Question

Appreciation of the poem The Voice of the rain

Answer 1

The Voice of the Rain by Walt Whitman is prosaic poetry, i.e. poetry that is written as prose. This is because of no rhyme scheme being followed by Whitman, thus, the poetry is written as a blank verse in a conversational tone. The conversation takes place between the poet and the rain when the poet casually asks the rain, “Who are you?” and the rain replies, “I am the poem of the earth.” The significance of this metaphoric reply is only understood in the last two lines of the poem. Often, poets take up the task of acting as mediators between humans and nature, here too the poet is surprised that rain, being inanimate, is actually replying to his query. The poem is the poet’s translation of the rain’s reply. The Rain begins with how he rises from the earth, calling it its origin, and rises up to the heavens, invisible and intangible, in the form of vapour and takes the shape of clouds. Here the rain is in fact, narrating about the water cycle in which the water evaporates and forms clouds in the sky and then again falls back, rejuvenating the earth and infusing it with life. The word “Eternal” suggests to this as this cycle is never ending and has a sense of permanence. The words “impalpable” and “bottomless” project nature as a sort of mystery which is beyond our comprehension. The rain changes its form and appearance many a times during its journey from heaven to earth, and vice versa, but the truth remains that at heart it remains the same. The rain descends to wash clean the Earth of all its dirt and dust. Showers quench the thirst of the earth and banish droughts. The rain rejuvenates the Earth and wakens the seeds that otherwise lie dormant. The rain falls back to the Earth, its origin and infuses its life into the soil, which in turn gives life to the trees and other living organisms and enhances the beauty of the Earth. Purification of the air is an added advantage as greenery filters the air, making it more breathable. The final two lines are given in a parenthesis because they are not a part of the conversation with the Rain, but are the poet’s personal reflections on the dialogue that he had with the Rain. Here the poet compares the rain to a poet’s song. A melody starts from the writer’s heart. After its fulfilment, it goes on starting with one individual then onto the next, meandering about, getting flowed. Through this excursion, the tune may change (reck’d) or continue as before (unreck’d), yet will gather the affection from all the audience members and return back to the writer. The same way, the downpour begins from the earth, meanders up to the mists, however at long last returns home to the earth to implant it with life.