QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1. How does the rain justify its claim ‘I am the Poem of Earth’?
The rain calls itself the poem of earth because, the poem
rendered by a poet, has the task of bringing joy, happiness and
life to its readers. In the same manner, the rain drops and falls
over drought stricken earth, bringing new life to the land as it
also returns to its origin just like the poem or the song returns
back to the heart of the poet or its composer.
2. What does the rain do to the things day and night?
The rain falls on the earth, and washes away the drought, it also
helps the seeds to germinate and bring forth new life on the
earth. Without it, all life on earth would become lifeless. Seeds
would be mere seeds and would never grow into thriving plants.
3. What answer did the rain give to the poet about its origin?
The rain answered that it is the poem of the earth. The rain
added that it is born in the form of invisible and intangible
vapours that rise eternally from the earth's land and deep water
bodies. It then reaches heaven (the sky) and changes its
appearance complete to form clouds of abstract, changeable
shapes. Yet, at its core, it remains the same as it was at birth.
There, its form changed but essence remained the same. Thus,
this perpetual cyclic lifestyle ensures that the rain returns to its
origin, the earth, giving it life, and making it pure and beautiful.
4. What does the ‘rain descend’ on? What does it do to the
things on which it falls?
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 returns to earth as little droplets which wash away the
dust and rejuvenate the drought-ridden, dry land. It gives life to
the things on which it falls. The things that do not get rain
remain like seeds latent and unborn.

REFERENCE PASSAGE QUESTIONS

.....1st Stanza.....

And who art thou? ………..

…………….I am the poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain

a. Name the poem and the poet.

The poem is ‘The Voice of the Rain’ and the name of the poet is ‘Walt Whitman’.

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

‘I’ in the first line is referred to the poet asking a question. ‘I’ in the third line is the
rain drop.

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

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

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

The poet has personified the rain drop and it is answering the poet’s question by
saying that it is the ‘poem of the Earth’.
.....2nd Stanza....

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

a. From where does the rain originate?

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

b. How does it originate?

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

c. What happens to the rain in the sky?

In the sky, the rain drops form the rain. Their form has changed but the essence has
remained the same.

.....3rd Stanza...

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

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

b. How does the rain help the seeds?

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

c. Give the meanings of the words from the given lines:

come down - descend

to wash - lave

d. What is latent and unborn and why?

The seeds are dormant and unborn because of lack of water which is needed for
them to germinate and form a new plant.

.....4th Stanza.....

And forever, by day …….

……pure and beautify it;

a. In what manner does the rain help its own origin?

The rain helps its own origin by watering the land and quenching the thirst of
drought stricken areas.

b. Why has the poet compared the life cycle of the song to that of rain?

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

c. What is made ‘pure’?

The earth on which rain falls is made ‘pure’.

d. Which words in the given lines mean:

eternal - forever

source - origin

......5th Stanza...... (For song, issuing from its birth-place, after fulfillment,

Wandering Reck’d or unreck’d, duly with love returns)

a. Why are the last lines put within brackets?

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.

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

Reck’d or unreck’d means whether cared for or not cared for, whether liked and
accepted or not, whether altered or unaltered.

c. Where does the song return?

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

d. Which word in the lines means ‘originating’?

Issuing

Textual questions and answers

A .1 There are two voices in the poem, those of the rain and the poet. The lines are:

‘and who art thou’ said I to the soft falling shower.’

“I am the poem of the earth, said the voice of the rain.”

A 2 It means that the poet is surprised at the rain’s ability to speak. The poetic
device used by the poet is personification.

A 3 The expressions that indicate this parallel between the rain and the music are:

“I am the voice of the rain’, ‘the poem of the earth’, ‘eternal I rise impalpable’ and
“song ….duly with love returns”.

Both rain and music have the power of falling softly-one on the parched lands and
the other on human souls. Both have rhythm and the ability to thrill and both
rejuvenate and make human beings pure and beautiful.

A 4 Whitman brings out the cyclic movement of rain. The rain rises from the land
and sea in form of vapours. Then it soars into the sky where it takes the shape of
vague clouds and descends to bathe the droughts and all things only to rise again as
vapours. Thus the cycle of the rain comes full circle.
A 5 The last two lines are put within brackets because they serve the purpose of
additional information on music and a comparison of the rain and the song. It is not
an integral part of the poet’s experience of the rain. The lines appear to be an
afterthought of the poet.

Home Assignment
1) In the poem “the voice of the rain” the poet presents rain as a
source of life on earth. Read the poem once again and write a
summary in about 80 to 100 words, preceded by note making. Give
a suitable title to the summary. ( later)
2) The poet focuses on the cyclic movement of rain in “the voice of
the rain”. Can you think of any other such cycles or movements?
What does it teach us? Write an article for a spiritual magazine
named “Food for the Soul” in about 100 words.