or not cared for.c) The song returns to the place of its origin i.e. comes back to the poet.d) Issuing