1. SONG OF THE
RAIN
(BY KAHLIL GIBRAN)
A PowerPoint Presentation
By
Kavita, TGT English

2. WHAT DOES THE PICTURE CONVEY
TO US?

3. 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.

4. 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

5. THE POEM
LINE 1-3
 I am dotted silver threads dropped from heaven
By the gods. Nature then takes me, to adorn
Her fields and valleys.

6. LINE 4-9
I am beautiful pearls, plucked from the
Crown of Ishtar by the daughter of Dawn
To 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.

7. LINE 10-13
The field and the cloud are lovers
And 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 rain
to them for their survival.
Rain acts like a messenger of
kindness.
Without rain clouds also suffer.

8. LINE 14-18
The voice of thunder declares my
arrival;
The rainbow announces my departure.
I am like earthly life, which begins at
The feet of the mad elements and ends
Under 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.

9. LINE 19-22
 I emerge from the heart of the sea and
Soar with the breeze. When I see a field in
Need, I descend and embrace the flowers and
The 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.

10. LINE 23-26
 I touch gently at the windows with my
Soft fingers, and my announcement is a
Welcome song. All can hear, but only
The 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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)

14. POETIC DEVICES CONTD….
 Personification
line 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
thunder
there is also an image of Christ in 8th stanza of the
poem.

15. ASSIGNMENT
 Learn the poem ‘Voice of the Rain’ by Walt
Whitman and draw a parallel between the two
poems.
The End