3 Versions of The Rain Poem Summary 1st Year/10th Class

The Rain by Willian Henry Davies (1871-1940) – Complete Notes

Note: As the poem “The Rain” is included in the syllabi of 1^st year as well as that of the 10^th class, the students of both the classes can benefit from these notes. The Rain poem summary 1st year/10^th class looks at the poem from a new creative and critical perspective. Moreover, three versions of the summary – with an increasing level of difficulty – are provided herein.

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The Rain is a short, musical poem that’s written in a simple, figurative language. It’s a poem that depicts a harsh reality of life dressed in its sweet and soft words.

This post covers the following topics:

1. A Brief Introduction to the Poet W. H. Davies
2. Introduction to the Poem
3. Musical Appeal of the Poem
4. Summary of the Poem – Multiple Versions for 1st year and 10th class
5. Figures of Speech and Imagery Used in the Poem
6. Themes of the Poem (Nature, Hardships of Life)

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1. Introduction to the Poet – William Henry Davies

A brief introduction to the poet’s life will help us understand the meaning and message conveyed by the poem, The Rain.

William Henry Davies (1871-1940), shortly written as W. H. Davies, was a 20^th century Welsh poet who spent a significant part of his life as a homeless traveler in the UK and the US.

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Also, he lost his right leg to a terrible train accident when he was 28. This disability added to the miseries of his homeless life.

That is why his works like “The Rain” revolve around the hardships of life faced by the people from the lower strata of society.

2. Introduction to the Poem “The Rain”

The Rain is a short musical poem composed by W. H. Davies. The poem consists of two stanzas. It is in easy language, so any layperson can fully understand and enjoy it.

Though a simple poem, it leaves an aesthetically appealing and lasting impression on the mind of the reader through its simple yet vivid and figurative language.

The use of the figures of speech like personification, metaphor, anaphora, oxymoron, aphaeresis, and imagery (visual and auditory) heighten the effect of the poem.

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3. Musical Appeal of the Poem

Short verses, easy language, and the rhyming words like the top, drop, stop; hear, near; and bright, sight impart musical quality to the poem.

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4. The Rain Poem Summary 1st Year / 10th Class

I. Easy Version – The Rain Poem Summary for 1st Year & 10th Class

The poem “The Rain” has been composed by William Henry Davies. He was born in 1871 and died in 1940. This poem is one of his greatest artistic creations.

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The poem presents a beautiful scene of rain. The use of 1st person pronoun “I” suggests that the poet shares his experience of enjoying rainy weather. It seems that he is sitting under a tree. He observes that the raindrops fall on the top leaves and hears them drinking the raindrops. Once the upper leaves are saturated, they give the lower leaves drop after drop. The rain will stop soon and the sun will come out. It will spread light everywhere. It will fill every dark round drop with light. It will be a lovely sight.

The poet portrays a picture gallery of the poem as a skilled artisan. The language of the poem is easy, simple, clear, and convincing.

II. Standard Version – The Rain Poem Summary for 10th Class & 1st Year

Depicting the miseries of the poor in the disguise of a natural phenomenon, The Rain is one of the finest artistic creations of a Welsh poet who spent most of his life as a homeless traveler.

This poem is a musical display of rain. The scene of sunshine after the rain is lovely and captivating. The poet hears leaves absorbing raindrops. When saturated, the rich (thick) top leaves drip the raindrops on the poor (thin) leaves beneath them. The noise of the leaves drinking rain is sweet and charming. When the rain stops, the sun brightens every dark round drop. The sun shines bright and creates a lovely and pleasant sight. By quoting the behavior of the sun, the poet advises us to be beneficial to others.

The poet presents the universal law of nature that there is pleasure after sorrow and glee after the misery. Time does not remain the same because change is inevitable and the only permanent phenomenon of life. The change from rain to sunlight is likened to the change from misery to happiness.

III. A Version for Extraordinary Students – The Rain Poem Summary for 1st Year and 10th Class

In the poem “The Rain,” William Henry Davies (1871-1940) highlights the beauty of nature and the hardships of the people from the lower strata of society. The poet his artistic caliber and aesthetics to dress the harsh realities of life in a captivating phenomenon of nature – rain.

It is not just a musical display of rain, the poem also portrays a lovely and mesmerizing scene of pleasant sunshine after the rain. The poet hears the top, thick leaves drinking the rainwater. After quenching their thirst, they drip the raindrops on the lower, thin leaves beneath. The leaves drinking the rainwater produce a sweet noise. After the rain stops, the sun comes out and brightens every dark, round drop of water on the leaves of trees and grass. As the sun indifferently shines on everything, the poet advises us to show the same behavior and be everyone without favor and preference.

The poem depicts a universal law of nature that nothing is everlasting or permanent in this world. Pleasure and sorrow keep alternating with each other. The transition from rain to sunlight is synonymous with the change from misery to happiness.

The poem “The Rain” has symbolic meaning too. The upper, thick leaves are a metaphor and stand for the rich. Like the rich, the top leaves are the first to avail themselves of the opportunity of drinking raindrops. After quenching their thirst, they pass on the leftover raindrops to the lower, poor leaves. This is what the rich do with the poor. After cashing in on a golden chance first, they trickle down whatever remains to the poor from the lower stratum of the societal structure.

On the other hand, the poor hope that there would be equality in the community just like the sunshine which equally spreads all over the world. The sunshine is both for the rich green leaves and the dark round drops.

Nature is one of the greatest blessings of THe Creator for mankind. And rain is one of its most fascinating phenomena. But the poor are unable to enjoy it as they are under the burden of financial (fiscal) problems. However, when the gloomy situation changes, the sun comes out as a symbol of joy and hope both for the rich and the poor.

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5. Figures of Speech/Literary Devices Used in the Poem

The poet makes use of the following figures of speech in the poem:

i. Personification

Personification is a figure of speech used to ascribe human characteristics to something non-living or non-human. An example of personification from the poem The Rain is “leaves drinking rain”. Drinking something is a human quality that the poet attributes to leaves.

ii. Metaphor

A metaphor is a figure of speech in which something is used as a representative or symbolic of something else. In the poem, The Rain, the phrase “rich leaves” is a metaphor referring to the rich (i.e. rich people).

iii. Visual Imagery

Imagery is a figure of speech that creates an image of something in our minds. It can be visual, auditory, tactile (touch), olfactory (smell), and gustatory (taste).

The examples of visual imagery as used in the poem The Rain include rain, leaves, drop, sun, etc.

iv. Auditory Imagery

Auditory imagery is a type of mental imagery which helps the listener to perceive a sound in the absence of an external auditory stimulus.

The terms like “sweet noise” and “drinking” are examples of auditory imagery used in the poem.

v. Aphaeresis

Aphaeresis is a figure of speech that involves the omission or deletion of a letter or syllable from the start of a word. It renders speed and fluency to the speech and helps to keep the rhythm in a piece of poetry.

vi. Anaphora

Anaphora is a literary device that involves the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of sentences to emphasize and reinforce the meaning or message.

An example of anaphora from the poem The Rain is the repetition of “I hear” in the beginning of the first two lines.

vii. Oxymoron

An oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two opposite or contradictory things or ideas are juxtaposed together to create a strong effect of something.

An example of an oxymoron from the poem is the phrase “sweet noise”. Noise is something harsh, unpleasant, and pinching. When yoked together with the word “sweet”, noise has a stronger effect on the reader or listener.

6. Themes of the Poem

The major themes of the poem include:

i. Beauty of Nature

In the poem, The Rain, the poet depicts a charming scene of rain to highlight the beauty of nature.

ii. Hardships of the Poor

When the poet says, “I hear rich leaves on top; Giving the poor beneath,” he is referring to the rich and the poor. According to him, the rich are the first to avail opportunities and increase their wealth. Then they pass some of their wealth down to the poor in the form of drops taken out of an ocean. In other words, through the use of metaphor, the poet highlights the exploitation, hardships, miseries of the people belonging to the lower economic strata of the society.

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