-Walt Whitman
Text:
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Summary:
Stanza-1(And who .... bottomless sea,):
In the above lines,the poet asked the soft-falling shower 'Who are you?' to which the rain replied in a strange manner.The rain answers that it is the 'Poem of the Earth'.It rose continuously from the land and bottomless ocean in the form of vapours.
Stanza-2(Upward to .... the same,):
Here,the rain tells the poet that it rises upwards towards the sky in the form of vapour where it changes its form into liquid water due to condensation.But,it also asserts that although it's form is changed,its essence and core qualities remain the same.
Stanza-3(I descend .... latent,unborn;)
Here,the rain describes how it comes down to wash the drought and provide water to the helpless.The rain washes away the dust and small particles from the Earth's surface.The rain provides water to the seed inside the earth which provides it with the necessary nourishment to grow into a plant.It imparts life to seeds.
Stanza-4(And forever .... beautify it;)
The rain asserts that every moment it provides life,care, enrichment and water to the place where it originated from.The rain keeps enhancing the beauty and purity of the earth by preparing a life-cycle for itself again.
Stanza-5(For song, .... love returns.))
The rain is like a song that originates from its birthplace,just like the heart of the singer,and wonders to fulfill the needs of the earth.It eventually comes to its origin and whether it is ruined or not,it returns to the original position.
Difficult Words:
1)Who art thou:Who are you?
2)Impalpable: Something which cannot be described.
3)Whence:Where.
4)Lave:To wash something or rejuvenaing it.
5)Recked:Cared for.
Rhyme Scheme:
Free Verse.
Poetic Devices:
1)Personification:"I am the Poem of Earth,said the voice of rain".
2)Metaphor:Rain is being compared to a poem.
3)Hyperbole:Bottomless sea.
4)Imagery:Soft-falling shower.
About Author:
Walt Whitman(May 31,1819 - March 26,1892) was an American poet,essayist and journalist.He was an essential element of the transition between transcendentalism and realism incorporating both views in his works.He is considered as one of the most influential American poets.
NCERT Questions:
A)Think it Out.
I)1)The two voices in the poem belong to the 'voice of the poet' and 'voice of rain'. The poem is set on a conversation between these two voices. The lines are-"I am the Poem of Earth, said the voice of rain" which indicate the rain whereas the lines-"And who art thou?said I to the soft-falling shower" refer to the poet.
2)The phrase 'strange to tell' means that it was strange for the soft-falling rain to reply to the
poet's questions.But when the poet asks the rain "Who art thou?" the rain replies "I am the Poem of Earth".
3)The lines- "For the song,issuing from its birth-place,after fulfillment,wandering Reck'd or unreck'd duly with love returns" from the poem draws a parallel between rain and the music.The poet compares the life-cycle of the rain and the song.As the song originated from the heart from the singer,wanders around the world,whether liked or not,comes back to its origin after loads of love.Similiarly,the rain that originates from Earth,fulfills its duty to beautify and purify the Earth and wanders and comes back with love for its creator.
4)In the poem,the water rises from the land and the bottomless sea in the form of vapour.It then changes its form,transforms itself into clouds.It comes down to the Earth in the form of rain to cool down it,provide it with water and nourishment to living beings.It purifies our surroundings.
•According to science,water is initially evaporated in the form of vapour,clusters together to form clouds and then condenses to fall down on the Earth in its fluid form again.The poet in the poem has tried to express this perpetual and eternal journey.
5)The last two lines are put within the bracket because they are observations made by the poet and his thoughts.In those lines,the poet has tried to show similiarity between rain and song.
6)We can find some pairs of opposites in the poem.Some of them are:
i)Day,Night. ii)Reck'd,Unreck'd. iii)Rise,Descend.
II)1)I asked the soft-falling shower about its identity.
2)The voice of rain presented herself as the poem of earth.
3)Ten rain tells the poet how she rises upwards in a never-ending process.
4)The poet says that rain and music are quite similar.They are like the song orginating from the heart of the singer,travelling across and fulfilling it purposes.It comes back with all the love for the singer.
III)There are various other poems about rain.Some of the other notable ones are:'Rain on the Roof' by Coates Kinney where the poet has remembered his childhood days.Similiarly,'A Line-Storm Song' by Robert Frost is a romantic poem where he has thrown light on the difficulties one has to face in relationships and how such fights strengthen our relations
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Great one... It helped me in my exams... Hope you can too provide us with question bank of each lesson.
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