Please refer to The Voice of the Rain Class 11 English Notes and summary provided below. The following summary and solved questions have been designed as per the latest syllabus and books issued by CBSE, NCERT, and KVS. By going through and learning the below notes for Class 11 English you will be able to understand the entire chapter and easily solve questions in your exams. Also, refer to the Class 11 English Chapter Summary for all chapters in your textbooks.

Class 11 English The Voice of the Rain Summary and Questions

The following The Voice of the Rain Class 11 English Notes and questions answers will help you to easily learn the entire chapter. You will be able to solve all questions in upcoming Class 11 English exams and score better marks

Introduction

The Voice of the Rain is the statement of facts in an imaginary dialogue form. It traces the life-story of clouds. Clouds are the transformed shapes of water. They cannot be touched but are the saviours of Nature and all forms of life on the earth. The rain is the song of the Earth. The water moves in a definite order. It turns into light vapour, moves upward, wanders in the sky and finally returns to its birthplace lovingly. It is a boon for the dry earth and the drying vegetation. It removes all the layers of dust from every object. But above all, it waters the dry earth, enables the seeds to sprout, and makes everything clean as well as beautiful. The poet asks the question and the rain tells him all about its birth and end.

Summary

The poet casually asks the gentle rain who she is. Surprisingly, the rain answers the question in detail and inhuman voice. The poet translates the statement of the rain into English.
The rain says that she is the song of Earth which is her birthplace and her mother. She is born out of the water bodies on the land and the vast sea. In the form of vapour, she rises upward, appears like dark clouds, cannot be touched, yet it stays on the sky for a short period before falling down in the form of rain. It follows the cycle of birth, growth and returns to its original form.

The rain serves a heavenly purpose. It fights drought (dry) conditions on the earth and waters the soil. It washes away the layers of dust and helps the seeds to sprout again. This cycle goes on eternally. It serves the divine function of giving back life to dry earth and drying plants. It makes all earthly things clean, pure, fertile and beautiful. It fulfils the purpose of its birth, its chain of duties and returns to the earth lovingly in water form. It doesn’t bother whether its services are heeded/noted or not.

Short Questions

Question. How is the cyclic movement of rain brought out in the poem? Compare it with what you have learnt in science.
Answer: The poet’s description of rain is scientifically true. The birthplace of the rain is, of course, the earth. It continually rises from alnd and the seas. It rises towards the sky and takes a vague shape in the form of clouds. When it falls, it bathes everything softly. It makes the earth pure and beautiful. It goes back into its birthplace. Again it rises upwards to heaven, and the cycle continues endlessly, birthplace. Again it rises upwards to heaven, and the cycle continues endlessly.

Question. How does Rain give back life to the earth?
Answer: The earth is the birthplace of rain. In turn the rain gives back life to the earth. Without it, the seeds would not have sprouted. They would have remained unborn.

Question. There is a parallel drawn between rain and music. Which words indicare this? Explain the similarity between the two.
Answer: The last two bracketed lines of the poem bring out the similarity between rain and music. The music of a song rises from the soul of a poet. After the poet has sung his song, it settles back into its birthplace. It keeps the poet’s soul pure and happy. Similarly, rain rises from the earth. After coming down from the sky, it goes back into this birthplace, it makes the earth pure and beautiful.

Question. Explain the words “RECK’D or UNRECK’D”?
Answer: The poet sings a song and showers its strain on the earth it doesn’t matter to him whatever anybody hears his song or not. Thus the poet campares his song with a shower of rain.

RTC BASED QUESTIONS

And who art thou? said I to the soft-falling shower,
Which, strange to tell, gave me an answer,
As here translated:
I am the Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain,
Eternal I rise impalpable out of the land and the bottomless sea,
Upward to heaven, whence, vaguely form’d, altogether changed,
and yet the same.

Question. Explain, “altogether changed, and yet the same.”
Answer: During evaporation, water turns into vapor and ascends to the sky and becomes clouds. Though clouds are different in appearance yet they are originally water.

Question. How does water change its shape?
Answer: When vapour reaches the the sky, it changes its appearance complete to form clouds of abstract, changeable shapes. Yet, at its core, it remains the same as it was at birth.

Question. What did the poet ask the rain?
Answer: The Poet asked the rain who it was.

Question. What was strange about the rain’s reply?
Answer: The strange fact about the rain reply was that rain happened to give a reply. A rain, by nature, is never expected to give an answer.

Question. Where does rain rise from?
Answer: Rain rises from land and bottomless seas in the form of vapour.

Question. In what sense is rain the poem of the earth?
Answer: Rain is the poem of the earth because a poem is music. Like a piece of music requires lyrics and accompaniment, the soft falling rain is musical to ears. Each rain drop is a sound played for accompaniment and when all the sounds are collectively taken, it is like a grand music with endless number of music instruments.

Question. What are the permanent qualities of the rain?
Answer: Rain is permanently water although it changes its shape first to vapour and then become clouds.

(For, song, issuing from its birth-place, after fulfilment, wandering, Reck’d or unreck’d, duly with love returns.)
A song comes out of a singer and later moves to the listener. Listener may or may not like the song but the song is not worried about that. It’s ultimate aim is to sing!

Question. How is rain’s life similar to that of a song?
Answer: The poet realizes that the rain’s life is similar to that of any song. A song’s birth place is the poet’s heart. Once complete, it is passed on (wanders) from one person to another. A song may be well regarded or unnoticed. Similarly, the rain may be loved or hated by people but rain doesn’t mind if it is disregarded.

Question. Explain, “recked or unrecked.”
Answer: Reck means having care or regard. Here rain says that it is not waiting for anyone to regard it, give thanks to it or have concern for it. Whether people love or hate, wait for it or do not wait for it, the rain is bound to rain.