The Rain Poem By W. H. Davies
Central Idea
In this poem named ‘Rain’, W. H. Davies has used a symbolic meaning for natural elements in his poem. He has used metaphorical meanings of upper leaves of the tree which get the raindrops and quench their thirst first. Afterwards, they pass-on the drops to the lower leaves. These metaphors mean that the rich get a golden chance first and whatever remains, trickle down to the poor.
However, the poet is still hopeful that one day there will be equality in the society just like sunshine which spreads all over the world without difference and equally. This sunshine is alike for the rich green and poor leaves.
Summary of The Poem – The Rain
The Rain is a beautiful poem written by W.H Davies who is a great admirer of nature. The poem describes symbolically the natural occurrence of rain. Rain falls on top of the dense foliage. These thick leaves drink the rainwater first, then pass it to the lower thin leaves, drop by drop. The top thick leaves represent wealthy people who receive the majority of the blessings but give very little alms to the poor. Raindrops hitting the thick leaves of a tree create soft music. It makes the poet happy. The poet claims in the second stanza that when the rain stops, the sun will emerge from the clouds. It will light up everything, even the dark round raindrops. It will illuminate everything, including the dark round drops of rain. Its light will be evenly distributed throughout the room. This will result in a lovely and pleasant scene. Here, the poet wishes for the day when the painful disparities between rich and poor will be eliminated. Peace and equality will prevail in society.
Analysis of The Rain
The poem is about beautiful natural phenomena (happening/ occurrence) of rain.It shows the rainwater collecting at the top of the tree and then falling on the leaves below drop by drop.
The has shown the two types of leave – the leaves on to of the tree and those at the bottom of the tree.
Tree symbolizes a society. Leaves of top of the tree which are rich leaves symbolize the rich people while the bottom leaves stand for the deprived segment of society.
The poem describes the rich getting the opportunities first and then pass on the opportunities to the poor.
Falling droplets produce a melodious sound. This sound is the sound of happiness that the deprived ones get when they see an opportunity to fulfil their needs.
The poem shows a disparity/difference in the lives of the poor and the blessed ones. The poet hopes for the sun to shine bright and fill every darkest corner of the tree, meaning he wants everyone in the society to get equal opportunities. The poet thinks it would promote harmony in the society.
