3 The Voice of the Rain" by Walt Whitman 11

The Voice of the Rain" by Walt Whitman

1. Summary 

In this poem, the poet asks the rain, "Who are you?" To his surprise, the rain answers! It says, “I am the voice of the Earth.” It tells the poet that it rises from land and sea as water vapour (steam), goes up to the sky, and then falls back down as rain. When it falls, it cleans the Earth and helps plants and seeds grow. The rain also says that it returns to where it came from—just like a song. The poet says that both rain and poetry are born from deep thoughts, go on a journey, and come back more beautiful.

2. Central Idea 

The poem tells us how rain moves in a cycle: it goes up from the Earth, forms clouds, and then falls as rain to help everything grow. The poet compares this to poetry. A poem comes from a poet’s heart, goes out into the world, and comes back as love or appreciation. Both rain and poetry are natural, beautiful, and helpful.

3. Word Meanings 

Word / Phrase	Meaning
Voice of the rain	Rain is talking like a person
Eternal	Forever, never-ending
Impalpable	Cannot be touched
Whence	From where
Wended	Went
Latent	Hidden, not seen yet
Lave	To gently wash
Reck’d / unreck’d	Cared for / not cared for
Atomies	Tiny particles
Poem of Earth	Another name for rain (it is like a poem from Earth)

4. Poetic Devices 

Device	Example	What it Does
Personification	“And who are you? I asked the soft-falling rain…”	Rain talks like a human
Metaphor	Rain is called “Poem of the Earth”	Compares rain to a poem
Imagery	“I rise impalpable out of the land…”	Helps us imagine the scene clearly
Repetition	“And forever, and forever…”	Shows that the rain cycle never stops
Parallelism	“I rise… I descend… I give…”	Shows a flow or rhythm in the rain’s journey

Poem: The Voice of the Rain – Line-by-Line Explanation

Lines 1–2

“And who art thou? said I to the soft-falling shower,
Which, strange to tell, gave me an answer, as here translated:”

 The poet asks the gentle rain, “Who are you?”
 To his surprise, the rain answers him in words (which the poet has translated into this poem).

Lines 3–4

“I am the Poem of Earth,” said the voice of the rain,
Eternal I rise impalpable out of the land and the bottomless sea,”

The rain says it is the “Poem of the Earth” — a natural song from the Earth.
 It says it rises forever (eternally) from the land and sea as invisible water vapor.

Lines 5–6

“Upward to heaven, whence, vaguely form’d, altogether changed, and yet the same,”

 The vapour goes up into the sky (heaven), where it changes into clouds.
 Even though it changes form, it is still the same in nature (still water).

Lines 7–8

“I descend to lave the droughts, atomies, dust-layers of the globe,”

 The rain says, “I fall back down to wash (lave) dry lands, tiny particles, and dust on Earth.”
 It cleans and refreshes the world.

Lines 9–10

“And all that in them without me were seeds only, latent, unborn;”

 Rain gives life to seeds that are hidden and dry.
 Without rain, seeds would remain unborn and would never grow.

Lines 11–12

“And forever, by day and night, I give back life to my own origin,”

 Rain says that all day and night, it gives life back to where it came from — the Earth.

Lines 13–14

“And make pure and beautify it;
(For song, issuing from its birthplace, after fulfilment, wandering,”

 Rain makes the Earth clean and beautiful again.
 The poet then compares rain to a song — which also comes from a place (the poet’s heart), goes out into the world, and fulfills its purpose.

Lines 15–16

“Reck’d or unreck’d, duly with love returns.”

 Whether people care for it or not (reck’d or unreck’d), the song returns with love.
 Just like the rain returns to the Earth with love, whether people notice it or not.

 In Short:

• The rain tells its story — how it rises, changes, and returns.

• The poet compares rain to a poem or song — both are natural, beautiful, and return to their source in a better form.

NCERT Book Questions and Answers

Q1. There are two voices in the poem. Who do they belong to? Which lines indicate this?

Answer:
The two voices are:

1. The poet – who asks the question.

2. The rain – who gives the answer.

These lines show the conversation:

• Poet’s voice: “And who art thou?” said I to the soft-falling shower…

• Rain’s voice: “‘I am the Poem of the Earth,’ said the voice of the rain…”

Q2. What does the phrase “strange to tell” mean?

Answer:
“Strange to tell” means something surprising or unusual.
It is surprising that the rain answered the poet’s question — something we don’t expect from nature.

Q3. What does the rain call itself?

Answer:
The rain calls itself “the Poem of the Earth.”
This means it is a natural, beautiful, and life-giving creation — just like a poem is a creation of a poet.

Q4. How is the cycle of the rain described in the poem?

Answer:
The rain says:

• It rises from the land and sea as water vapor.

• It goes up to the sky and forms clouds.

• It changes form but stays the same in nature.

• It returns to Earth as rain, giving life and beauty to everything.

• This is a never-ending (eternal) cycle.

Q5. Why are the last two lines put within brackets?

Answer:
The last two lines are in brackets because:

• They are the poet’s thoughts (not the rain’s voice).

• The poet compares the journey of rain to the journey of a poem — both are born from the heart (Earth or poet), travel, and return with love and purpose.

Q6. List the pairs of opposites found in the poem.

Answer:

Word 1	Opposite
Rise	Descend / Fall
Day	Night
Reck’d	Unreck’d
Hidden (Latent)	Visible / Born
Dry (Drought)	Wet / Laved