Poem and Explanation
RAIN ON THE ROOF
COATES KINNEY
Stanza 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!
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: sound of raindrops falling on the
roof.
Cottage chamber means the bedroom.
The poet is saying that when the humid
shadows hover (here,‘humid shadows’
refers to dark clouds which are full of
water). The poet is saying that when the
sky is full of these clouds which are
moisture - laden, are full of water and
are about to bring rain, when such
clouds hover around in the sky, over all
the starry spheres (‘starry spheres’
refers to the skyat night time which is
full of stars).At that time, huge clouds
which are full of moisture, move around
in the sky and the sad darkness of the
night is wiped off by the raindrops which
seem like tears falling from the sky. The
poet is comparing rain drops to tears
and he says that the dark sky which
seems to be very sad, it appears as if it
is crying and the raindropsare the tears
shedby it. He adds that it is a like
ablessingto lie on the bed in his
room(Cottage chamber means
bedroom) and listen tothe sound made
by raindrops falling on the roof.
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.
tinkle: short, light ringing sound
shingles: rectangular wooden tiles used
on roofs
echo: repeated sound
woof: weft, i.es the thread woven across
the loom
patter: sound of raindrops falling on the
roof
‘busy being’ refers to human beings and
here, the poet is referring to himself
The poet is expressing his feelings
when he hearsthe raindrops falling on
the roof top of his house. He says that
every tinkle on the shingles has an echo
in the heart. Whenever he hears rain
falling on the roof top, the soundrepeats
in his heart and in his dreams, he has
many different, fanciful imaginations. He
adds that this sound of the rain falling
on the roof top creates many new
different dreams in his mind. He
recollects many memories of the
pastwhich come back into his mind as
dreams. So, he says that as he listens
to the patter of the rain upon the roof, he
has many new dreams in his mind and
the memories of the past come backin
the form of dreams.
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.
ere: old poetic word for ‘before’
dawn: day break
list: old poetic word for’ listen’
refrain: a repeated part of a song or a
poem; here, the sound of the rain
Here, the poet introduces his mother.He
says that he is dreaming of his mother.
As he had told in the previous stanza
that rain brings memories of the past – it
is the memory of his mother who is no
longer alive. In the past, she used to
love him a lot, she used to consider him
a darling and she would let him sleep till
day break and have sweet dreams. The
poet can still feel that his mother is
looking at him as he listens to the song
made by the rain drops falling on the
roof top of his room.The sound of the
rain makes him correlate his past with
his present. That is why the poet is
moved by the sound of the rain drops on
the shingles of his room. Whenever he
hears this sound it brings back
memories of the past and he is
reminded of his mother.
Literary Devices in the poem
Rhyme scheme of the poem: abcbdefe
Stanza 1
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.
ii. Onomatopoeia: The use of sound
words to create a dramatic effect and
auditory imagery.
‘Patter’ is the use of sound word. It is
the sound made by the rain drops falling
on the roof top.
iii. Personification: Treating a non –
living thing as a living being.
darkness has been personified when he
says that it is sad.
iv. Transferred Epithet: The use of an
adjective with a noun when it refers to
another noun.
In ‘melancholy darkness’, the darkness
is not melancholy, but it refers to the sad
people.
Stanza 2
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
ii. Onomatopoeia: The use of sound
words to create a dramatic effect and
auditory imagery.
‘tinkle’, ‘patter’ – sounds made by the
raindrops
iii. Personification: Treating a non –
living thing as a living being.
recollection is personified when he says
that they weave dreams.
iv. Transferred Epithet: The use of an
adjective with a noun when it refers to
another noun.
‘dreamy fancies’ – it does not mean that
the fancies are dreamy but refers to the
people who have dreams.
Stanza 3
i. Alliteration: The repetition of a
consonant sound in two or more
consecutive words.
‘memory my mother’ - ‘m’ sound is
repeating
‘Darling dreamers’ - ‘d’ sound is
repeating
ii. Onomatopoeia: The use of sound
words to create a dramatic effect and
auditory imagery.
‘patter’ – sound of raindrops falling on
the shingles of the roof.
Summary
The poem ‘Rain on the Roof’ talks about
the poet’s varied reactions to the sound
of raindrops falling on the roof of his
house. He says that the raindrops at
night are like tears shed by the sad,
dark night. He loves to lie in bed and
hear rain falling on the roof of his room
because it gets back sweet memories of
the past. He says that the sound of rain
drops helps him fall asleep and gives
him sweet dreams. He has memories of
his loving mother who would put them to
sleep.
Page No: 42 Thinking about the Poem
I. 1. What do the following phrases mean to you? Discuss in class.
(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
Ans: 1. (i) “Humid shadows” refer to the dark clouds that produce rain.
(ii) “Starry spheres” refer to the night sky abounding in stars.
(iii) “What a bliss” refers to the happiness of the poet. When it rains poet gets into his cottage and enjoy the patter of
rain upon the roof.
(iv) This refers to the various imaginary thoughts and fantasies that are aroused in the poet’s mind.
(v) This phrase means that numerous memories intermingle to form a beautiful picture that the poet recollects.
2. What does the poet like to do when it rains?
Ans: When it rains, the poet feels delighted to lie with his head pressed against the pillow of his cottage chamber bed
and listen to the patter of the soft rain.
3. What is the single major memory that comes to the poet? Who are the “darling dreamers” he refers to?
Ans: The single major memory that comes to the poet is that of his mother and her fond look.
The “darling dreamers” are the poet and his siblings in their childhood when they were lovingly put to sleep by their
mother.
NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Rain On The Roof
4. Is the poet now a child? Is his mother still alive?
Ans: No, the poet is not a child now.He is a grown up man. He remembers her when he is inside his cosy cottage and
enjoy the pattern of rain on the roof.
II. 1. When you were a young child, did your mother tuck you in, as the poet’s did?
Ans: Yes, my mother used to tuck me in when I was a young child, just like the poet’s mother did. (Self-experience
question)
2. Do you like rain? What do you do when it rains steadily or heavily as described in the poem?
Ans: Yes, I like the rain. When it rains steadily I get into my house and enjoy the weather with family. We enjoy tea. It
is wonderful experience (self-experience question)
NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Rain On The Roof
3. Does everybody have a cosy bed to lie in when it rains? Look around you and describe how different kinds of people or
animals spend time, seek shelter etc. during rain.
Ans: No, everybody is not fortunate enough to have a cosy bed to lie in when it rains. Not everybody gets to enjoy
the comfort of cosy homes during rain. I have seen animals seeking shelter under trees and under the tin roofs of the
small roadside tea stalls. The people passing by shoo away these animals and try to shrink themselves under the
limited space of these shops. The poor animals are left shivering and drenching on the roads. The shopkeepers of
such stalls are delighted as the p
