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Rain On The Roof Class 9 Summary
Rain On The Roof Class 9 Summary
Answers
By Coates Kinney
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.
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.
3. What is the single major memory that comes to the poet? Who are the “darling
dreamers” he refers to?
A. The poet has memories of his beloved mother. When he was a child, she would put him and his siblings to bed and allowed them
to sleep till late. They had sweet dreams in their sleep. “Darling Dreamers” refers to the poet and his siblings when they were
children and had sweet dreams. They were loved by their mother and so, were her ‘darlings’.