Rain on the Roof

Hello, Dear readers,

You, Exactly landed on right Place.

Today, I will be discussing all the important points related to the Rain on the Roof I ensure you will get a complete idea to write the summary, central idea, and explanation of the poem orderly. You will be able to write the specification and figure of speech used in this poem too. After reading this page you will find the secret to score outstanding marks in the board examination.

Let’s get started

• About the Poet,
• Short introduction of the Poem
• Stanza-wise explanation along with reference and context
• Keywords and Quick Point after each Stanza
• Quiz: to check the level of understanding
• Central idea of  The Poem
• Videos just like a live class
• Relevant Quotations and statements
• Specification (Themes and figure of speech etc.)

About the Poem

This poem is the description of the childhood memories of the writer during the rainy season. It refreshes the memories where the writer would lie on the bed during the rain and would hear the melodious sound of the raindrops.

About the Poet

Born on 24th November 1826, Coates Kinney was an American lawyer, politician, journalist, and poet, who
along with ‘Rain on the roof’ have written Keeuka (1855), Lyrics of the Ideal and the Real (1888), Mists of
Fire: A Trilogy and Some Eclogues (1899). He died on 25th January 1904.

Poem and Explanation

Stanza 1

When the humid shadows hover
Overall the starry spheres
And the melancholy darkness
Gently weeps in rainy tears,
What a bliss to press the pillow
Of a cottage-chamber bed
And lie listening to the patter
Of the soft rain overhead!

Difficult words

Humid: something which is full of moisture.
‘shadows’ refers to the moisture-laden clouds which cast a shadow on the earth.
Hover: Move around something
Melancholy: sad
Bliss: Happiness
Patter: the sound of raindrops falling on the roof.
Cottage chamber means the bedroom.

Figure of speech

1)Alliteration: The repetition of a consonant sound in two or more consecutive words.
‘Humid Hover’ – ‘h’ sound is repeating.
‘starry spheres’ – ‘s’ should is repeating.
‘press pillow’- ‘p’ sound is repeating.
‘lie listening’ – ‘l’ sound is repeating.
2) Onomatopoeia: ‘Patter’ is the use of sound words. It is the sound made by the raindrops falling on the
rooftop.
3)Personification: Darkness has been personified when he says that it is sad.

4)Transferred Epithet: In ‘melancholy darkness’, the darkness is not melancholy, but it refers to the sad
people.

Explanation

The poet says that when the sky gets occupied by the moisture-laden dark clouds, it feels like all the sorrowful sadness wipes out with the raindrops. At such times, the poet loves laying on the bed and enjoy the tapping sound of the raindrops.

Stanza 2

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 air-threads into woof,
As I listen to the patter
Of the rain upon the roof.

Difficult Words

Tinkle: short, light ringing sound
Shingles: rectangular wooden tiles used on roofs
Echo: repeated sound
Woof: the thread is woven across the loom
Patter: the sound of raindrops falling on the roof
Busy being: human beings and here, the poet himself

Figure of Speech

1.Alliteration: The repetition of a consonant sound in two or more consecutive words.
‘busy being’ – ‘b’ sound is repeating
‘their thread’ – ‘th’ sound is repeating
‘rain roof’ – ‘r’ sound is repeating
2)Onomatopoeia: ‘tinkle’, ‘patter’ – sounds made by the raindrops

3)Personification: Recollection is personified when he says that they weave dreams.

4)Transferred Epithet: ‘dreamy fancies’ – it does not mean that the fancies are dreamy but refers to the
people who have dreams.

Explanation

The poet says that when the raindrops on top of the ceiling of his house, he hears a ringing echo in his heart; and this pattering sound of rainfall generates many dreams in his mind by recollecting his old memories.

Stanza 3

Now in memory comes my mother,
As she used in years agone,
To regard the darling dreamers
Ere she left them till the dawn:
O! I feel her fond look on me
As I list to this refrain
Which is played upon the shingles
By the patter of the rain.

Difficult Words
Agone: ago
Ere: old poetic word for ‘before’
Dawn: daybreak
List: old poetic word for’ listen’
Refrain: a repeated part of a song or a poem; here, the sound of the rain

Figure of Speech

1)Alliteration: ‘memory my mother’ – ‘m’ sound is repeating
‘Darling dreamers’ – ‘d’ sound is repeating
2)Onomatopoeia: ‘patter’ – the sound of raindrops falling on the shingles of the roof.

Explanation

The poet says that the rainfall reminds him of his late mother, who loved him a lot. He adds that the
whenever he listens to the sound of rain, he feels that his mother is looking at him with the same affection
with which she used to adore him in his childhood.

Question and Answer

1.What do the following phrases mean to you?
(i)humid shadows
(ii)Starry spheres
(iii)What a bliss
(iv) a thousand dreamy fancies Into busy being start
(v) a thousand recollections weave their air-threads into woof
Answer: (i) ‘humid shadows’ refers to the rainy clouds.
(ii) ‘starry spheres’ refers to the scene of stars in the sky at night.
(iii)‘what a bliss’ means a sense of happiness.
(iv)‘a thousand dreamy fancies into busy being start’ means refer to the different types of fancy dreams
that starts dreaming during the rainfall.
(v)‘a thousand recollections weave their air-threads into woof’ refers to the past memories which come
back to the people’s minds in the form of dreams.

2. What does the poet like to do when it rains?
   Answer: The poet likes to hear the sound of rain while layin3et? Who are the “darling Dreamers” he
   refers to?
   Answer: The single major memory that comes to the poet is the memory of his mother, where she
   would be adoring him and his siblings, and then she would put them to sleep for long hours.
   “Darling Dreamers” refers to the poet and his siblings.
3. Is the poet now a child? Is his mother still alive?
   Answer: No, now the poet is not a child, in fact, he is a grown man now.
   No, his mother isn’t alive anymore.

Quiz: Check Your Level

“Let’s just quiet and listen to the secrets the rain wants to tell.”…………John Mark Green