Rain on the Roof

Poetic Devices

Rain on the Roof Poem Explanation

Stanza 1
When the humid shadows hover
Overall 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: the 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, overall the starry spheres (‗starry spheres‘ refers to the sky at 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 raindrops to tears and he says that the dark sky which seems to be very sad,
it appears as if it is crying and the raindrops are the tears shed by it. He adds that it is like a blessing
to lie on the bed in his room(Cottage chamber means bedroom) and listens to the 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: the 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 hears the raindrops falling on the rooftop of his house.
He says that every tinkle on the shingles has an echo in the heart.
Whenever he hears rain falling on the rooftop, the sound repeats in his heart, and in his dreams, he
has many different, fanciful imaginations. He adds that this sound of the rain falling on the rooftop
creates many new different dreams in his mind.
He recollects many memories of the past which 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 back in 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 daybreak 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
raindrops falling on the rooftop 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 raindrops 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.
2. Onomatopoeia: The use of sound words to create a dramatic effect and auditory imagery.
 ‗Patter‘ is the use of sound words. It is the sound made by the raindrops falling on the rooftop.
3. Personification: Treating a non – living thing as a living being.
darkness has been personified when he says that it is sad.
4. 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
2. Onomatopoeia: The use of sound words to create a dramatic effect and auditory imagery.
‗tinkle‘, ‗patter‘ – sounds made by the raindrops
3. Personification: Treating a non – living thing as a living being.
recollection is personified when he says that they weave dreams.
4. 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
1. 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
2. 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.

Question 1.
What is the setting of the poem?
Answer:
The poet is lying comfortably snug in his bed with his head pressed against the pillow, in
a room in his cottage listening to the patter of the soft rain as it falls on the shingles of
the roof.

Question 2.
How old do you think the poet is? Justify your answer.
Answer:
The poet is a young man. He remembers his mother looking down at him and his
siblings, who are sleeping in their room, long ago. The poet‘s mother also is no longer
alive as he says she lives on in his memories.

Question 3.
How does the sky look before the rain falls?
Answer:
Before the rain falls, the weather turns humid and great dark clouds gather in the sky.
They cover the stars and spread darkness. The poet feels these dark clouds are gloomy
and melancholic. To the poet the darkness spells despondence and gloom as the
clouds – humid shadows – weep gentle tears that fall as rain.

Question 4.
‗And the melancholy darkness gently weeps in rainy tears.‘ Explain the phrase
‗melancholy darkness‘. What does it do?
Answer:
―Melancholy darkness‖ refers to the dark rain bearing clouds. The poet imagines that
the clouds covering the sky are gloomy and depressed because they are heavy and
grey. The poet further imagines that the clouds are weeping and their tears are falling
down as rain drops.

Question 5.
What is a ‗bliss‘ for the poet in the poem ‗Rain on the Roof?
Answer:
The poet thinks it is blissful to lie in his cozy bed with his head on the pillow and listen to
the sound of rain falling on the shingles of the roof. He enjoys the music of nature which
arouses fantasies and memories in his mind.

Question 6.
What does the poet like to do when it rains?
Answer:
The poet likes to lie in his room in his cottage, snug in bed with his head on a pillow
when it rains. It gives him the greatest pleasure.

Question 7.
What feelings does the falling rain arouse in the poet in the poem ‗Rain on the Roof?
Answer:
The poet first describes the falling rain as the tears of the dark, gloomy clouds.
However, as he lies snug in his bed, listening to the patter of rain on the shingles, the
sound provides him immense pleasure and he is lost in fantasies and memories.

Question 8.
What are the poet‘s feelings as the rain falls on the shingles?
Answer:
As the rain falls on the shingles, its tinkling sound creates an echo in the poet‘s heart.
As he listens to the patter of the raindrops on the roof, his gloom is lifted and his heart is
filled with a thousand fantasies and fond memories of his mother.

Question 9.
When do the ‗thousand dreamy fancies‘ begin to weave in the poet‘s mind? What are
these fancies?
Answer:
When the poet is in his cottage and lies in his cosy bed listening to the soft music of rain
on the roof, his mind is flooded with various thoughts and imaginations. These fancies
or imaginary thoughts and ideas spin threads of bright fanciful colours in his mind.

Question 10.
―And a thousand dreamy fancies into busy heart.‖ When do the ‗thousand dreamy
fancies‘ begin in the poet‘s heart?
Answer:
When the poet is in his cottage and lies in his cosy bed listening to the soft music of rain
on the roof, his mind is flooded with various thoughts and imaginations. The soothing
sound of the gentle rain on the shingles fires his imagination.

Question 11.
‗Now in memory comes my mother.‘ When does the poet remember his mother? What
does it show about him?
Answer:
As the poet lies in his bed in his room in the cottage, listening to the sound of The poet
loved his mother. He remembered her when he lied on his cozy bed to enjoy the sound
of rain. It appears to him as if she was fondly looking at him.

Question 12.
‗As I list to this refrain.‘ Which kind of refrain is the poet referring to?
Answer:
The poem is lying in his cosy bed in his cottage listening to the sound of rain falling
incessantly on the roof of his cottage. Here, refrain refers to the continuous patter of the
rain falling on the shingles of his roof.

Question 13.
What feeling does every tinkle on the shingle create for the poet?
Answer:
Every raindrop falling on the tiles of tile roof creates a rhythm with the poet‘s heartbeat.
This evokes thousands of dreams making his thoughts busy. While he focuses on the
listening to the pitter- patter on the roof, his mind starts weaving recollections of fond
memories of yesteryears.

Question 14.
Do you think the poet is praising the healing power of rain in the poem ‗Rain on the
Roof?
Answer:
As the poet lies in his bed, looking at the dark clouds gather, he first is filled with
feelings of gloom and unhappiness. He feels the clouds are weeping and the rain is
tears of these gloomy clouds. However, as he lies snug in bed, listening to the sound of
rain, his gloom is lifted and his mind is filled with fantasies and fond memories. This rain
and its sound resurrect the fondest memory of the poet—that of his mother—in his
mind. As the rain continues, the poet tries to recollect all that caused him pain, yet at the
same time lifted his spirits. The rain has thus brought comfort to him.

Question 15.
Do you think the poet enjoys the rain?
Answer:
At first when the clouds gather and rain starts, the poet is filled with dismay and gloom
at the gathering darkness. His mood is somber. However, the patter of the raindrops on
the shingles soon soothes him and his mind is filled with imaginings and fond memories
of his mother.

Question 16.
What is the central idea of the poem ‗Rain on the Roof?
Answer:
The central idea of the poem ‗Rain on the Roof‘ is that nature brings solace to the mind.
The poet derives immense happiness from lying in bed listening to the sound of rain
falling on the roof of his cottage. He is lost in dreams as many fancies and memories
crowd his mind.

Rain on the Roof Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type
Question 1.
How does the poet describe the falling rain in the poem ‗Rain on the Roof?
Answer:
The poet first describes the falling rain as the tears of clouds. The dark rain bearing
clouds appear gloomy and depressed to him. Therefore, they are weeping. Their tears
fall to earth as gentle rain. However, as he listens to the patter of rain on the shingles, it
provides him immense pleasure. The poet loves to hear the melodious sound of nature.
He listens to the patter of soft rain on the wooden roof and is lost in fantasies.

He considers it a rare happiness to listen to the patter of the rain on the roof. Rain
brings to his mind memories . of long gone days when he was a child, and he lay
sleeping in his room along with his siblings, as his mother gazed down at them with
love.

Question 2.
How does the rain affect the poet? Describe.
Answer:
Though at first the sight of the gathering dark clouds fills the poet‘s mind with dismay
and unhappiness, the gentle patter of the rain falling on his roof soon soothes him. The
poet liees in his cosy bed, his head on his pillow and listens to the patter of the
raindrops on the shingles. The gentle sound ills him with bliss. A thousand fantasies fill
his mind. He is filled with nostalgia as he remembers his mother. He recalls how his
mother had looked at him and his sleeping siblings with fondness as they lay in their
beds. Hence, the rain is a bliss for the poet.

Question 3.
What happens when the poet listens to the patter of the rain? Do you think that rain is a
narrative tool in the poet‘s life?
Answer:
The raindrops play music on the roof and create a tinkling sound on the shingles. To the
poet this music is blissful. At the beginning of the poem there is certain tinge of
sadness, and the poet talks of ―melancholy darkness/ Gently weeps in rainy tears‘.
However, as he lies in his cosy bed, a feeling of bliss washes over him. Every raindrop
on the tiles of the roof creates a rhythm with the poet‘s heartbeat.

The poet tries to focus on listening to the pitter-patter on the roof whereas his mind
weaves the recollections of fond memories of yester years. Rain bears a subtle link with
all aspects of life. It serves as a powerful narrative tool in the poet‘s life as it evokes
fantasies and nostalgia in the poet. He recalls his mother in a poignant manner.

Question 4.
In what way are the poems The Road Not Taken and Rain on the Roof evocative of the
past?
Answer:
In both the poems The Road Not Taken and Rain on the Roof there is a certain
nostalgia for events long gone by. In The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost talks with
regret about a decision taken long ago to take a certain path in the woods. He had
thought of taking the second path sometime in the future. Though he knew, even at that
time, that the chances of his returning that way were slim. So his tone is one of regret.

On the other hand, the poet in Rain on the Roof is first filled with melancholy and gloom
at the sight of the gathering clouds. However, the gentle patter of the rain soothes him
and fills his mind with fond memories of his mother smiling down at him. Thus Kinney‘s
feelings of unhappiness vanish and he is at peace.