Created By: NehaRohtagi1 Class 11 CBSE NCERT English Hornbill (Core Course) (Main Course Book) Poem 3 - The Voice Of The Rain Poet - Walt Whitman Summary + Poetic Devices + Rhyming Scheme + About The Poet. The Voice Of The Rain.pdf Do not repost or copy.

1. The Voice Of Rain
And who art thou? said I to the soft-falling shower,
Which, strange to tell, gave me an answer, as here
translated:
I am the Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain,
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,
I descend to lave the droughts, atomies, dust-layers of
the globe,
And all that in them without me were seeds only, latent,
unborn;
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 fulfilment,
wandering
Reck’d or unreck’d, duly with love returns.)
-Walt Whitman

2. Summary Of The Poem
The poet talks to the rain, asking it about its identity, and the
rain, strangely replied to his query. “I am a Poem of Earth”, it
replied. It describes its identity through poetic lines that
capture the beauty of its idea of a being that explains how the
earth functions with its help.
It appears incorporeal to humans and other life forms as it
travels from the land and the deep sea towards heaven and
changes its look to form clouds that can change shapes. Still,
it remains the same at its core.
Then again it returns to earth as little droplets that wash away
with dust and restore the drought-ridden, dry land. Due to
this, new plants find a new life . Hence this perpetual cyclic
lifestyle, ensures that the rain returns to its origin.
After hearing the rain’s story the poet realises that it life
resembles that of any song. And the song’s birthplace is the
poet’s heart. When the song is complete it wanders (pass on)
from one place to another. As it travels it may change or
remain the same. But one day, it returns to the poet with all
due love of the listeners.

3. Poetic Devices
Personification: The attribution of personal nature
characteristics to something non-human. For e.g. ‘I am the
Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain’.
Metaphor: An indirect comparison between two things. For
e.g. ‘I am the Poem of Earth’.
Imagery: Visual description of something. For e.g. ‘Soft
falling shower’.
Hyperbole: Exaggerated statements. For e.g. ‘Bottomless
sea’.
Inversion: A reversal of position, order, form, or
relationship. For e.g. ‘Said I to the soft - falling shower’.

4. Rhyming Scheme
There is no rhyme scheme nor do the lines stay of the
same length.
Although each phrase is just enough to be read in one
breath.
“The Voice of the Rain” does not follow any specific form,
rhyme scheme, or meter; it is written in free verse.

5. Walt Whitman

6. About The Poet
The Inebriate: A Tale of the Times
The Half-Breed; A Tale of the Western Frontier
Life and Adventures of Jack Engle
Leaves of Grass
Manly Health and Training
Drum-Taps
Democratic Vistas
Walter Whitman Jr. was an American poet, essayist, and
journalist. He is considered one of the most influential poets
in American history. He incorporated both transcendentalism
and realism in his writings and is often called “the father of
free verse”.
Born: 31 May 1819, West Hills, New York, United States
Died: 26 March 1892, Camden, New Jersey, United States
His famous works:-
1.
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3.
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5.
6.
7.

7. Thank You