ENGLISH CHAPTERS SUMMARY FOR CLASS 11

    

POEMS SUMMARY AND EXPLAINATION FOR TERM 2 CLASS 11 STUDENTS.

The Voice of the Rain

Central ldea of the Poem

The poem 'The Voice of the Rain' by Walt Whitman signifies the eternal role that the rain plays in nurturing, quenching and purifying the various elements of Earth.

The rain returns the favour to its place of origin from where it rises unseen from the depths of the water and from the land. The rain itself is explaining to the reader about its origin, work and its cyclic movement. A comparison has also been drawn between rain and music as both of them make the world more lively and return to their place of origin after fulfilling their purpose.

Stanza wise explanation

STANZA 1

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

Which, strange to tell, gave me an answer, as here translated:

Iam the Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain,

Explanation:

The poem begins with the poet asking for the identity of the soft-falling rain shower. Much to the surprise of the poet, the rain replies to his question which the poet translates for his readers. The rain in its own voice tells the poet that she is the poem of this Earth. The rain is trying to say that, as music or poetry gives pleasure to human beings, the rain gives happiness to mother Earth.

STANZA 2

Eternal I rise impalpable out of the land and the bottomless sea, Upward, to heaven, whence, vaguely form'd, altogether changed, and yet the same,

Explanation The poet says that the rain is an eternal process, but it takes different forms at different times. It rises from the land and the deep sea in the form of intangible water vapour and goes up to the sky. There it takes an indistinct shape in the form of clouds.

Although it changes in its form or shape, its core matter remains the same. Since vapour and clouds contain water they can get transformed into the other. The words 'impalpable' and 'eternal' indicate that nature is not fully understood and some part of it always remains beyond our reach.

Stanza 3

I decent to lave the droughts, antomies dust layers of the globe,

 And all that in them without me were seeds only latent, unborn;

Explanation

The raindrops pour down from above to wash away droughts and the drust layers enveloping earth .It  satisfies the thirst of the dry Earth and heals everything that is degrading and is lying lifeless. The shower remove the dust particles and make Earth clean and green. The rain also helps in the germination of seeds which were lying dormant due to a dry spell.

Stanza 4

"And forever by day and night I give back life to my own origin, and make pure and beautify it 

(for song, issuing from its birth place after fulfillment, wandering Reck'd or unrek'd with love returns.)

Explanation The rain is involved in a continued process of giving life on Earth by providing water to dormant seeds and making the Earth more beautiful and full of greenery. Rain helps in enhancing the beauty of Earth as, in the absence of water, everything turns dull or lifeless and dust accumulates everywhere.

The last two lines are the poet's own words and his reflections upon the answers given by the rain. The poet observes that the life of rain is similar to that of a song. A song or poem is creativity at its best. It has the power to calm, heal, rejuvenate, transform and thrill. In the same way, repeated evaporation and condensation purifies the rain. The entire environment gets drenched in the rain, dust particles settle down and there is greenery everywhere which makes the whole Earth beautiful to look at. The poet therefore draws a parallel between rain and music as both have rhythm and ability to thrill. Both of them rejuvenate and beautify life.