Rain On The Roof

Rain on the roof
-Coates Kinney
About the poet: Coates Kinney (November 24, 1826 – January
25, 1904)
. • He was an American lawyer, politician, journalist and poet.
• Coates Kinney was born in 1826 near Penn Yan, New York. He was partly
educated at Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio, and studied law with
Thomas Corwin. He was admitted to the bar in Cincinnati in 1856. He
became a journalist, and worked on papers in Cincinnati, Ohio, Xenia, and
Springfield, Illinois.
• From June 1861 until November 1865, he was a paymaster in the
United States Army and was mustered out with the commission of brevet
lieutenant-colonel of volunteers. He was a delegate to the convention that
nominated Ulysses S. Grant for the presidency in 1868 and its Ohio
secretary. He was the senator from the 5th district in the Ohio legislature
1882-1883, and delivered a speech against "The Official Rail Road Pass".
• He wrote poetry, and his verses were collected in Keeuka and Other Poems
(Cincinnati, 1855) and Lyrics of the Ideal and the Real (1888). Of his verses,
"The Rain on the Roof", which was set to music, was the most popular. He
died in Ohio in 1904.
Central Idea
• The poem revolves around the idea that nature here, rain has the healing
power.
• The musical sound of raindrops falling on the rooftop at night has the ability to
revive sweet memories and rouse fancies in an otherwise busy mind.
• The rain thus soothes and comforts an overworked mind by taking it back to its
lovely past. Some of our best memories in life are associated with rain.
• Here, on a rainy day, the poet is listening to the sound made on the roof by the
falling raindrops. This pitter-patter sound of the raindrops brings back lost
memories of the poet about his mother and her affection towards him. The
sound of rain appears to create bliss to the poet.
Message
• The poem conveys the message that rain has therapeutic and healing
powers and forms lasting memories in the human mind of the sights,
sound, fragrances and our experience associated with it, especially
those involving our loved ones.
• Rain refreshes and rejuvenate us and forces us to recollect and relive
our past memories.
Value points
• The poet is resting on his bed.
• Suddenly he hears the sound of clouds and quietness all around disappears.
• The rain starts all of a sudden.
• The tin roof of his cottage creates the beautiful sound of raindrops. The
sound of rain echoes in the heart of the poet and he remembers a good
number of things.
• He collects many memories.
• The poet receives the sound of rain as a bliss.
• He remembers his childhood and sweet love received from his mother.
Shingles Woof
Warp and weft are the two basic

components used in weaving to turn
thread or yarn into fabric. The lengthwise
or longitudinal warp yarns are held
stationary in tension on a frame or loom
while the
transverse weft (sometimes woof) is
drawn through and inserted over-and-
under the warp
Content analysis
• The poet observes that when the starry sky is overcast with rain-bearing clouds, the
sad darkness is filled with raindrops which are like gentle tears.
• It is a very pleasant, comforting, and thrilling experience to lie in one’s room with the
head pressed on the pillow and listen to the sound of the raindrops falling on the tin
roof overhead.
• Every drop of rain falling on the roof makes a tinkling sound that moves the poet’s
heart. These sounds rouse a number of imaginary things in the thoughts of the poet.
• The soft pitter-patter of the falling rain-drops also revives many childhood memories.
Among these memories, there is one about his mother.
• He recollects how she used to look at her dear children as she put them to sleep and
wished them to have sweet dreams till they met again early in the morning.
• As the poet listens to the music made by the rain falling on the roof, he visualizes in
his mind the affectionate look of his mother. Thus, the rain makes a bridge between
his present and his past.
Paraphrasing:
When the humid shadows hover ---------------soft rain overhead

When the sky is covered with dark clouds, the shimmering light of
stars seems to be invisible.
The darkness mourns sadness but the sweet rain comes with peace
to solace the lonely night. At this moment, the poet likes to enjoy the
joy and pleasure of sleep. He wants to lie on his bed and enjoy perfect
rest.
He can sleep with a sound like a child and hear the patter of sweet
raindrops falling on the roof.
• Every tinkle on the shingles ------------- the rain upon the
roof
In this stanza, the poet describes the impact of the music made by rain on
his heart and mind. He remarks that the tinkling sound produced by the
raindrops falling on the roof tiles cause a resonance in his heart.
His heart beats respond sensitively to every sound of the falling rain. In
his much-occupied mind, a large number of fanciful and imaginative ideas
spring up.
Innumerable memories of the past are revived and get entwined as if
woven like a patchwork as he lies listening to the pattering sound of the
raindrop.
• Now in memory comes my mother--------------the patter of the rain.
As the poet lies in his bed listening to the soft pattering sound of the gentle
rain falling on the roof, among many other memories, there emerges in his
mind the memory of his mother.
He vividly remembers how she used to look affectionately at her children
before she went to her bed leaving them for the night to meet again in the
early morning.
As he listens to the music of the rain, he can still experience the loving look
of his mother.
In fact, the rainy night reminds the poet of similar nights during his childhood
when his mother was alive and showered love on him and his siblings.
Literary devices
• Alliteration
• Overall the starry spheres
• What a bliss to press the pillow
• Into busy being start
• Now in memory comes my mother
• 0! I feel her fond look on me
Personification
• And the melancholy darkness
Gently weeps in rainy tears.
Here the poet personifies darkness who is presented to be in a
melancholy mood and sheds tears in the form of raindrops.
• And a thousand recollections

Weave their air-threads into woof
Recollections are personified here as they are shown to be weaving
cloth with threads of air.
Transferred Epithet
• melancholy darkness
Here it is not the darkness that is sad but some human beings who are
sad in the darkness.
• dreamy fancies
Here fancies are not lost in dreams, but it is the human beings who
dream.
Onomatopoeia
• patter
• imitates the sound the raindrops make as they land on the surface of
the roof tiles.
• tinkle
• imitates the gentle and clear musical sound that a droplet makes.
Imagery
• Melancholy darkness
• Rainy tears
• Starry spheres
Repetition
• Listening to the patter (7),

• Listen to the patter (15)
Rhyme Scheme
• The rhyme scheme followed in the poem is: abcbdefe
Conclusion
• The lyrical poem “Rain on the Roof” by Coates Kinney presents the
memories aroused in the poet’s mind by the showers falling on the tin
roof.
• Through a number of metaphors, the poet shows that the drops of
rain falling on the shingles of the roof sends a train of thoughts
running in his mind.
• He is reminded of the way his mother used to bid him and his siblings
a good night and put them to sleep. The poet connects his present
with his past through the memories revived by the rain.
Asset Questions:
1.Which word is an antonym of bliss?
a. happiness
b. ecstasy
c. misery
d. elation
2. “And the melancholy darkness
Gently weeps in rainy tears”
Why does the poet call melancholy darkness ‘weeping’?
e. because of raining in darkness

f. because of sadness
g. because of thunderous cries
h. because of spreading darkness
3.The rhyme scheme of the poem is________________.
a. abab
b. abba
c. abcb
d. None of the above
• 4.’Melancholy darkness’ is an example of?
a. Hyperbole
b. Metaphor
c. Transferred Epithet
d. Onomatopoeia
Assignment
1 Read the extract and answer the questions that follow
“ Every tinkle on the shingles
Has an echo in the heart
And a thousand dreamy fancies
Into busy being start”
a) What finds an echo in the heart of the poet?
b) How does the sound of the rain affect the busy mind of the poet ?
c) Explain the metaphor used in “And a thousand recollections, weave their air threads…” ?

2 Answer the following in 30-40 words
a) How is the mood of the poet contrasted with the mood of darkness ?
b) Which distinctive memory is revived in the poet’s mind?
c) Why does the poet call the sound of the rain “refrain”?

3 Answer the following in 100-120 words
What is the effect of the sound of the rain on the heart and mind of the poet?

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Rain on the roof

Warp and weft are the two basic

When the humid shadows hover ---------------soft rain overhead

• And a thousand recollections

• Listening to the patter (7),

1.Which word is an antonym of bliss?

2. “And the melancholy darkness

Gently weeps in rainy tears”

Why does the poet call melancholy darkness ‘weeping’?

e. because of raining in darkness

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