Hornbill The Voice of the Rain

QUESTIONS FROM TEXTBOOK SOLVED

A. Think it Out

Question 1:
There are two voices in the poem. Who do they belong to? Which lines indicate this?
Answer:
One of them belongs to the poet and the other to the rain. These are indicated in
lines 1-2 and 3-9 respectively.
Question 2:
What does the phrase ‘strange to tell’ mean?
Answer:
The phrase refers to a strange phenomenon—the rain gives an answer to the poet’s query. It
is surprising to report the answer.
Question 3:
There is a parallel drawn between r« in and music. Which words indicate this? Explain the
similarity between the two.
Answer:
The following words/phrases indicate the parallel between rain and music: ‘Poem of Earth’,
‘eternal I rise impalpable out of land and the bottomless sea’ ‘For song duly with love
returns.’
Both originate from a source, rise up, reach fulfilment, wander about whether cared about or
not and finally return to source of origin with love.
Question 4:
How is the cyclic movement of rein brought out in the poem?
Answer:
Rain water rises untouched out of the land and deep sea and gathers in the sky, where it
changes form, and then comes down to earth to bathe the dry tiny particles of dust layers
and all that lies buried under it. Then it returns to the place of its origin. Science textbooks
indicate that water vapours from the rivers and ocean rise up to the sky due to the intense
heat. They assume the form of clouds and after condensation drop down as rain. The water
flows back through rivers to the seas and oceans.
Question 5:
Why are the last two lines put within brackets?
Answer:
The last two lines contain a comment about music and its cycle. These differ from the first
nine lines. The first two lines are the voice of the poet whereas lines three to nine are
spoken by rain. The cycle of song is put within brackets to mark the difference in speakers
but similarity in content.
Question 6:
List the pairs of opposites found in the poem.
Answer:
rise-descend; day-night; reck’d-unreck’d

B. Notice the sentence pattern in the following:

Rewrite these sentences in prose.

1. And who art thou? said I to the soft-falling shower.
2. I am the Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain.
3. Eternal I rise
4. For song duly with love returns.
Answer:
1. I said to the soft-falling shower, “Who are you?”
2. The voice of the rain said, “I am the poem of Earth.”
3. I rise eternally.
4. For song returns duly with love.

MORE QUESTIONS SOLVED

A. Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1:
The poem begins in a conversational tone. Who are the two participants? What is the
advantage of this method?
Answer:
The two participants are the poet and the rain. The poet makes the rain relate its own story.
This direct presentation makes the narration more authentic, interesting and captivating.
Question 2:
“Behind the apparent simplicity, the poem hides a deep meaning.” What exactly does the
poem convey to the reader?
Answer:
The poem is not merely a description of life-cycle of rain. It has deeper meaning. Rain is a
poem or thing of beauty of Earth and so is song or music. The comparison between rain
and music .and their function: making the Earth pure and beautiful conveys the eternal role
of natural phenomenon and art in real life.
Question 3:
How does the rain justify its claim: “I am the Poem of Earth’”?
Answer:
The rain narrates the journey of its life—from birth to return to origin in mythical terms. The
facts are scientific but the phrases that convey them are metaphoric and literary. The whole
journey has a beauty and charm associated with a poem.

B. Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1:
How is the cyclic movement of rain brought out in the poem “The Voice of the Rain”? What
points of similarity do you notice between rain and music?
Answer:
The rain calls itself the poem of earth. It is everlasting and perpetual. It is something that
cannot be touched. It originates from the land and the deep sea. Then it rises upward to
heaven where it changes its form into a cloud, yet remains the same in quality. From the sky
it pours down on earth to wash the dry tiny particles and dust layers of the earth. The rain
helps the unborn seeds to sprout. These seeds lay hidden and unborn under the layers of
earth. Rain gives back life to its origin making it pure and beautiful. Rain and music are both
beautiful and life-giving. They are eternal sources of joy and go on perpetually. They inspire
even dormant objects and persons with life and activity.

The Voice of the Rain Extra Questions and Answers Short Answer Type

Question 1.
Why does the poet get surprised when he gets an answer from the rain?
Answer:
The poet gets surprised when he gets an answer from the rain, as it is inanimate
and cannot speak. In this poem, to the poet’s and reader’s amazement, the rain
gives a reply which has been translated by the poet for the readers.
Question 2.
What answer does the rain give back to the poet?
Answer:
The rain answers to the poet’s question by telling him that it is the Poem of Earth
and is involved in a continuing process of going up and coming down.
Question 3.
How does the rain justify its claim ‘I am the Poem of Earth’?
Answer:
The rain calls itself the Poem of the Earth because the poem rendered by the
poet has the task of bringing joy, happiness, life to its readers. Similarly when the
rain falls down over Earth, a rhythm or music is created. That’s why the rain calls
itself the Poem of Earth.
Question 4.
Describe the never ending cycle of rain.
Answer:
Water rises unperceived in the form of vapour from land and water bodies on the
Earth. It goes up, takes the form of a cloud, changes its shape and falls down on
Earth in the form .of water drops to bathe the small dust particles, land and sea.
The water returns through rivers to oceans and seas after it rains on Earth.
Question 5.
Why does the rain call itself ‘impalpable’?
Answer:
Impalpable means something that cannot be felt by touching or seeing. When
water takes the form of vapour, it is not visible to the human eye and nor can we
feel its touch.
The vapour rises to the sky, condenses and forms clouds which cause rain.
Though we are aware of its presence, the process remains invisible to us. Hence,
the rain has rightly called itself ‘impalpable’.
Question 6.
What happens when it rains after a long hot spell?
Answer:
After a long hot spell, everything is dried up on Earth. When it rains, all the dust
that has accumulated on Earth gets washed away, giving a new fresh look to
nature. Moreover the seeds which were lying latent till now, get germinated with
the help of rain and new trees and plants start growing.
Question 7.
Latent seeds get a life by rain. Explain.
Answer:
The seeds lying on Earth require water to germinate and take shape. When it
rains, the seeds start germinating and change into the form of saplings. In this
way, the seeds which would have dried up or get wasted get a new lease of life
by rain.
Question 8.
Why is rain essential for Earth?
Answer:
If it doesn’t rain then Earth will remain parched, droughts will follow and the dust-
layers will not be washed away. There will be nothing to quench the thirst of the
plants and trees and their seeds will die.
Question 9.
How does the rain become the voice of Earth?
Answer:
In the poem, ‘The Voice of the Rain’, the poet describes how the rain falls on
Earth. He also asks a question to the rain’about it. He calls the showers of the
rain as ‘Poem of Earth’ as the rain gives a new lease of life to ‘ the scorched and
parched Earth and falls on Earth in a rhythmic manner.
Actually, it is the voice of Earth as the slowly falling showers produce a very soft
music and Earth finds its expression only through the showers falling on it.
Question 10.
Why do you think the poet says the phrase ‘reck’d or unreck’d’?
Answer:
The words have been poetically drafted. Reck’d and unreck’d stand for reckoned
and unreckoned. The words literally mean cared and uncared for respectively.
The poet says these words to emphasise the fact that when it falls on the Earth,
we sometimes take notice of it or sometimes completely ignore it. But even if it
is left uncared for, it completes its destiny and returns to absorbed where it
started from.
Question 11.
Justify the title ‘The Voice of the Rain’.
Answer:
The whole poem is about the eternal process of rain and its benefits. Through the
words of the rain, the poet has tried to bring out the importance of rain for Earth,
for plants and for man. As the poet is translating what the rain is speaking
through its own language (the sounds it makes when it falls), the whole poem is
about the rain talking to the poet. Thus, the title is justified.
Question 12.
The poem has a conversational tone throughout. Who are the two participants?
Is there any advantage of this method?
Answer:
The two participants are the poet and the voice of the rain which answers the
poet’s questions. The advantage of this method is to maintain continuity of
thoughts and ideas expressed by the poet and to bring about clarity in what he
wants to express.

The Voice Of The Rain Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type

Question 1.
The poem ‘The Voice of the Rain’ gives a hidden message that rain is essential
for this Earth. Write an article in 120-150 words describing the importance of
rain.
Answer:
As we all know, the three essentials for survival are water, food and air. The most
important element of weather is water. We get water in different forms of
precipitation but rain is the most beneficial of all types of precipitation.
Rain helps in harvesting our crops that give us food to eat. Without rain, no crops
would grow and we would perish. Also, falling showers remove the dust in air,
making our air clean, because we need clean air to breathe.
Rain water plays a key role in creating the climate of certain areas. Its presence
in the atmosphere provides replenishment of the moisture in cloud systems.
The most well-known and most important effect of rain water is to provide us
with water to drink. Without rain, there would be no life.
Question 2.
Rain is an eternal process benefiting mankind. Contrast it with human life which
is short lived on this Earth. Should we disturb these eternal elements of nature?
Answer:
The poem ‘The Voice of the Rain’ beautifully shows the continued process of rain
which sounds like music to human ears, as it fulfills our needs.
It is an ever going process which sustains human life and provides us with food,
pure air and green cover. On the other hand, human lives are mortal. We come on
this Earth for a short period and then depart without leaving any mark on this
planet. Moreover human beings, for their greed and selfish motives, indulge in
destructive activities which may disturb these eternal processes of nature.
We must learn a lesson from nature. If we want peaceful co-existence, we need
not disturb the balance of nature, otherwise the whole of humanity will be in
danger. We must learn a lesson from such eternal processes and do something
good for humanity at large.
Question 3.
Natural elements such as air and rain make no discrimination and bless everyone
equally. Comment on class distinction and inequality, which is a totally human
creation.
Answer:
Man’s existence on this Earth is short-lived but even in this short span, he has
been responsible for many wrong doings against other human beings. God has
created everyone as equal. But it is very unfortunate that man has divided this
society on the basis of class, caste and other factors.
Man must learn from elements of nature which provide us fresh air, heat or
water, without making any distinction. But in human society class distinctions
and caste distinctions both exist and inequalities prevail in large numbers. It is
high time that man must learn lessons from nature and adopt universal
brotherhood for the betterment of our society.

The Voice Of The Rain Extract based Questions and Answers

I. Read the extract given below and answer any two of the questions that follow.
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,
Question 1.
Who is T in the first line?
(a) The poet
(b) The land
(c) The sea
(d) The raindrops
Answer:
(a) The poet
Question 2.
What does the rain call itself? Why?
(a) The poet of the Earth
(b) The poem of the Earth
(c) The poem of the Sea
(d) The poet of the Sea
Answer:
The poem of the Earth
Question 3.
The word ‘thou’ in the extract is a ………. .
(a) noun
(b) verb
(c) preposition
(d) pronoun
Answer:
(d) pronoun
II. Read the extract given below and answer any two of the questions that follow.
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,
Question 1.
What does the use of word ‘eternal’ indicate here?
(a) It indicates the continual process of rain
(b) It indicates the continual process of nature
(c) It indicates the discontinuous process of rain
(d) It indicates the discontinuous process of nature
Answer:
(a) It indicates the continual process of rain
Question 2.
From where does ‘I’ rise and where does it go?
(a) It rises in the form of droplets and goes to the sea
(b) It rises in the form of clouds and goes to the sky
(c) It rises in the form of water vapour and goes to the land
(d) It rises in the form of water vapour and goes to the sky
Answer:
(d) It rises in the form of water vapour and goes to the sky
Question 3.
Which word in the extract means the same as “in a way that is uncertain,
indefinite or unclear”?
(a) Eternal
(b) Impalpable
(c) Vaguely
(d) Bottomless
Answer:
(c) Vaguely
III. Read the extract given below and answer any two of the questions that follow.
I descend to lave the droughts, atomies, dust-layers of the globe,
And all that in them without me were seeds only, latent, unborn;
Question 1.
With what purpose does the rain descend from the sky?
(a) To trouble the creatures of the Earth
(b) To give life to the drought affected areas and plants
(c) To wash the dust layers enveloping the Earth
(d) Both (b) and (c)
Answer:
(d) Both (b) and (c)
Question 2.
What will happen if T was not there?
(a) It would result in happiness on the Earth
(b) It would not matter to the residents of the Earth
(c) The seeds will remain as seeds and plants will not grow
(d) It would result in the rise of temperature on Earth
Answer:
(c) The seeds will remain as seeds and plants will not grow
Question 3.
……….. is the opposite of ‘latent’.
(a) Inactive
(b) Manifest
(c) Dormant
(d) Resolute
Answer:
(b) Manifest
IV. Read the extract given below and answer any two of the questions that follow.
And forever, by day and night, I give back life to my own origin,
And make pure and beautify it;
Question 1.
In what way does the rain help its place of origin?
(a) By causing floods
(b) By providing water to the drought stricken areas
(c) By washing away impurities from the Earth
(d) Both (b) and (c)
Answer:
(d) Both (b) and (c)
Question 2.
What is the importance of the word ‘forever’?
(a) It points to the everlasting features of artificial elements
(b) It points to the everlasting features of natural elements
(c) It points to the temporary features of natural elements
(d) It points to the temporary features of artificial elements
Answer:
(b) It points to the everlasting features of natural elements
Question 3.
……….. in the extract is the opposite of ‘ending’.
(a) By
(b) Back
(c) Origin
(d) Beginning
Answer:
(c) Origin
V. Read the extract given below and answer any two of the questions that follow.
(For song, issuing from its birth-place, after fulfilment, wandering Reck’d or
unreck’d, duly with love returns.)
Question 1.
What is the similarity between a song and the rain?
(a) They return to their place of origin
(b) They are never ending
(c) They do not have any origin
(d) They are liked by one and all
Answer:
(a) They return to their place of origin
Question 2.
How has the poet been able to put his own reflections?
(a) By using quotation marks
(b) By using parenthesis or brackets
(c) By making notes in his diary
(d) By telling his friends about his experiences
Answer:
(b) By using parenthesis or brackets
Question 3.
For what purpose has the phrase ‘reck’d’ or ‘unreck’d’ used in the passage?
(a) For highlighting the author’s comments
(b) To indicate that rain or a song keep completing their life-cycle
(c) To indicate that rain or a song do not complete their life-cycle
(d) For making the poem interesting
Answer:
(b) To indicate that rain or a song keep completing their life-cycle