Song of the Rain by Kahil Gibran: Class IX

Song of the Rain by Kahil Gibran: Class IX

Kahil Gibrana is a Lebanese-American, artist, poet and writer. The use of formal language as well as insight in life situations in his poetry is notable. In this poem, he presents rain in personification undergoing the cycle of birth and death. He uses devices like imagery, metaphor and personification to highlight the theme.

Stanza 1: “I am dotted……..valleys”

Word-meanings: 1. Dotted: covered in dots 2. Adorn: decorate 3.

Explanation: The rain says that it is dropped from the heaven by the gods in the form of dotted threads. It means that when the rain pours in, it seems that long silver threads with shining dots on them are coming down towards the earth from the sky. The moment they reach the atmosphere of the earth, they fall on the fields and valleys. The fields and the valleys become clean and bright due to rain. In a way Nature takes the rain to decorate the fields and valleys.

Stanza 2: “I am beautiful pearls…….gardens”

Word-meanings: pearl: gem, precious stone 2. Embellish: to decorate

Explanation: In this stanza, the poet uses a metaphor of pearls. He equates the drops of rain to beautiful pearls. These are plucked from the crown of Ishtar (the goddess of fertility, love, war and sex) by the daughter of Dawn to decorate gardens.

In other words, the drops of rain look like pearls when dim light of the dawn-time gets reflected in them .

Stanza 3: “ When I cry……….are elated.”

Word-meanings: 1. Cry: loud voice (here it means the loud sound created by the falling of rain on natural objects.) 2. Humble myself: slows myself, reduces the intensity of myself (rain) 3. Bow: to bend (here it means to stop, but to fall in the form of very tiny/small drops as if someone sprinkles/showers water) 4. Elated: overjoyed/thrilled 5. Rejoice: celebrate, express joy

Explanation: When the rain pours in heavily, the hills laugh. In a way, the hills are made up of stones and hard rocks. They have no adverse effect of heavy rain falling on them. The poet imagines that the hills laugh at heavy downpour.

But when the rain becomes mild or slow, the flowers rejoice express their joy by moving gently in light rain. They do not feel happy in heavy rain as it shakes them wildly and sometimes even harms them. The poet imagines that the flowers feel happy at light rain.

Similarly, when the rain bows (reduces to sprinkling), everything seems overjoyed.

When the rain changes into very small drops falling on the earth, all things on the earth become thrilled and overjoyed.

Stanza 4: “The field and the cloud are lovers…………………….…ailment of the other.”

Word-meanings: 1. mercy: compassion, pity, kindness 2. Quench: to satisfy the thirst 3. Cure: to treat, to remove the illness 4. Ailment: illness

Explanation: The rain says that the field and the cloud are like lovers and the rain acts like a messenger of mercy between them. It quenches the thirst of the fields and cures the sickness of the clouds.

The field needs to have a meeting with the rain when it gets dry (thirsty). The rain quenches its thirst by its showers on the field. The clouds are heavy with water-vapours and they swell due to them. They are ill and unable to carry with them the burden of water. They want to burst and the rain cures the sickness of the clouds by making the vapours condensed and fall down in the form of water. It cures the clouds by making them light in burden. Thus the rain serves as a messenger of mercy between the field and the clouds. It makes their meeting possible.

Stanza 5: “The voice of thunder……..wings of death.”

Word-meanings: 1. Declares: announces 2. Earthly: belonging to the earth, mortal, perishable, sure to die and decay 3. Upraised: uplifted

Explanation: The voice of thunder declares the rain’s arrival. This thunder is created by the clouds. The rainbow declares the end of the rain.  The rain also says that, like the things on the earth, it also has to go through the process of life and death. It takes its birth from the natural elements on the earth and it dies under the sky.(the upraised wings of death).

Stanza 6: “I emerge from the heart of the sea………………..a million little ways.”

Word-meanings: 1. Emerges: comes out, 2. Soar: fly

3. breeze: a light wind 4. Descend: come down 5. Embrace: to hug 6. gently: softly

Explanation: The process of evaporation is at its peak in the sea. So the rain emerges from the sea in the form of large quantity of vapours and goes up (soars) towards the sky with the help of the breeze to become clouds. When the rain sees a field in need (means dry), it descends (pours in) on it and embraces (wets/touches) flowers and trees in million little ways (it is an example of hyperbole).

Stanza 7:

“ I touch gently at the windows…………the tears of heaven”

Word-meanings: 1. Sensitive: we call a person sensitive if he/she is responsive & aware. He/she has also deep feelings and insight 2. Sigh: long and deep breath

Explanation:

It also touches gently at the windows with her soft fingers. It means that it does so with the help of wind to sprinkle its drops on the window also.

The rain says that its announcement (thunder) is the welcome song sung by the cloud at its arrival. All can hear the thunder of the cloud. But only sensitive people can understand that the cloud is announcing the arrival of the rain and it is also the welcome song by it. Very few people have deep insight to view rain in its different moods.

The rain also calls itself the sigh of the sea, the laughter of the field and the tears of the heaven. As the poets says that the rain emerges from the sea. It means it takes its birth from it. But when the water vapours (rain in baby form) goes up into the atmosphere to become mature in the form of cloud, the sea takes a long deep breath to express its sadness over the departure of the water-vapours.

 It seems  to be sad, so the word ‘sigh’ has been used by the poet.

 Since the field becomes happy at the arrival of the rain, so it has been called the laughter of the field.

The rain goes up in the form of water vapours and make cloud in the heaven (sky). But at last, it has to fall down on the earth to complete its cycle of birth, life and death. As it pours in and departs from the cloud, the heaven feels sad and sheds tears in the form of drops of the rain.

Stanza 8: “So with love-………….heaven of memories.”

In the end, the poet describes the rain as ‘the sighs of the deep sea of affection’.

It means the sea takes a long deep breath to express its sadness over the departure of the water-vapours its heart. It seems  to be sad, so the word ‘sigh’ has been used by the poet.

The poet also calls it ‘a laughter of the field’ because when it rains on the field, it gets nourishment for the plants and other vegetation to grow. Thus the rain causes laughter of the field.

It has also been called ‘the tears of heaven.’ As the rain falls down in drops on the earth, the heaven cries, so the drops have been called ‘tears of heaven’.