Poem-3
The Voice of the Rain
Poet-Walt Witman
✍️ Introduction about the Poet:
Walt Whitman (1819–1892) was one of America’s greatest poets, known for his free verse and deep appreciation of nature, humanity, and the spiritual connection between all things. In “The Voice of the Rain,” he imagines a conversation with the rain and captures the eternal cycle of nature, showing how the rain gives life to the earth and returns as a blessing.
📝 Summary of the Poem:
The poem is a personification of rain, where the rain speaks to the poet. It says it rises from the land and sea as vapor, forms clouds, and then returns to the earth to give life and beauty. Like a song or poem, the rain's journey is a cycle of giving and renewal, making the earth clean and fresh again.
📖 Line-by-Line Explanation with Phrases:
🔹 Lines 1–2:
"And who art thou? said I to the soft-falling shower,"
Which, strange to tell, gave me an answer, as here translated:"
📌 Explanation:
The poet asks the falling rain, “Who are you?”
Surprisingly, the rain replies to him in a human-like voice.
🔹 Lines 3–4:
"I am the Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain,"
📌 Phrase: “Poem of Earth”
The rain calls itself the song or poetry of nature – something beautiful, essential, and eternal. It represents nature's expression.
🔹 Lines 5–6:
"Eternal I rise impalpable out of the land and the bottomless sea,"
📌 Phrase: “Impalpable” – something you can't touch or feel (like vapor)
📌 Phrase: “Eternal” – timeless, ongoing forever
📌 Rain (in the form of vapor) rises from the land and sea, showing the cyclical nature of water.
🔹 Lines 7–8:
"Upward to heaven, whence vaguely form’d, altogether changed, and yet the same,"
📌 Water vapor goes up to the sky, forms clouds, and becomes rain again.
Though it changes form, its essence remains the same.
🔹 Lines 9–10:
"I descend to lave the drouths, atomies, dust-layers of the globe,"
📌 Phrase: “Lave” – to wash
📌 Phrase: “Drouths” – droughts or dry areas
📌 Rain comes back to the earth, washing away dust and quenching the thirst of dry lands.
🔹 Lines 11–12:
"And all that in them without me were seeds only, latent, unborn;"
📌 Without rain, seeds would stay dormant.
Rain gives life to plants and awakens growth.
🔹 Lines 13–14:
"And forever, by day and night, I give back life to my own origin,"
📌 Rain keeps the cycle of life going by returning water to the earth and sea.
🔹 Lines 15–16:
"And make pure and beautify it;"
📌 Rain purifies the environment and makes the earth green and beautiful.
🔹 Lines 17–18:
"(For song, issuing from its birth-place, after fulfilment, wandering
Reck’d or unreck’d, duly with love returns.)"
📌 The poet compares rain to a song or poem:
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Created from the heart
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Fulfilled when it reaches people
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Returns with love, even if it’s noticed or unnoticed
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Like rain, a poem completes its purpose by giving meaning or beauty
🎯 Themes:
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Cycle of nature
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Life and renewal
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Personification of natural elements
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Connection between poetry and rain
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Nature’s voice and beauty
💡 Poetic Devices:
| Device | Example |
|---|---|
| Personification | Rain speaks like a human |
| Metaphor | Rain as the “Poem of Earth” |
| Imagery | Descriptions of rain, vapor, sea, and earth |
| Symbolism | Rain = life, creativity, renewal |
| Alliteration | “Soft-falling shower” |
| Free Verse | No rhyme scheme or regular meter |
✨ Message / Moral:
The poem beautifully conveys that rain is nature’s eternal poem, constantly giving and renewing life. It also shows how poetry and nature share a timeless, giving nature, whether recognized or not.
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