Extract Based Questions: Rain on the Roof - Class 9 PDF Download

Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
Q1: When the humid shadows hover
Over all the starry spheres
And the melancholy darkness
Gently weeps in rainy tears,
What a bliss to press the pillow
Of a cottage-chamber bed
And lie listening to the patter
Of the soft rain overhead!

(a) What does the phrase “humid shadows” refer to?
Ans: “Humid shadows” refer to the dark clouds that cause rain.

(b) What are “starry spheres”?
Ans: The stars that shine in the sky at night are called starry spheres.

(c) Why does the poet call the darkness melancholy?
Ans: The night is dark and gloomy. Perhaps the poet is also in a despondent mood. Where is the poet at the moment?

Q2: The poet is in his bed in his cottage.
When the humid shadows hover
Over all the starry spheres
And the melancholy darkness
Gently weeps in rainy tears,
What a bliss to press the pillow
Of a cottage-chamber bed
And lie listening to the patter
Of the soft rain overhead!

(a) Who weeps in the form of rainy tears?
Ans: The dark rain-bearing clouds weep tears of rain in their sadness.

(b) Which line shows that the poet is happy when it rains?
Ans: What a bliss to press the pillow shows his happiness.

(c) What memories does the rain bring to the poet’s mind?
Ans: The poet remembers his mother looking down at her sleeping children before going to her room. Name the poetic device used in the above lines.

Q3: Alliteration: Over all the starry spheres
What a bliss to press the pillow
And lie listening to the patter
Every tinkle on the shingles
Has an echo in the heart;
And a thousand dreamy fancies
Into busy being start,
And a thousand recollections
Weave their air-threads into woof,
As I listen to the patter
Of the rain upon the roof

(a) What echoes in the poet’s heart?
Ans: The patter of soft rain on the roof echoes in the heart of the poet.

(b) Explain: a thousand dreamy fancies into busy being start.
Ans: This phrase refers to the various imaginary thoughts and fantasies that are aroused in the poet’s mind.

(c) What starts ‘a thousand dreamy fancies’?
Ans: The tinkling sound of the raindrops on the roof starts a thousand dreamy fancies.

(d) What is a refrain? Find lines from the poem that form its refrain.
Ans: A refrain is the repetition of lines or whole phrases in a poem, usually at the end of a stanza. It creates a musical effect and lends unity to a piece.
Example:
As I listen to the patter
Of the rain upon the roof.

Q4: Every tinkle on the shingles
Has an echo in the heart;
And a thousand dreamy fancies
Into busy being start,
And a thousand recollections
Weave their air-threads into woof
As I listen to the patter
Of the rain upon the roof
(a) Explain ‘shingles’. What is tinkling on the shingles?
Ans: Shingles are thin rectangular tiles, especially made of wood, that are laid with others in overlapping rows to form the roof. Rain is making a sharp sound as it hits the tiles.

(b) What finds an echo in the poet’s heart?
Ans: The tinkle of rain on the shingles finds an echo in the poet’s heart.

(c) Who is a busy being? What happens to his mind?
Ans: The ‘busy being’ refers to the poet. His mind is flooded with fantasies and memories.

(d) Explain: “A thousand recollections weave their air-threads into woof’.
Ans: While weaving a fabric, the threads that run lengthwise are called warp and the threads that run across are known as woof. The poet means that numerous memories intermingle to form a beautiful picture that the poet recollects.’

Q5: Now in memory comes my mother,
As she used in years agone,
To regard the darling dreamers
Ere she left them till the dawn:
O! Ifeel her fond look on me
As I list to this refrain
Which is played upon the shingles
By the patter of the rain.

(a) Whom does the poet remember?
Ans: The poet remembers his mother.

(b) Who are the darling dreamers?
Ans: The darling dreamers are the poet and his siblings who are fast asleep.

(c) How did the poet’s mother gaze at the dreamers?
Ans: The poet’s mother gazes her sleeping children with fondness.

(d) What does he feel? Is his mother alive?
Ans: The poet remembers his mother who died many years ago with longing.

Q6: Now in memory comes my mother,
As she used in years agone,
To regard the darling dreamers
Ere she left them till the dawn:
O! Ifeel her fond look on me
As I list to this refrain
Which is played upon the
shingles By the patter of the rain.

(a) What is the poet doing at the moment?
Ans: The poet is lying in his bed listening to the sound of the rain,

(b) What is the memory that comes to the poet?
Ans: The poet remembers his mother standing next to their bed and gazing at her children fondly.

(c) What are the poet’s feelings for his family?
Ans: The poet loves his family. He calls his sleeping siblings “darling dreamers” and he remembers his mother very fondly.

(d) Name a poetic device used in the last line.
Ans: Onomatopoeia : Patter of rain