NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Hornbill Chapter 4 Poem The Voice of the Rain

Learning Chapter 4 of the Hornbill textbook is the best place to see how Walt Whitman's poetry often feels like a conversation with nature. You probably know that this poem is more than simply a literal depiction of the weather if you're looking for the voice of the rain question answer. It's a deep philosophical conversation. Students often look for the voice of the rain question answer class 11 to help them understand the difficult metaphors Whitman utilises to talk about the water cycle. It's important to have a clear, organised breakdown of the voice of the rain question answer pdf if you want to study it offline or if you're comparing resources like CBSE Class 11 chapter 4 the voice of the rain question answer. This page is a complete guide to the NCERT solutions. It will help you understand why the rain calls itself the "Poem of Earth" and how its journey is like the essence of music.

Check Out: Class 11th Books

Class 11 English Hornbill Chapter 4 Poem The Voice of the Rain Questions Answers

Below is the NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Hornbill Chapter 4 Poem The Voice of the Rain -

I. 1. There are two voices in the poem. Who do they belong to? Which lines indicate this?

Answer: The poem contains two voices. The first is of the rain, and the second is of the poet himself.

“And who art thou? Said I to the soft-falling shower,” is the voice of the poet and “I am the Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain” is the voice of rain.

2. What does the phrase “strange to tell” mean?

Answer: The phrase refers to a peculiar phenomenon, as the raindrop responds to the poet’s questions.

3. There is a parallel drawn between rain and music. Which words indicate this? Explain the similarity between the two.

Answer: The rain calls itself the "Poem of Earth," showing a connection between rain and poetry.

The poet compares them by looking at how rain moves through its cycle. Just like poetry comes from a poet’s thoughts, rises, and then reaches people, rain also rises from the earth, forms clouds, and returns to the ground to complete its journey.

4. How is the cyclic movement of rain brought out in the poem? Compare it with what you have learnt in science.

Answer: In the poem, water rises from the land and deep sea into the sky. It turns into water vapor, forms clouds, and then falls back to the earth as rain. This rain removes dryness and eventually returns to its original source. This cycle of rain is similar to what we learn in science as the process of precipitation, where water keeps moving between the earth and the sky.

Read More: NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Chapter 1

5. Why are the last two lines put within brackets?

Answer: The last two lines are the poet’s thoughts or observations, not part of the conversation between the poet and the rain. That’s why they are placed in brackets—to show that they are separate from the dialogue and express a general idea instead of something spoken by the rain or the poet.

6. List the pairs of opposites found in the poem.

Answer:

(a) Day, night

(b) Reck’d, unreck’d

(c) Rise, descend

Read More: NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Chapter 2

II. Notice the following sentence patterns.

1. And who art thou? said I to the soft-falling shower.

Answer: I enquired the soft-falling rain about its identity.

2. I am the Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain.

Answer: The voice of the rain introduced itself as the Poem of Earth.

3. Eternal I rise

Answer: Upward movement of the rain (towards sky) is eternal.

4. For song… duly with love returns

Answer: The poet says that, similar to the natural cycle of the rain, a song originates from the heart of the poet, travels to reach others and after fulfilling its purpose (whether acknowledged or not), it returns to the poet with all due love.

III. Look for some more poems on the rain and see how this one is different from them

Answer: Do it yourself.

Read More: NCERT Solutions For Class 11 English Chapter 3

Understanding the Two Voices: "And Who Are You?"

One of the most striking features of this poem is its conversational structure. When you look for the voice of the rain question answer, the very first thing to identify is the "two voices" present in the text. The poem opens with a direct question from the poet: "And who art thou? said I to the soft-falling shower." This is the voice of the human observer, filled with curiosity and wonder.

The way this poem is set up is one of the most interesting things about it. The first thing you should do when looking for the voice of the rain question answer is to find the "two voices" in the text. The author starts the poem with a blunt question: "And who art thou?" murmured I to the soft-falling shower. This is the voice of a person who is curious and amazed.

The second voice, which is the more shocking one, is the rain itself. It answers with a weird statement: "I am the Poem of Earth." Whitman employs personification to connect human language with natural events by giving the rain a voice. This conversation isn't merely a literary device; it shows the poet functioning as an interpreter for nature. The poet has to explain to the reader what the rain is saying in a "heavenly voice." This dual narrative lets us perceive the rain as more than just a weather phenomenon; it shows us that it has a purpose and a past.

The Artistic Parallel: How Rain Reflects the Path of Music

The voice of the rain question answer class 11 often talks about how rain and music are alike. In the last words of the poem, the poet makes a direct connection between the life cycle of a song and the life cycle of the rain. This is a new way of looking at nature as art: the rain is to the Earth what a song is to the soul.

The poem suggests that both rain and music follow a specific path:

• Origin: The rain rises from the land and the "bottomless sea," while a song originates from the heart (birthplace) of the singer or poet.

• Wandering: The rain rises to the sky, changes its form into clouds, and wanders. Similarly, a song is shared with the world, traveling from person to person.

• Return: After fulfilling its purpose—whether "reck’d or unreck’d" (cared for or not)—the rain returns to the earth to nourish it. Likewise, the song returns to the poet with love, enriching the creator’s soul.

This parallel highlights that both nature and art are eternal sources of joy and purification. They don't require constant validation from the world to continue their essential work.

Check Out: Class 11th Question Banks

The Eternal Water Cycle: Scientific Truth in Poetic Verse

A lot of the time, when students go for the voice of the rain question answer , they want to know more about the "cyclic movement" that is talked about in the poem. Whitman says that the rain comes up from the ground and the sea in a "impalpable" way. This is evaporation in scientific words. It means that water changes into vapour that is hard to see or touch.

Then the poem talks about how this vapour gets to the sky and "is completely changed, but still the same." This is what happens when vapour turns into clouds. Even though the look has changed, the essence (the water) is still the same. Finally, the rain "descends" to "lave" (wash) the dry and dusty parts of the world. This is what rain looks like.

The rain's declaration, "I give back life to my own origin," is what makes this distinctive. The seeds that are hidden in the ground would stay "unborn" and "latent" if it didn't rain. The rain goes back to where it came from, completing a cycle of rebirth and making sure that the land that gave origin to it is productive and alive. This makes the poem a great mix of science and art.

Analyzing Opposites and Sentence Patterns for Exam Readiness

To do well on tests, you need to look beyond the summary and pay attention to the technical parts of the poetry. The poem uses a lot of opposites to explain how nature is balanced. The NCERT solutions list some of the most important pairs, such as:

• Rise and Descend: Marking the upward and downward movement of the water cycle.

• Day and Night: Showing the perpetual, non-stop nature of the rain's work.

• Reck’d and Unreck’d: Indicating that the rain (and art) fulfills its duty regardless of whether it is noticed or appreciated by humans.

Additionally, the use of brackets in the last two lines is a common exam question. These lines are bracketed because they are not part of the conversation between the poet and the rain. Instead, they represent the poet’s internal reflection or "commentary" on the similarity between the rain’s journey and the journey of a song. Understanding these structural nuances is key to mastering the chapter.

PW The Voice of the Rain Study Material

The PW The Voice of the Rain Study Material gives students who want to get the best grades a systematic way to review. Physics Wallah has a lot of resources that are more than just short summaries. These include:

• Chapter-wise Notes: Detailed line-by-line explanations that simplify Whitman’s poetic language.

• Previous Year Questions (PYQs): A collection of questions that have frequently appeared in board exams, helping students identify "high-weightage" topics.

• Sample Papers: Structured practice sets that follow the latest CBSE marking schemes.

Using these structured resources ensures that you don't just memorize the answers but actually understand the "why" behind the rain’s story, making your exam preparation both efficient and deep.

Check Out: CBSE Class 11 Chapterwise 20 Most Probable Questions

NCERT Solutions for Class 11 English Hornbill Chapter 4 FAQs

1. Who are the two speakers in "The Voice of the Rain"?

The two speakers are the poet (Walt Whitman) and the rain itself. The poet initiates the conversation by asking "And who art thou?", and the rain responds by calling itself the "Poem of Earth."

2. Why are the last two lines of the poem in brackets?

The following two lines are in brackets since they aren't part of the conversation between the poet and the rain. They are the poet's own thoughts and observations, comparing the life cycle of rain to the life cycle of a song.

3. What does it imply when the rain says it is "altogether changed, and yet the same"?

This is the scientific process by which water turns into vapour and makes clouds. The water's physical shape changes (from liquid to gas or cloud), but its essential character stays the same as it goes through its cycle.

4. How does the rain "bring life back" to where it came from?

The soil and the sea are where the rain comes from. When it rains, it quenches the thirst of the dry earth, wipes away dust, and lets seeds that are concealed underground bloom and grow. In this sense, it keeps the source from whence it came alive.

5. How might the PW study material help you get ready for this chapter?

The PW study material has notes, PYQs, and detailed explanations of literary tropes like personification and metaphor that were put together by experts. It helps students write well-structured responses that fit with the CBSE marking scheme, which will help them do better on tests.