Scribd
Upload
76 views

Rain On The Roof

Uploaded by

swarnasingh0811
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
76 views

Rain On The Roof

Uploaded by

swarnasingh0811
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

RAIN ON THE ROOF

Central Idea
The poem tells us about the healing power of rain, especially when heard from a cosy bed
in a lovely cottage. It is pleasant to live and sleep in a cottage on a rainy night. The tinkle
of the rain brings dreamy fancies with bright hues of recollection. The fondest memory
of the poet’s mother is stirred before him in all her gentle loveliness by the pitter-patter
of the rain drops.

Important words and phrases:


hover: the float in the air
melancholy: sad, gloomy
shingles: small wooden tiles used on roofs
fancies: imagination
woof: the threads woven across the loom
agone: archaic for ‘ago’, time that has passed
ere: before

Explanation:
‘Rain on the Roof’ by Coates Kinney is about the memories that the rain evokes. The
poet describes the atmosphere when it rains. The sky is covered with clouds and
everything gets dark. As the rain pours, the poet lies in the cottage-chamber bed and
listens to the pitter-patter of the rain as it falls on the roof.

His heart echoes the sound of the rainfall and his mind gives birth to thousands of
fanciful thoughts. A thousand memories re-surface in his mind as he listens to the
patter of the rain. The poet is filled with nostalgia when he remembers the days his
mother used to see him fall asleep.

Some Important Poetic Devices


Rhyme Scheme: ABCBDEFE
Alliteration: Repetition of the consonant sounds in the neighbouring words
Some examples from the text: humid shadows hover (h-sound repeated)
darling dreamers (d-sound repeated)
starry spheres (s-sound repeated)
lie listening (l-sound repeated)
my mother (m-sound repeated)
Personification: Using human nature or character on animals, inanimate objects or
abstract notions
Example from the text: And the melancholy darkness
Gently weeps in rainy tears
(The poet personifies darkness by giving it the ability to shed tears.)

Metaphor: humid shadows: clouds


weave their air threads into woof: numerous memories
Transferred Epithet : 'melancholy darkness' as the sadness of a person in dark is
transferred to the 'darkness'

Onomatopoeia: a word(s) that may be somewhat a replica of any sound


Example from the text: ‘Patter’ and ‘Tinkle’ are used throughout the poem which
imitates the sound of raindrops and raindrops falling on the shingles of the roof
respectively.
EXERCISES

A. With reference to the extracts, answer the following questions:

1. When the humid shadows hover


Over all 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!

a. Who weeps in the form of rainy tears?


b. What bliss does the poet enjoy in the poem?
c. Identify the literary device in melancholy darkness.

2. 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.

a. Who is the poet thinking of?


b. What does the word ‘agone’ mean?
c. What does the word ‘ere’ mean?

B. Answer in brief.
1. What does the poet mean by humid shadows?
2. What does the poet do when it rains?
3. What does the phrase ’starry spheres’ mean?

C. Answer in detail.
1. What is the effect of the sound of the rain on the heart and mind of the poet?

You might also like