The Voice of the Rain  Summary and Explanation 

The Voice of the Rain written by Walt Whitman is a literary device . The poem presents a dialogue between the poet and the rain itself. The rain epitomizes herself. She describes her importance for Mother Earth and the blessings she showers upon its people. In The Voice of the Rain poem, the rain symbolizes perpetual periodic lifestyle and how it returns to its origin, making it beautiful and pure and giving it life.  

The Voice of the Rain signifies the everlasting role that rain plays in nourishing, quenching, purifying and nurturing the different elements of Mother Earth.

 

The poet recalls his conversation with the falling rain. The poet asks the rain, “And who art thou?” to which the rain replies by calling herself to be the poet of the Earth. The rain then goes on to describe how it rises from the land and then floats up above heaven, where it eventually changes its form and becomes clouds. Then again cyclically, it falls back to the Earth and refreshes the dry patched lands, allowing the seeds to grow into a beautiful sapling.

 

The poet finds a similarity between the music and rain. He feels that both share similar features. He feels both music and rain take birth from the heart of the Earth and after fulfilling its deed returns to its soul. He tells us that the soft and light music of rain is a song of the Earth itself.

The Voice of The Rain poem celebrates the rain and its accompanying cyclic movement that supports the various beings on the earth. Here the poet recalls his conversation with the falling rain. He asks the rain, “And who art thou?” to which the rain calls itself to be the poet of the Earth. The rain then explains that it takes birth from the water bodies of the Earth and then rises upward in the form of intangible vapors. It then reaches upward towards heaven in the form of impalpable clouds. But its core remains the same as it returns to the place where it takes birth from. It returns to Mother Earth as rain and washes away all the dirt and blooms the drought-ridden drylands.

 

poet compares rain with music. He says that there is a very important connection and similarity between the two. A song that is composed by a human is born from the soul of the person. Its birthplace is the poet’s heart. After wandering from one person to another it returns to the person with all due love of the listeners. Just like that the rain arises from the earth and forms vapor in the sky. Then the clouds burst and it fell in the form of rain coming back to its origin.

 

 

The Voice of the Rain Line by Line Explanation

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,

 

In the above lines, the poet asks the rain, “Who are you?” To this, the rain replies that it is the poem of the Earth and that it rose from the Earth and its water bodies in the form of vapors. “Upward to heaven, whence, vaguely formed, altogether changed, and yet the same, I descend to leave the droughts, atoms, dust-layers of the globe, And all that in them without me were seeds only, latent, unborn;”

 

The rain explains to the poet that it rises from the earth in the form of vapor. It also mentions that it remains the same, although its form changes. The rain returns to earth to wash away small particles. It also gives life to the seeds by making the plant.

 

“And forever, by day and night, I give back life to my origin, 

And make pure and beautify it; 

(For the song, issuing from its birth-place, after fulfilment, wandering

Reck’d or unchecked, duly with love returns.)”       

 

Reck’d or unchecked – it means whether cared for or not cared for. It doesn’t affect the rain nor the poet if someone listened to the rain or not. The rain says that it provides life, enrichment, water and care to its origin. It keeps providing purity and beauty to earth and prepares its life cycle.

 

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,

Word Meaning

Who art thou – Who are you

Eternal – never-ending

Impalpable – which cannot be described

Explanation of the Poem: In the above lines, the poet asked the soft-falling shower ‘Who are you?’ to which the rain replied in a strange to state manner. The rain said that it was the Poem of the Earth and it rose continuously from the land and bottomless ocean in the form of vapours.

Upward to heaven, whence, vaguely form’d, altogether changed, and yet the same,

I descend to lave the droughts, atomies, dust-layers of the globe,

And all that in them without me were seeds only, latent, unborn;

Word Meaning

Whence – where

Vaguely – not clearly

Descend – come down

Lave – wash; bathe

Atomics – small particles

Latent – hidden/buried

The rain tells the poet that it rises upwards towards the sky in the form of vapour where it changes its form (condenses into water droplets). It also says that although its form gets changed, it still remains the same.

The rain comes down to wash the drought and provide water. It also washes away the dust and small particles from the earth’s surface. And the seeds inside the earth grow into a plant because of the water provided by the rain. It gives life to the seeds.

And forever, by day and night, I give back life to my own origin,

And make pure and beautify it;

(For the song, issuing from its birth-place, after fulfillment, wandering

Reck’d or unreck’d, duly with love returns.)

Word Meaning

Reck’d or unreck’d – it means whether cared for or not cared for. It doesn’t affect the rain nor the poet if someone listened to the rain or not.

The rain says that by day and night it provides life, care, enrichment, and water to the place from where it originated. The rain keeps enhancing the beauty and purity of the earth by preparing a life-cycle for itself again.

(The Rain is like a song that originates from its birth-place, just like the heart of the singer, and travels to fulfill the earth’s needs and wanders. It finally comes back to the place from where it originated. Whether it is ruined or not, it returns to the original position, with a lot of love to its birth-place).

Literary Devices Voice of the Rain 

 

Personification – the poet used a non-living thing as a living thing in the poet

I am the Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain

Metaphor – an indirect comparison between the qualities of different things

I am the Poem of Earth – rain is being compared to a poem

Hyperbole – exaggerated statements

Bottomless sea

Imagery – visual description of something

Soft-falling shower