VIVEKANANDA RESIDENTIAL SCHOOL
ENGLISH
RAIN ON THE ROOF
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Thinking about the poem
(Page 42)
I.
Question 1.
What do the following phrases mean to you? Discuss in class.
1. humid shadows
2. starry spheres
3. what a bliss
4. a thousand dreamy fancies into busy being start
5. a thousand recollections weave their air-threads into woof
Answer:
1. Humid shadows: These are the shadows of different things which become wet
during the rainy season.
2. Starry spheres: The area where stars appear in a group in the sky.
3. What a bliss: The poet feels happy when he listens to the rain drops.
4. A thousand dreamy fancies into busy being start: The poet starts recollecting the
past and finds himself lost in reveries and dreams in the rainy weather.
5. A thousand recollections weave their air-threads into woof: The poet recollects
hundreds of memories in the rainy season. They weave a weft with the help of air-
threads.
Question 2.
What does the poet like to do when it rains?
Answer:
When it rains the poet wants to lie on bed in a cottage and listen to pitter-patter sound of
the rain.
Question 3.
What is the single major memory that comes to the poet’s mind? Who are the “darling
dreamers” he refers to?
Answer:
The poet’s mother is the single major memory that comes to his mind. ‘Darling
dreamers’ are those ‘kids’ who remember their mothers like the poet.
Question 4.
Is the poet now a child? Is his mother still alive?
Answer:
No, the poet is not a child. His mother is no more. But her memories still haunt him.
II.
Question 1.
When you were a young child, did your mother tuck you in, as the poet’s mother did?
Answer:
Yes, my mother used to tuck me in when I was a child. Whenever I said that I could not
do some work, she embraced me and took me in her lap to get that work done. She
used to feel sad and dejected if I was involved in any mishap.
Question 2.
Do you like rain? What do you do when it rains steadily or heavily as described in the
poem?
Answer:
Yes, I like rain and prefer to take a bath in the rain for some time. But when it rains
heavily, I stay inside and enjoy the beauty of nature.
Question 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.
Answer:
No, everybody is not so fortunate to have a cosy bed to lie in when it rains. There are
some people who live at the railway platforms and bus terminal. They don’t have even
bed sheet, what to talk of comfortable beds.
There are so many animals which don’t have any shelter and tremble under the dark
sky in the rainy season.
