Rain on the Roof Class 9 English, Beehive – Summary, Extra Questions, Word Meanings

Rain on the Roof Class 9 English, Beehive Poem

Detailed summary and explanation of “Wind” Poem along with meanings for difficult words is provided here. Also, NCERT Question and Answers are also provided to help students understand this Poem and do well in their exams.

☛ NCERT Solutions – Rain on the Roof (Poem)

Contents

1 Introduction
2 Summary
3 Extra Questions
4 Word Meaning

Introduction

The poem describes the poet’s thoughts when he hears the sound of rain falling on the tiled roof of his cottage. The sound produced by the rain reminds the poet of a memory of his mother. This memory stay in his mind and calm him. Through rain, the poet highlights the healing power of nature. According to him, the music produced by the simple act of falling of rain holds the power to bring back some of our fondest memories. These memories, then, provides US with comfort and calm us.

Summary

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!

In these lines, the poet describes a rainy night. The poet says that the stars in the sky are not visible as they are covered by the dark rainy clouds. This sad darkness makes him sad and reflective. The sky looks sad and the rain looks as if tears are falling from human eyes. This weather represents the poet’s sorrowful mood. In such a mood, the only thing that can bring joy in the poet’s heart is to lay down on the pillow of his bed in his cottage and listen to the soft sound of the rain falling on the roof. The sound of raindrops on the roof enables the poet to recover from his gloomy thoughts.

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, oat

As I listen to the patter

Of the rain upon the roof.

In these lines, the poet now describes how the raindrops make a tinkling sound as they fall on the tiled rooftop of his cottage. According to the poet, each sound made by the rain is echoed by the beatings of his heart (heart beat). In other words, the sound of the rain affects the poet deeply. As he is listening to the sound, many images (dreamy fancies) come into his mind. What the poet has been imagining at this instant is beginning to assume a physical shape before his eyes. The poet becomes nostalgic and all his memories come to acquire a physical shape because of the rain falling on the roof. He starts recollecting many memories of his childhood. These memories appear to be interwoven together to form a beautiful picture.

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.

In these lines, the poet says that out of the many memories the poet recollects, he identifies one fond memory of his mother. He remember how many years ago, his mother used to look at him and his siblings lovingly while they slept and used to dream. She would look at her sleeping children every night because she knew she won’t see them till the next morning. The poet can still feel the look of his mother while he lays on his bed and listens to the soft musical sound of the rain falling on the roof. In this stanza the poet establishes a kind of emotional bond with his mother through recollecting his past.

Extra Questions

(1) How does the darkness look? What does it do?

(2) What happens to the pillow when it rains?

(3) When does the poet find it bliss to feel when it rains?

(4) How does the poet describes the movement just before it starts raining?

(5) What thoughts flash through poet’s mind when it rains?

(6) When does the poet remember his mother? How does he do so?

(7) How is the poet affected by the rain falling on the roof?

(8) What type of imagination does the rain falling on the roof evoke?

(9) What does a tinkle do? What happens when a tinkle echoes in the heart?

(10) How does the poet’s mother treat the dreamers?

(11) Whose ‘ fond look’ is it that poet feels?

(12) Do you think most people have same feeling when it rains as the poet does ? Discuss?

(13) Describe your feeling as a school student when it rained?

(14) What does the poet want to convey when he says’ when the humid shadows hover over all the starry spheres?

(15) What does melancholy darkness mean and what does it do?

(16) What do the thousand dreamy fancies begin in the poet’s heart?

(17) The ‘Rain on the roof’ bring out how rain soothes everyone by its phenomenon? Elaborate?

(18) How does the poet feel when the clouds blot out the stars?

(19) Dreams hold importance in poet’s life .Is it true? Elaborate?

Word Meaning
Humid shadows	clouds
Hover	hang
Bliss	utmost joy
Patter	sound of rain falling on the roof
Shingles	tiles used on sloping roofs
Recollections	memories
Into woof	weaved into woven picture
Agone	gone by
Darling dreamers	her sleeping children
Ere	before
Dawn	morning
Refrain	part of song that is repeated.

Introduction

Summary

Extra Questions

Word Meaning

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