Rain on the Roof NCERT Solutions, Summary & Word Meanings Class 9 PDF
Subject: English (Beehive) | Poem: 3 | Poet: Coates Kinney
📥 Download Notes PDF 📢 Join Telegram📖 Poem Summary: Rain on the Roof
The poem "Rain on the Roof" by Coates Kinney beautifully expresses the healing power of nature and the nostalgic memories attached to it. When the sky is covered with dark clouds and it starts raining gently, the poet lies comfortably in his cozy bed inside his cottage. He listens to the rhythmic patter of the raindrops falling on the wooden shingles of the roof. This sound brings him immense joy and peace.
As the rain continues, it triggers a chain of sweet childhood memories in the poet's mind. The most prominent and affectionate memory is that of his mother. He remembers how, years ago, she used to look at her darling children with deep love and affection as they slept. She would tuck them in and let them sleep peacefully till dawn. Even though his mother is no longer alive, the poet can still feel her fond and loving gaze upon him whenever he listens to the soothing music of the rain.
✨ Key Poetic Devices
- Onomatopoeia: Words that imitate natural sounds. Examples: "Patter", "Tinkle".
- Alliteration: Repetition of consonant sounds. Examples: "Humid hover", "starry spheres", "lie listening".
- Personification: Giving human traits to non-living things. Example: "melancholy darkness gently weeps in rainy tears" (darkness is portrayed as a sad person crying).
📚 Part 1: NCERT Solutions (Textbook Questions)
Q1: What do the following phrases mean to you? (i) humid shadows (ii) starry spheres (iii) what a bliss (iv) a thousand dreamy fancies into busy being start (v) a thousand recollections weave their air-threads into woof.
Ans:
(i) Humid shadows: Refers to the dark, moisture-laden clouds that bring rain.
(ii) Starry spheres: Refers to the night sky filled with stars (which is now covered by clouds).
(iii) What a bliss: It means extreme happiness. The poet feels pure joy lying in his cozy bed listening to the rain.
(iv) A thousand dreamy fancies into busy being start: The sound of the rain triggers many sweet and imaginative dreams in the poet's busy mind.
(v) A thousand recollections weave their air-threads into woof: Many past memories intertwine together to form a beautiful picture in the poet's mind, much like threads woven into a cloth.
Q2: What does the poet like to do when it rains?
Ans: When it rains, the poet likes to lie comfortably in his cozy bed in his cottage chamber, pressing his head against a soft pillow, and listen to the rhythmic pattering sound of the soft rain falling on the roof.
Q3: What is the single major memory that comes to the poet? Who are the "darling dreamers" he refers to?
Ans: The single major memory that comes to the poet is of his beloved mother. The "darling dreamers" he refers to are the poet himself and his siblings, whom their mother used to watch lovingly as they slept and dreamt in their childhood.
⚡ Part 2: Extra Practice Questions
Q4: How does the poet describe the falling rain?
Ans: The poet describes the dark clouds covering the starry sky as "melancholy darkness." He beautifully personifies this darkness by saying it gently weeps in the form of "rainy tears." The sound of the falling rain on the wooden shingles is described as a musical "patter" and "tinkle".
Q5: Is the poet now a child? Is his mother still alive? How do we know?
Ans: No, the poet is no longer a child; he is a grown man. His mother is not alive anymore. We know this because the poet mentions her in the past tense, saying "Now in memory comes my mother, As she used in years agone." He recalls how she used to look at them before leaving them till the dawn, which makes it clear that these are fond recollections of a time long past.
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Q: Who comes into the poet's memory as he lies in bed listening to the rain?
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🔤 Important Word Meanings
- 1. Humid Hover (phrase): Dark clouds full of water moving around in the sky.
- 2. Melancholy (adj): Sad or depressed (Udaas).
- 3. Shingles (n): Rectangular wooden tiles used on roofs (Chhat ki tiles).
- 4. Patter (n): The sound of raindrops falling continuously on a hard surface (Tip-tip aawaz).
- 5. Fancies (n): Imagination or imaginative thoughts (Kalpana).
- 6. Woof (n): The threads woven across a loom to make fabric; here used metaphorically for woven memories.
- 7. Ere (prep): An old English word meaning 'before'.