Poem 3 - The Voice of the Rain Class 11 English Hornbill

Key Points of the Poem

• The Voice of the Rain Summary – In the poem, the poet asks the soft-falling shower, ‘Who are you?’ to which she replies that she is the poem of earth. It is a strange thing for the rain to reply to the poet. The rain told the poet that she cannot be touched as she rises in the form of water vapor in the sky from the land and the bottomless sea. It changes its shape yet it remains the same. The vapor changes into clouds due to condensation.
• It falls back on the surface of the earth to provide water to the drought-prone areas and to beautify and purify the earth (its birthplace). It provides life to the seeds inside the earth and helps them grow.
• The rain doesn’t care if anyone bothers about her deeds or not, she completes her work and comes back home. The poet also compares the rain with a song as they both share a common journey. The song originates from the heart of the singer, travels across to fulfill the aim and comes back with due love for the singer (its originator).

Detailed Summary 

Explanation of the Poem: In the above lines, the poet asked the soft-falling shower ‘Who are you?’ to which the rain replied in a strange to state manner. The rain said that it was the Poem of the Earth and it rose continuously from the land and bottomless ocean in the form of vapours.

Poem
Upward to heaven, whence, vaguely form’d, altogether changed, and yet the same,
I descend to lave the droughts, atomies, dust-layers of the globe,
And all that in them without me were seeds only, latent, unborn;

Explanation of the Poem: The rain tells the poet that it rises upwards towards the sky in the form of vapour where it changes its form (condenses into water droplets). It also says that although its form gets changed, it still remains the same.
The rain comes down to wash the drought and provide water. It also washes away the dust and small particles from the earth’s surface. And the seeds inside the earth grow into a plant because of the water provided by the rain. It gives life to the seeds.

Poem
And forever, by day and night, I give back life to my own origin,
And make pure and beautify it;
(For the song, issuing from its birth-place, after fulfillment, wandering
Reck’d or unreck’d, duly with love returns.)

Explanation of the Poem: The rain says that by day and night it provides life, care, enrichment, and water to the place from where it originated. The rain keeps enhancing the beauty and purity of the earth by preparing a life-cycle for itself again.
(The Rain is like a song that originates from its birth-place, just like the heart of the singer, and travels to fulfill the earth’s needs and wanders. It finally comes back to the place from where it originated. Whether it is ruined or not, it returns to the original position, with a lot of love to its birth-place).

Conclusion 

Literary Devices

Difficult Words

Word Meaning

• Whence – where
• Vaguely – not clearly
• Descend – come down
• Lave – wash; bathe
• Atomics – small particles
• Latent – hidden/buried
• Reck’d or unreck’d – it means whether cared for or not cared for. It doesn’t affect the rain nor the poet if someone listened to the rain or not.
• Who art thou – Who are you
• Eternal – never-ending
• Impalpable – which cannot be described