Beehive Poem Rain on the Roof

CBSE Class 9 English Language and Literature
Beehive Poem Chapter-3 Rain On The Roof
Test Paper-01

Read the following passages and answer the questions:

When the humid shadows hover
Over all the starry spheres
And the melancholy darkness
Gently weeps in rainy tears,
1. What do you understand by humid shadow?
2. Give synonym for ‘melancholy’.
3. Who gently weeps in rainy tears?
4. What are the 'starry spheres'?
Every tinkle on the shingles
Has an echo in the heart;
And a thousand dreamy fancies
Into busy being start,
1. What are shingles?
2. What echoes in the heart?
3. Explain ‘fancies’.
4. What is the rhyming scheme of the stanza?

Answer the following questions in about 30 words:

What does the poet dream about?
Why does the poet say, ‘echo in the heart’?
Identify and explain the figure of speech used in the line ‘into busy being start’?
Who is the poet of the poem ‘Rain on the Roof’? What is the poet trying to convey through the poem?
What thoughts does he have about his mother?
Why does the post say, ‘list to the refrain’?

Answer the following questions in about 100 words:

When the soft rain falls on the roof, have you ever listened to it? Explain your experience.
What are the childhood fancies that the poet talks about in the poem?

CBSE Class 9 English Language and Literature
Beehive Poem Chapter-3 Rain On The Roof
Test Paper-01

Answers

1. Humid shadow refers to the dark clouds in the sky.
2. The synonym for ‘melancholy’ is ‘sad’ or ‘gloomy’.
3. The clouds gently weep in rainy tears.
4. The starry spheres are the night sky.
1. Shingles are rectangular or square stone tiles on the roof.
2. The sound of falling rain on the roof echoes in the heart.
3. ‘Fancies’ means imagination or dreamy thoughts.
4. The rhyming scheme of the stanza is ‘a b c b’.
The poet dreams about the memories of his childhood when his mother used to put him in the bed when it rained. He fondly remembers those moments of life.
The poet says that the sound of falling drops of rain ‘echo in the heart’ as they leave a lasting and soothing impression.
The figure of speech used in the line ‘into busy being start’ is alliteration. Alliteration is a figure of speech in which two words in a line begin with same alphabet or have a same alphabetic sound.
Coates Kinney is the poet of the poem ‘Rain on the Roof’. Through this poem the poet is trying to convey his love for the sound of falling rain drops on the roof and his memories connected to it.
He remembers his mother and her tender love as to how she used to put him to bed and fondly comforts him before going to leave him to sleep and have sweet dreams.
The post says, ‘list to the refrain’ to express his fondness for the music of the rain on the roof. A refrain is a repetition of same line or two lines or lines conveying the same meaning at the end of each stanza. He shortened the word ‘listen to list’ to give it a poetic expression.
Yes, when the soft rain falls on the roof I have often listened to it. It’s really enchanting to listen to the sound of the drops. The pitter patter sound of the falling droplets brings in a soothing effect. It reminds of the sound made by a leaking tap when the drops of water fall one by one after a short time in the bucket containing a little water. The sound of these drops keeps changing in scale like the rhythm of a song.These variations tell us that nature too likes music and has an orchestra of its own.
The poet talks about his childhood fancies in the poem. He reminisces the time when his mother used to put him in the bed during a rainy night. He remembers the cozy touch of the pillow in his small cottage bed, where he listened to the sound of the falling drops on the roof while lying down. He remembers the touch of his mother when she made him sleep and wished him sweet dreams before retiring to bed. On seeing the hovering clouds in the starry sky, he feels that the clouds express their gloom by weeping in the form of falling rain.

Beehive Poem Rain on the Roof - CBSE Test Papers