THE VOICE OF THE
RAIN
BY WALT WHITMAN
AUTHOR
Name Walt Whitman
Born 31 May 1819, West Hills, New York, United States
26 March 1892, Camden, New Jersey, United
Died
States
Leaves of Grass, Song of Myself, O Captain! My
Poems
Captain!
Awards Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Illustration
THEME
• 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.
VOCABULARY
• thou – you
• eternal – everlasting
• impalpable – unable to be felt by touching
• whence – from where
• 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
• unreck’d – uncared for
EXPLANATION
• 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 which the poet translates for his
readers. The rain in its own voice tells the poet that she is the
poem of this Earth. The rain is trying to say that, as music or
poetry gives pleasure to human beings, the rain gives
happiness to mother Earth.
• he poet says that the rain is an eternal process, but it takes different
forms at different times. It rises from the land and the deep sea in the
form of intangible water vapour and goes up to the sky. There it takes
an indistinct shape in the form of clouds.
• Although it changes in its form or shape, its core matter remains the
same. Since vapour and clouds contain water they can get
transformed into the other. The words ‘impalpable’ and ‘eternal’
indicate that nature is not fully understood and some part of it always
remains beyond our reach.
The raindrops pour down from above to wash away droughts and dust layers enveloping Earth. It
satisfies the thirst of the dry Earth and heals everything that is degrading and is lying lifeless. The
showers remove the dust particles and make Earth clean and green.
The rain also helps in the germination of seeds which were lying dormant due to a dry spell.
The rain is involved in a continued process of giving life on Earth by providing water to dormant
seeds and making the Earth more beautiful and full of greenery. Rain helps in enhancing the
beauty of Earth as, in the absence of water, everything turns dull or lifeless and dust accumulates
everywhere.
• The last two lines are the poet’s own words and his reflections upon the answers given by
the rain. The poet observes that the life of rain is similar to that of a song. 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.
POETIC DEVICES
• 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 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.
