write a summary on the poem rain on the roof in about 120 words.

summary of "Rain on the roof"

1^st Stanza:

When the humid shadows hover
Over all the starry spheres,
And the melancholy darkness
Gently weeps in rainy tears,
What a joy to press the pillow
Of a cottage-chamber bed,
And to listen to the patter
Of the soft rain overhead!

In this stanza, the poet describes a rainy night. He says that all the stars of the sky have become invisible because they have been covered by clouds. Darkness usually has a negative connotation, and the poet makes no exception to this rule. He says that the darkness is making him sad and reflective, and the rain also seems to mirror his emotions as it looks like tears falling softly from human eyes. At this point, the only thing that can bring joy to the poet is to curl up with a pillow in the bed of a country cottage. Though the rooms of the cottage may be small and ill-equipped, the sound of raindrops can only transport him there for him to recover from his melancholic mood.

2^nd Stanza:

Every tinkle on the shingles
Has an echo in the heart;
And a thousand dreamy fancies
Into busy being start,
And a thousand recollections
Weave their bright hues into woof,
As I listen to the patter
Of the rain upon the roof.

In this stanza, the poet describes how the raindrops make the loudest sound as they fall on the shingles of the roof. Each sound that is made by the rain in this way is repeated the next instant by the beating of his heart. The things he has only been imagining now start to appear before his very eyes. As he is listening to the soft and continuous falling of the raindrops on his roof, all his memories are coming back to him, but they are not discrete and separated from each other. Instead all of his memories seem to have formed a patchwork by becoming entwined with one another.

3^rd Stanza:

Now in fancy comes my mother,
As she used to, years agone,
To survey her darling dreamers,
Ere she left them till the dawn;
Oh! I see her bending o’er me,
As I list to this refrain
Which is played upon the shingles
By the patter of the rain.

In this stanza, the poet describes the first memory that he can actually identify among the patchwork that all his memories have formed by meshing together. He remembers how many years ago, in his childhood, his mother used to look down at him and his siblings as they were sleeping and having pleasant dreams. His mother would make a point to look at them every night, for she knew she would not see them again till the next morning. What the poet remembers more than anything is how his mother would bend down and watch over him in particular. These memories are evoked as he listens to the repetitive rhythm of the raindrops as they are falling on his roof.

When the humid shadows hover

Overall the starry spheres,

And the melancholy darkness

Gently weeps in rainy tears,

What a bliss to press the pillow

Of a cottage-chamber bed,

And lie listening to the patter

Of the soft rain overhead!

In these lines, the poet describes a rainy night. The humid shadows here depict the black, furious clouds full of water. These clouds are ready to burst and paint the entire city with them. The clouds are dispersed over the entire night sky like a canopy. This stanza is a representation of the bittersweet feelings that the rainy weather brings. It shows the duality of enjoying the sound of rain yet thinking of sadness for which the clouds weep.

The poet says that the stars in the sky are not visible as the dark rainy clouds cover them. The sky looks sad, and the rain looks as if tears are falling from human eyes. This weather represents the poet’s sorrowful mood. In such a mood, the only thing that can bring joy in the poet’s heart is to lie down on the pillow of his bed in his cottage and listen to the soft sound of the rain falling on the roof. He thinks he is lucky to be at home, in his room and hear the clouds pour.

Stanza 2

Every tinkle on the shingles

Has an echo in the heart;

And a thousand dreamy fancies

Into busy being start,

And a thousand recollections

Weave their hair-threads into the wood,

As I listen to the patter

Of the rain upon the roof.

In these lines, the poet describes how the raindrops make a tinkling sound as they fall on the tiled rooftop of his cottage. According to the poet, each sound made by the rain is echoed by his heartbeats. In other words, the sound of the poem makes a deep impact on the poet. As he is listening to the sound, many imaginations come into his mind.

This stanza presents vivid imagery of the feelings that rain awakens in the poet. It shows how rain brings back old dreams yet makes space for new ones. The pitter-patter on the roof shows the conflicted thoughts of the poet. He is trying to see new dreams, yet the old ones bring back the parts of his life that are long gone.

The poet described his imaginations as ‘dreamy fantasies’ that come into his mind in the stanza. He goes back to his childhood memories. These memories appear to be interwoven together to form a beautiful picture.

This stanza perfectly depicts everyone at some point in their life — the conflicting feeling of not knowing about the future and the fleeting feeling of forgetting the past. He gets lost in the feeling of being a child, of better days and togetherness of mothers and siblings.

Stanza 3

Now in memory comes to my mother,

As she used in years agone,

To regard the darling dreamers,

Ere she left them till dawn:

O! I feel her fond look on me

As I list to this refrain

Which is played upon the shingles

By the patter of the rain.

This stanza takes us into the poet's childhood, mainly focusing on his beautiful mother and how she nursed him. His love for his caring, warm and endearing mother is clear from these lines.

The stanza also depicts the sorrow of losing one’s mother. Associating her with the rain, the poet reminisces about the best times of his life with his mother. And although she is no longer beside him, he feels her presence, warmth and love whenever it rains.

In these lines, the poet says that out of the many memories the poet recollects, he identifies one fond memory of his mother that soothes his mind and heart. He remembers how many years ago, his mother used to look at him and his siblings lovingly while they slept and used to dream.

She would look at her children sleeping every night because she knew she wouldn’t see them till the next morning. The poet can still feel the look of his mother while he lies on his bed and listens to the soft musical sound of the rain falling on the roof. The third Stanza beautifully connects the entire poem and ties the other two stanzas together. It shows how the dreams in the previous paragraph are of his beloved mother, who lovingly looked at him and his sibling.

The dreams are of the golden days of his childhood, which are now out of his grasp. He is older now, and his mother is no longer here. Yet the rain, in all its beauty, manages to awaken the memories each time.

The pitter-patter can be compared to heartbeats of love and memories. It can be a perfect representation of how memories like heartbeats keep us alive. The echoes of his mother's love and affection are still felt whenever it rains.