HOW BEAUTIFUL IS THE RAIN

This poem is written by H.W Longfellow on a rain in summer, where he is overjoyed by the shower
in a hot day.
Theme:
The theme of the poem, as the title suggests, is rain. Each line of the poem describes the
beauty of the summer rain.
Rhyming Scheme:
It varies here in the poem from stanza to stanza.
Stanza-1: abbaa
Stanza2: aabb
Stanza3: abccba

Note: Students are required to attempt to write rhyming scheme for the other stanzas.

Keywords:
• Broad and fiery street
• Narrow lane
• Dust and heat
• Mirth and joy
• Clatters
• Tramp of hoofs
• Gushes
• Pours and pours
• Swift and wide
• Muddy tide
• Welcome rain
• Treacherous
• Engulfs
• Turbulent
• Commotion
• Wonted
• Chamber
• Stickman
• Twisted Brooks
• Ailing/suffering
• Fever
• Blessing
• Stretches
• Landscape
• stretches
• Far and wide
 • Leopard
• Tawny and spotted
• Toilsome
• Patient
• Furrowed land
• Oxen
• Yoke encumbered
• Clover scented Gale
• Inhale
• Shining/lustrous
• Sheltering trees
• Filed/pastures
• Grains
• Harvest
• Farmer/peasant
• incessant
• thrift/gain

Stanza-1
How beautiful is the rain
He opens the poem by exclaiming, “How beautiful is the rain!” which shows his happiness and
excitement about rain. The persona is in awe with the rain.

After the dust and heat,

In the broad and fiery street,
In the narrow lane,
“How beautiful is the rain!”

The first stanza details on the beauty of the rain. The persona here is in awe with it. In these lines, he
talks about how the drizzle and shower relieves him from the heat and dust of the summer. He is
just mesmerised by the rain washing off all the heat and dust from the narrow lane and broad
streets of the city.
Figures of speech: Refrain (How beautiful is the rain)

Stanza-2

How it clatters along the roofs,

Like the tramp of hoofs

Here he speaks about how the drops of rain falling on the roofs are having a rhythmic appeal to it.
He compares it with the hoofs of the horses, to give us an image of the rhythm and sound of the
raindrops on the roof.

How it gushes and struggles out

From the throat of the overflowing spout!
In these two lines, he writes how the rain falls from the sky as if it is freeing from the overflowing
clouds in the sky. He compares it with how the water gushes out with pressure from the opening of
a pipe., almost as if it struggle. This stanza is thus visual in nature.
Figures of speech: onomatopoeia (clatters and tramp) and Simile (Like tramp of hoofs)

Stanza-3

Across the window-pane

It pours and pours;
And swift and wide,
With a muddy tide,
Like a river down the gutter roars
The rain, the welcome rain!
Figures of speech: Simile(Like a river down the gutter roars)
In these lines, the poet looking through his window-pane describes how it looks like when the rain
falls on the roof. The rain water is swift and wide down to the gutters. As the rain water falls on the
roof that are filled with summer dust. It looks like a muddy river roaring down the gutters. The poet
welcomes the rain.

Stanza-4

The sick man from his chamber looks

At the twisted brooks;
He can feel the cool
Breath of each little pool;
His fevered brain
Grows calm again,
And he breathes a blessing on the rain.

These lines tells us about how a sick man who is ill looks at the brooks(small river, small stream)
from his room and feels the coolness of it and grows calm and feels better. He then speaks a blessing
on the rain by thanking God as the rain has brought a sense of healing and comfort to the sick man.

Stanza-5

From the neighbouring school

Come the boys,
With more than their wonted noise
And commotion;
And down the wet streets
Sail their mimic fleets
The poet speaks of the small boys from the school, who are overjoyed to see the rain. The boys from
the neighbouring school come to the wet streets making noises and screaming in excitement. They
played in the rain with artificial ships and boats. in the pool of water which is mixed with water mud
and dirt.

Till the treacherous pool

Engulfs them in its whirling
And turbulent ocean.
They play till their mimic fleets breaks down with the current of water. The children seem fearless
and enjoy themselves while the poet seems worried as the heavy downpour resembles stormy
waves and disturbed ocean.

Stanza-6

In the country, on every side,

Where far and wide,
Like a leopard’s tawny and spotted hide,
Stretches the plain,
To the dry grass and the drier grain
How welcome is the rain!
Figures of speech: Simile (Like a leopard’s tawny and spotted hide)

These lines speaks about the happiness of the poet seeing the rain on a dry places made by the
summer sun. The poet describes the entire field saying it looks like a leopard patchy spotted design,
as it is yellow and looks like leopard's fur.

Stanza -7

In the furrowed land

The toilsome and patient oxen stand;
Lifting the yoke encumbered head,
With their dilated nostrils spread,
They silently inhale
The clover-scented gale,
And the vapours that arise
From the well-watered and smoking soil.
For this rest in the furrow after toil
Their large and lustrous eyes
Seem to thank the Lord,
More than man’s spoken word.
In this stanza the poet talks about the happiness of the hard working and patient oxen standing in
the furrowed land, with the burden of yoke on their head starting to silently inhale the air rising
from the well and hot soil in a sigh of relief after toil because of the rain. The oxen with their shining
eyes seem to thank Lord more than a man.

Stanza-8
Near at hand,
From under the sheltering trees,
The farmer sees
His pastures, and his fields of grain,
As they bend their tops
To the numberless beating drops
Of the incessant rain.

Farmer staying under the tree from the rain, which is just near the field, sees his field and crops
bending with the continuous and countless rain drops.

He counts it as no sin
That he sees therein
Only his own thrift and gain.
The poet says that the farmer doesn’t see any kind of harm or sin in being satisfied that the rain has
come only for his benefit. He spends his harvest money carefully and wisely rather than being
spendthrift.

Central idea of the poem:

The poet has described how various people, places and animals welcome the rain with a joyous spirit
because it comes after a long spell of intense heat and dry weather. It has brought much happiness
and mirth to the sick man, gladdened the hearts of the children with utmost joy, a big sense of relief
to the peasants and all forms of life on earth.
Prepared by,

Mrs Asmita Doris K