NCERT Class 11 English Hornbill Poem 3: The Voice of the Rain Solutions (Free PDF)

Looking for NCERT Class 11 English Hornbill Poem 3: The Voice of the Rain Solutions? This blog gives easy and clear answers to the exercise questions from the poem The Voice of the Rain by Walt Whitman. The answers will help you understand the poem better and do well in your CBSE exams. You can also download a free PDF to revise quickly anytime.

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Chapter 1	Chapter 2	Chapter 3	Chapter 4	Chapter 5
Poem 1	Poem 2	Poem 3	Poem 4	Poem 5

NCERT Class 11 English The Voice of the Rain Solutions 

Think it Out

I 1. There are two voices in the poem. Who do they belong to? Which lines indicate this?

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

3. There is a parallel drawn between rain and music. Which words indicate this? Explain the similarity between the two.

4. How is the cyclic movement of rain brought out in the poem? Compare it with what you have learnt in science.

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

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

Solution

1. The poem “The Voice of the Rain” features a dialogue between two voices. The first voice is the poet’s, and the second voice is that of the rain itself.
   The poet begins with the line “And who art thou? said I to the soft-falling shower,” showing that he is directly speaking to the rain. The second voice is introduced when the rain replies, “I am the Poem of Earth,” said the voice of the rain. This line makes it clear that the rain is responding to the poet’s question. The poetic structure turns the rain into a speaking character, sharing its identity and purpose.
2. The phrase “strange to tell” means that what the poet is going to say is surprising or hard to believe. In the poem, the poet is shocked that the rain answers his question. Normally, things like rain don’t talk, so it feels magical and unusual. This phrase shows the poet’s surprise and creates a special, dream-like mood for the rest of the poem.
3. The poem compares rain to music using words like “Poem of Earth,” “duly with love returns,” and “song.” Both rain and music have a soft, pleasant rhythm. Music comes from the heart and makes us feel emotions, while rain rises as vapour, becomes clouds, and falls back to the earth to help plants grow. This return is full of love and care, just like music that touches our hearts. The poet shows that rain, like a song, is beautiful and helpful.

4. The poem describes the water cycle in a beautiful, poetic way. The rain says that it rises “eternally” from the land and sea as vapour. It then rises into the sky, forms clouds, and falls back down as rain to refresh the earth. The poet writes, “I descend to lave the droughts, atomies, dust-layers of the globe,” showing how rain helps all living things by nourishing the earth.
   In science, this process is known as evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. The poem mirrors this scientific process with artistic expression, turning a natural cycle into something soulful and poetic.

5. The last two lines are in brackets to show that they are the poet’s own thoughts, separate from the rain’s voice. Most of the poem is the rain speaking, but in these lines, the poet shares his own feelings. He compares the rain’s return to Earth to a song that comes back with love and is fully complete. These lines help connect the rain’s story to human emotions, like how music and poetry touch our hearts.

6. The poem uses several pairs of opposites to highlight the contrasts in nature and the rain’s journey:
   1. Day – night (symbolising time passing during the rain cycle)
   2. Reck’d – unreck’d (things that are cared for vs. unnoticed things)
   3. Rise – descend (the upward movement of vapour and the downward fall of rain)
   4. Silence – song (quietness vs. the poetic sound of rain)

These opposites help underline the transformative and rhythmic nature of rain as described in the poem.

II. Notice the Following Sentence Patterns.

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

Rewrite the above sentences in prose.

Solutions 

Here are the prose versions of the above-mentioned sentences: 

1. I asked the soft-falling shower, “Who are you?”
2. The voice of the rain replied, “I am the Poem of Earth.”
3. I rise eternally.
4. Like a song that returns lovingly and completely, I, too, return to Earth.

III. Look for some more poems on the rain and see how this one is different from them.

Solutions: Most rain poems describe the sound, smell, or beauty of rainfall. However, “The Voice of the Rain” is different because it gives the rain a voice and lets it tell its own story.

This poem is more philosophical and symbolic. It connects the rain’s natural cycle to the idea of poetry, music, and creation. Instead of focusing only on the rain’s appearance or effect, Walt Whitman shows us the rain’s purpose and makes us see it as a living, speaking force. This unique approach makes the poem thoughtful and meaningful.

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