Summary (Rain on the Roof)

This poem tells us what the poet is thinking about when he hears the sound of the
rain falling. The poem praises the healing power of nature’s rain, especially when
heard from a cosy bed in a lovely cottage. The poet says that it is pleasant to live
and sleep comfortably in a cottage on a rainy night, when the tinkle of the rain
brings fond memories of the past. The rain is thus an instrument of beautiful
memories of the past years. The sound of the rain falling takes the poet to his
childhood when the fondest memory of his mother is brought before him.
1st Stanza:
When the humid shadows hover 
Over all the starry spheres,
And the melancholy darkness
Gently weeps in rainy tears,
What a joy to press the pillow
Of a cottage-chamber bed,
And to listen to the patter
Of the soft rain overhead! 
● In this stanza, the poet describes a rainy night. He says that all the stars of
the sky have become invisible because they have been covered by clouds.
● Darkness usually has a negative connotation/ meaning. So the poet says
that the darkness is making him sad and reflective, and the rain also seems
to mirror his emotions as it looks like tears falling softly from human eyes.
● At this point, the only thing that can bring joy to the poet is to curl up with
a pillow in the bed of a country cottage. Though the rooms of the cottage
may be small and ill-equipped, the sound of raindrops can only transport
him there for him to recover from his melancholic mood.
2nd Stanza:
Every tinkle on the shingles 
Has an echo in the heart;
And a thousand dreamy fancies
Into busy being start,
And a thousand recollections
Weave their bright hues into woof,
As I listen to the patter
Of the rain upon the roof. 
● In this stanza, the poet describes how the raindrops make the loudest
sound as they fall on the shingles of the roof.
● Each sound that is made by the rain in this way is repeated the next instant
by the beating of his heart. The things he has only been imagining now start
to appear before his very eyes.
● As he is listening to the soft and continuous falling of the raindrops on his
roof, all his memories are coming back to him, but they are not discrete and
separated from each other.
● Instead all of his memories seem to have formed a patchwork by becoming
entwined with one another.
3rd Stanza:
Now in fancy comes my mother, 
As she used to, years agone,
To survey her darling dreamers,
Ere she left them till the dawn;
Oh! I see her bending o’er me,
As I list to this refrain
Which is played upon the shingles
By the patter of the rain. 
In this stanza, the poet describes the first memory that he can actually identify
among the patchwork that all his memories have formed by meshing together. He
remembers how many years ago, in his childhood, his mother used to look down
at him and his siblings as they were sleeping and having pleasant dreams. His
mother would make a point to look at them every night, for she knew she would
not see them again till the next morning. What the poet remembers more than
anything is how his mother would bend down and watch over him in particular.
These memories are evoked as he listens to the repetitive rhythm of the
raindrops as they are falling on his roof.

KEYPOINTS

● The writer is lying in his bed.

● He heard the sound of the clouds. 
● Suddenly the quietness of  the environment disappeared. 
● It started raining lightly. 
● The roof is of tin so rain creates beautiful sound.
● The sound echoed in heart of the poet.
● He remembered a number of things.
● Some memories are sweets and some are said. 
● The sound of rain appeared to be a bliss to the poet.

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SUMMARY
The humidity of the atmosphere is relatively high as it lingers below the dark skies
and the twinkling shimmering light of the stars forms into roundness of visible
source of light. Though the darkness mourns the melancholic spirit of
indescribable sadness, the soft rain sets in to compensate it with the spirit of
peace for the lonely night at hand. Kinney suddenly realizes how much joy and
pleasure of sleep he can attain when his head presses against his pillow to
conclude the long day into a goodnight’s rest. He can sleep soundly like a little
child in his cottage bedroom and listen to the patter of the soft summer showers
overhead on the roof.
        Every tinkle of raindrops that fall on the thin oblong piece of material, such as
wood or slate that is laid in overlapping rows to cover the roofs or sides of the
cottage produces an echo in Kinney’s heart and starts a thousand fancies in his
thoughts. They spin the yarns of bright fanciful colours into his mind and he
listens to the patter of the rain on the roof. In his continual imagination comes his
mother to his vivid thoughts and just like in the early years when she observes all
her off-springs in their sleep. Before she leaves them before the break of dawn,
he can see her bending over him, as he listens to this refraining melody which is
played by the patter of rain upon the shingles of the roof.     
      The next phase of his imagination is when his angelic seraph sister, with her
wings and waving hair, appear before his thoughts along with her bright-eyed
angelic cherub brother.  The two are a peaceful angelic pair flying around his
pillow above his sleepy head. With their songs of praise and mild scolding, he
listened to the murmur of the rain on the roof. 

Answer following questions in short.

Q1) What does the poet like to do when it rains?

Ans1) The poet likes to lie in a room with a pillow. It will give him the highest pleasure. There he will be in
a state of highest bliss.

Q2) What is a ‘bliss’ for the poet in the poem in the poem ‘Rain on the Roof”?
Ans2) The poet loves rain because it carries him in old memories. He thinks it is bliss to hear the sound of
the rain on the roof. He lies in his cozy bed and enjoys the music of nature. It’s bliss for him.

Q3)  What shows that the poet loved his mother?

Ans3) The poet loved his mother. He remembered her when he lied on his cozy bed to enjoy the sound of
rain. It appears to him as if she was fondly looking at him.

Q4) When does the ‘thousand dream fancies’ began to weave in the poet’s mind?
Ans4) When the poet is in his cozy cottage and he lies in his bed listening to the soft music of rain on the
roof his mind is flooded with memories of his mother. He recalls his childhood.

Q5) Write the central theme of the poem?

 Ans5) The poet exhibits that the rain brings him maximum happiness. He lost in dreaming. So many
fancies go on revolving in his mind. He loves the pattering of soft rain.