The Voice of the Rain Summary Class 11th English

By Walt Whitman

The Voice of the Rain’ celebrates rain and the accompanying water cycle that supports life and benefits the Earth. The poet recounts a ‘conversation’ he had with the falling raindrops. He asks the rain, ‘And who art thou?’ and strangely, the rain answers, calling itself ‘the Poem of Earth’. The rain says that it is born in the form of intangible vapours that rise eternally from the earth’s land and deep water bodies. It then reaches upwards towards heaven in the form of clouds, impalpable, vaguely formed and altogether changed. Yet, at its core, it remains the same as it was at birth. It, then, returns to its origin, the Earth, as raindrops to wash away the dust and rejuvenate the drought-ridden and dry land.

The poet compares the rain to a poem/song. A song is born in the heart of a human and after giving pleasure and joy to one and all come back to the creator in the form of appreciation. Similarly, rain originates from the Earth and the bottomless sea; soars up to heaven taking the form of clouds and comes down to give joy to its birthplace (Earth) and makes it clean, pure and beautiful.

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