Class 9 English

Book: Beehive
Poem: Rain on the Roof
Assignment

A. Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow :( Practice Register)

1. Every tinkle on the shingles

Has an echo in the heart;
And a thousand dreamy fancies
Into busy being start,
And a thousand recollections
Weave their bright hues into woof

(a) What echoes in the heart of the poet?

(b) How does the echo affect the busy mind of the poet?
(c) Explain the metaphor ‘thousand recollections weave their bright hues into woof’.
(d) Identify the poetic device in the first line.

2. As she used to, years agone,

To survey her darling dreamers,
Ere she left them till the dawn;
Oh! I see her bending over me,
As I list to this refrain
Which is played upon the shingles

(a) Who does ‘she ‘refer to?

(b) What does the poet remember about his mother?
(c) What does the poet imply by ‘the darling dreamers’?
(d) Explain ‘As I list to this refrain which is played upon the shingles’

Q2. Answer the following questions in 30- 40 words: (Practice Register)

(a) How is the mood of the poet contrasted with darkness?

(b) Which distinctive memory is revived in the poet’s mind?
(c) What does the poet imply by darling dreamers? Identify the poetic device in ‘darling
dreamers’.
(d) How does the poet enjoy the patter of the rain lying in his cottage chamber bed?

Q3. Answer the following questions in 100- 120 words: (English Notebook)

(a) The rain is bliss for the poet. Comment.

Ans. The rain has therapeutic and healing powers and forms lasting memories in human
mind of the sights, sounds, fragrance and experiences associated with it, especially
those involving our loved ones. Similarly, the poet Coates Kinney relates the various
blissful emotions he has while he lies comfortably n his cottage chamber listening to
 the patter of the rain on the shingles. The poet enjoys the melodious music of the soft
rain and with every tinkle or pitter-patter there is a reverberation in his heart identical
to the sound of rain. Because of the rain sound, the poet feels a series of dreams or
fancies playing before his eyes. The rain revives many memories of the past,
particularly his mother when she would affectionately look at the poet and his siblings
before she retired for the night. The poet recollects the fond, affectionate look of his
mother which she cast on him.

(b) Describe the various sights and sounds of the falling rain and the recollections it
brings to the poet.

Ans. Humid showers hover over the starry sky which leads to a gloomy darkness all
around. The vapours condense to form clouds that produce gentle rain. The rain drops
according to the poet are the tears shed by the dense and sad darkness. The poet
considers it to be a heavenly and delightful experience to lie in his comfortable bed
and hears the patter of rain falling on the shingles. The rain creates an echo in his
heart. With every patter there is a reverberation in his heart identical to the sound of
music. He feels thousands of dreams or fancies playing before his eyes. The
continuous falling of the raindrops on his roof brings all his memories flooding in his
mind. They are not discrete and separated from each other. Instead all of his memories
seem to have formed a patchwork by becoming entwined with one another. The first
memory that he can actually identify among the patchwork is that of his mother
bending down and watching the poet when she would come to the children’s room
before retiring for the night.