“Voice of the Rain”

In “Voice of the Rain”, Walt Whitman composes a conversation between him and the rain as it
falls from the heaven upon the earth. The poet asks the raindrops, “Who are you?” and he even
gets back a reply. In his poem, “Voice of the Rain”, the poet translates the answer for his
readers.

The rain says that it is the poem of the earth. (Example of Metaphor)
Ques – Why does the rain call itself ‘ poem of the earth’?
 Just like the poem rendered by a poet fulfills the task of bringing joy ,happiness and life
to its readers , similarly rain drops , falling over the drought stricken earth , brings new
life and energy to the land .
 Poem – has a soothing effect on the readers
Rain – has a soothing effect on the elements of nature it falls upon

Lines 4 and 5 - It is born in an invisible and intangible form which rises from the water bodies
and reaches the infinite sky to change its appearance into clouds of different shapes and sizes.
Yet the rain says it remains the same in its heart as it was at its birth. The form of the rain
changes , but its essence remains the same. In these lines , it talks about its origin and the
scientific process involved in its origin .

General knowledge - ( The clouds floating overhead contain water vapor and cloud droplets,
which are small drops of condensed water. These droplets are way too small to fall as
precipitation, but they are large enough to form visible clouds. Water is
continually evaporating and condensing in the sky. If you look closely at a cloud you can see
some parts disappearing (evaporating) while other parts are growing (condensation).
Condensation is the process by which water vapor in the air is changed into liquid water.
Condensation is crucial to the water cycle because it is responsible for the formation of clouds.
These clouds may produce precipitation, which is the primary route for water to return to the
Earth's surface within the water cycle. Condensation is the opposite of evaporation.)

Lines 6 – 9 (I descend – beautify it ) - The rain then falls down on the earth as little water
droplets which brings respite to us, rejuvenates the earth’s soul and washes away dust and dirt.
It gives life to new plants which would have otherwise remained unborn underground the land
as mere seeds. Thus, rain continues its journey where it returns to the earth, its place of origin
giving it life and making it all the more beautiful and pure.

Lines in the brackets - Walt Whitman realizes that the rain’s life is similar to that of any song. A
song’s birthplace is the poet’s heart. Once complete , it is passed on (wanders) from one person
to another. It may change (reck’d) or remain the same (unreck’d) as it travels , but one day , it
returns to the poet with all due love of the listeners.
The last two lines are in brackets because they do not form the voice of the rain or the poet.
They only certain a general observation by the poet about the course of a song.

Important lines :-
 ‘which strange to tell’
Poets often act as mediators between nature and humanity. The poet feels it is strange
that he could understand the rain and is now translating its answers to the readers.
 ‘I am the Poem of the earth’ – explained earlier – Rain has been personified
 ‘eternal I rise’ - It suggest a sense of permanence. The life cycle of rain is endless and
shall continue as long as the connection between rain and earth persists.
 ‘Altogether changed , and yet the same’ – Oxymoron
The rain changes its appearance from intangible vapours to abstract clouds, yet at its
core , it remains the rain. This is the universal law that energy is never destroyed , ony
transferred from one form to another. Hence , ironically , in change , lies eternity. The
form changes , but its essence is not destroyed.
 ‘I give back life to my own origin’
I bring life and joy to the unborn seeds hidden in the earth . This is the place from where
the rain itself originates so it gives back life to the place where it was born.

Ques - ‘Behind the apparent simplicity, the poem hides a deep meaning’. What exactly does
the poem convey to the reader?
Ans - The poem conveys that like a poem, the rain is also everlasting and has unbreakable chain
of life cycle. It rises from the earth, comes back to it. The song also issues from its birth place,
wanders here and there, whether heeded to or not, returns with love to its own origin.