Class 11 - English - Poem: The Voice of the Rain - Questions and Answers
Book: Hornbill
Poet: Walt Whitman
Q1: What is all about the poem "The Voice of the Rain"? Write in short.
Answer: ‘The Voice of the Rain’ is an imaginary dialogue between the poet and the rain. The poet casually asks the rain who it is. To his surprise, the rain answers the question and tells about its birth and end. The poet understands the tale of rain and translates it for the readers.
Q2: There are two voices in the poem. Who do they belong to? Which lines indicate this?
Answer: The poem begins in a conversational tone. The two voices in the poem are the voice of the poet and the voice of the rain. The lines that indicate the voice of the poet are, “And who art thou? said I to the soft-falling shower”, and the lines that indicate the voice of the rain are, “I am the Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain”.
Q3: There is a parallel drawn between rain and music. Which words indicate this? Explain the similarity between the two.
Answer: The line, “I am the Poem of Earth”, said by the voice of the rain, reflects a connection between rain and music. This connection becomes easily visible in the last two lines:
In these lines, the poet draws a similarity between rain and music observing that the life-cycle of rain and song are alike. The song issues from the heart of the poet and travels to reach others. It wanders and, whether heard and enjoyed or not, eventually returns to its creator with all due love. Similarly, rain originates from the earth, and after fulfilling its role of spreading beauty and purity, returns to its origin. Both are perpetual in nature. Moreover, the sound of the soft-falling rain is in itself a kind of music.
Q4: What does the rain call itself? Why does it refer to itself as ‘impalpable’?
Answer: The rain calls itself the Poem of the Earth because exactly like a beautiful poem, it gives joy and pleasure to everybody. It provides life, pleasure and aesthetics, beauty and happiness to the earth. Impalpable means unable to touch or feel. The water which rises from the land and the oceans cannot be touched and also cannot be easily comprehended as its state keeps on changing but the content remains the same. Hence, the rain calls itself impalpable.
Q5: How does the rain help the seeds?
Answer: The raindrops fall from the sky in order to give life to the dry areas and wash the famine-stricken lands. The rain helps the seeds to germinate and grow into a new life. The seeds are dormant and unborn because of the lack of water that is needed for them to germinate and form a new plant.
Q6: What happens when the rain descends on the earth?
Answer: The rain descends on the surface of the earth to eliminate drought-ridden lands and wash away the dust layers. It gives life to the seeds which otherwise would have remained dormant and unborn. The raindrops rise in the form of vapour only to come back to their origin in the form of rain. Hence this perpetual cyclic lifestyle ensures that the rain returns to its origin. It gives life to the earth making it pure and beautiful.
Q7: Give examples from the poem where the following poetic devices are used?
(a) Personification
(b) Paradox
(c) Metaphor
Answer:
(a) Personification : The rain has been personified as it speaks.
(b) Paradox : ’I give back life to my own origin’ (a situation, person or thing that combines contradictory features or qualities.)
(c) Metaphor: “I am the poem of the earth”.
Q8: What does the phrase 'strange to tell' mean?
Answer: The phrase refers to a strange phenomenon-the rain gives an answer to the poet's query. It is surprising to see an inanimate thing speak.
Q9: List the pairs of opposites found in the poem.
Answer: rise-descend; day-night; reck’d-unreck’d.
Q10: The poem begins in a conversational tone. Who are the two participants? What is the advantage of this method?
Answer: The two participants are the poet and the rain. The poet makes the rain relate its own story. This direct presentation makes the narration more authentic, interesting and captivating.
👉See Also:
The Portrait of A Lady - By Khuswant Singh (Chapter Summary)
We are not afraid to die... (Summary)
Discovering Tut: The Saga Continues... (Q & A)
Poem: The Laburnum Top (Theme and Synopsis)
Class 11 English Core - Unit Test Paper 1 (2019-20)
Class 11 English - Annual Question Paper (2020-21)
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