SONG OF THE RAIN (BY KAHLIL GIBRAN)

A PowerPoint Presentation

By

Kavita, TGT English

WHAT DOES THE PICTURE CONVEY TO US?

ABOUT THE POEM

A beautiful poem by Gibran in which he sings the beauty of rain by giving it heavenly connotations.

It is an ode to nature, rain in particular.

The poet says that he is writing only for the sensitive people who would understand.

The poem is absolutely awesome, and yet inspirational.

ABOUT THE POET: KAHLIL GIBRAN

Born: January 3, 1883(1883-01-03)Bsharri, Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate, Ottoman Syria (modern day Lebanon)

Died: April 10, 1931(1931-04-10) (aged 48)New York City, United States

Occupation: Poet, Painter, Sculptor, Writer, Philosopher

Nationality: Lebanese-American Genres: Poetry, Parable, Short

Story Notable work: The Prophet

THE POEMLINE 1-3

I am dotted silver threads dropped from heavenBy the gods. Nature then takes me, to adornHer fields and valleys.

LINE 4-9

I am beautiful pearls, plucked from theCrown of Ishtar by the daughter of DawnTo embellish the gardens.

When I cry the hills laugh;When I humble myself the flowers rejoice;When I bow, all things are elated.

Ishtar (IŠTAR ) is the Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of fertility, love, war, and sex. She is the counterpart to the Sumerian Inanna and to the cognate north-west Semitic goddess Astarte.

LINE 10-13

The field and the cloud are loversAnd between them I am a messenger of mercy.I quench the thirst of the one;I cure the ailment of the other.

Fields love clouds bringing rainto them for their survival.Rain acts like a messenger of kindness. Without rain clouds also suffer.

LINE 14-18The voice of thunder declares my

arrival;The rainbow announces my

departure.I am like earthly life, which begins atThe feet of the mad elements and

endsUnder the upraised wings of death.

Life on earth is born out of different & strange elements. Similarly, rain is born of water vaopurs, collision of clouds and temperature.

LINE 19-22

I emerge from the heart of the sea andSoar with the breeze. When I see a field inNeed, I descend and embrace the flowers andThe trees in a million little ways.

Rain is born of sea water.Water evaporates and rises up with the breeze.Like a true friend, rain helps its friends when they are in need.Rain comes down in various forms such as shower, hail, mist, frost, snow etc.

LINE 23-26

I touch gently at the windows with mySoft fingers, and my announcement is aWelcome song. All can hear, but onlyThe sensitive can understand.

The sound of soft falling rain on windows is like a song. People welcome the rain with open arms. People with sensitive hearts can understand this song.

LINE 27-33

I am the sigh of the sea;The laughter of the field;The tears of heaven.

So with love-Sighs from the deep sea of affection;Laughter from the colourful field of the spirit;Tears from the endless heaven of memories.

Rain comes in the form of vapours rising from the sea. It makes the soul laugh with happiness. It is like heaven shedding tears at the departure of rain and crying in its memories.

THE SYNOPSIS

Rain is a gift of God to mankind, the earth. God drops the heavenly drops and nature adopts them to bring prosperity on earth. It is very beautiful like the pearls in the crown of Ishtar. The beauty of nature is much dependent on the receipt of rain and entire nature rejoices its arrival.

Rain is personification of human emotions throughout the poem. There is also an undercurrent of the political upheaval during the time Khail lived and wrote.

POETIC DEVICES

Metaphors:line 4 (I’m beautiful pearls)line 11 (I’m a messenger of mercy)line 23-24 (my announcement is a Welcome song)lines 27-29 (I am the sigh of the sea;

The laughter of the field;The tears of heaven)

Simile : line 16 (I am like earthly life)

POETIC DEVICES CONTD….

Personificationline 2 (Nature then takes me)line 7 (the hills laugh)Line 8 (the flowers rejoice)line 10 (The fields and clouds are lovers)line 14-15

The voice of thunder declares my arrival;The rainbow announces my departure

Imagery: we find many images of rain, lightening, and thunderthere is also an image of Christ in 8th stanza of the poem.

ASSIGNMENT

Learn the poem ‘Voice of the Rain’ by Walt Whitman and draw a parallel between the two poems.

The End