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DELHI PUBLIC SCHOOL

SESSIONS:- 2021-2022
PROJECT WORK IN ENGLISH
The voice of the rain BY- WALT WHITMAN
About Writer

Walt Whitman, in full Walter

Whitman born in 1819,New Jersey
known as an American poet, journalist,
and essayist. The verse collection 
Leaves of Grass is Walt Whitman’s best-
known work which was first published
in 1855, is a landmark in the history of
American literature. His occupations
during his lifetime included printer,
schoolteacher, reporter, and editor.

English Practical
 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,
The Poem – The I descend to lave the drougths, atomies, dust-layers of the globe,

Voice of the Rain 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, wander-

ing,

Reck'd or unreck'd. duly with love returns.)

English Practical 4
The poem The Voice of the Rain’ by Walt Whitman signifies the
eternal role that the rain plays in nurturing, quenching and
purifying the various elements of Earth. The rain returns the
favour to its place of origin from where it rises unseen from the
depths of the water and from the land. The rain itself is
explaining to the reader about its origin, work and its cyclic
movement. A comparison has also been drawn between rain
and music as both of them make the world more lively and
return to their place of origin after fulfilling their purpose.

Theme

English Practical 5
 • thou – you
• eternal – everlasting
• impalpable – unable to be felt by
touching
• whence – from where
Vocabulary • vaguely – unclearly
• form’d – made into a specific shape or
form
• lave – wash
• droughts – dry spells
• atomies – very tiny particles
• latent – dormant, inactive
• reck’d – cared about
English Practical • unreck’d – uncared for 6
Paraphrase

• The Voice of the Rain is a poem that celebrates rain and its natural-cycle for the benefit of earth
and the life it supports. The poem begins with the poet asking for the identity of the soft-falling
rain shower. Much to the surprise of the poet, the rain replies to his question. And, the poet
translates this ‘voice’ of the rain for his readers. The rain identifies itself as the ‘Poem of Earth’.
• It says that it rises from the land and the deep sea, in the form of the intangible water vapours,
and goes up to the immeasurable sky. It then takes the form of clouds with various shapes.
Although it changes in its form and shape, its core existence remains the same. The words
‘impalpable’ and ‘eternal’ indicate that nature is not fully understood and some part of it always
remains beyond our reach.

English Practical 7
Paraphrase

• It descends or falls on the surface of the earth to eliminate droughts, wash away the tiny
particles and settle down the dust-layers. It satisfies the thirst of the dry Earth and heals
everything that is degrading and is lying lifeless.
• It reinvigorates the dry lands and gives life to the seeds that, otherwise, would have remained
dormant and unborn. Thus, the rain drops rise in the form of vapours only to come back to its
origin in the form of rain. During this cycle, it purifies and beautifies (by nourishing the unborn
seeds) the planet. The last two lines of the poem are the poet’s reflection upon the answer
given by the rain.

English Practical
8
Paraphrase

• The poet observes that the life of rain is similar to that of a song. A song originates from the
heart of the poet, travels to reach others and after fulfilling its purpose (whether acknowledged
or not), it returns to the poet with all due love. Similarly, the rain rises from the land and oceans,
wanders, fulfills its purpose of nourishing life and purifying the planet, and then returns to its
birth- place.
• It also states that a song or poem is creativity at its best. It has the power to calm, heal,
rejuvenate, transform and thrill. In the same way, repeated evaporation and condensation
purifies the rain. The entire environment gets drenched in the rain, dust particles settle down
and there is greenery everywhere which makes the whole Earth beautiful to look at. The poet
therefore draws a parallel between rain and music as both have rhythm and ability to thrill.
Both of them rejuvenate and beautify life.

English Practical
9
 Personification: The rain has been personified as it has
been given a voice in the poem.
Metaphor: “I am the Poem of the Earth”. The poet uses
a metaphor to compare how the rain leaves the ground
to come back to the ground, giving back to it much
like a person who leaves its home, only to come back
after fulfilling its journey.
Simile: In the last two lines, the poet has drawn a

Poetic Devices
parallel between the rain and the song of a poet.
Hyperbole: ‘Bottomless sea’ is an example of
hyperbole. The poet describes sea as bottomless which
is an exaggerated statement to bring out the desired
effect.
Imagery: In the first line of the poem, ‘Soft-falling
shower’ gives the reader an image of gentle rain or
drizzle. During the dialogue between the poet and the
rain, it creates an image of showers or drops of water
falling down from the heavens to Earth and infusing it
with greenery, purity and beauty.

English Practical 10
Thank you
Parnavi Gupta and Vansh Arora

Class – XI B