Question Bank — The Voice of the Rain

NCERT Class 11 English · Chapter 7 · CBSE Board Pattern

Class 11 English Chapter 7 Question Bank CBSE Board Pattern

Section A — MCQs (10 questions, 1 mark each)

  1. Who is the speaker addressing in the opening line of the poem?
    a) The sea
    b) The soft-falling shower
    c) The earth
    d) A song

  2. What does the rain claim to be?
    a) The voice of heaven
    b) The Poem of Earth
    c) The song of the sea
    d) The life of seeds

  3. Which word in the poem means “something that cannot be touched”?
    a) Atomies
    b) Latent
    c) Impalpable
    d) Lave

  4. Assertion (A): The rain rises eternally from land and sea.
    Reason (R): It originates from the bottomless sea only.
    a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
    b) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.
    c) A is true, but R is false.
    d) A is false, but R is true.

  5. The phrase “strange to tell” indicates that:
    a) The shower refused to answer
    b) The shower gave an unexpected reply
    c) The poet could not hear the rain
    d) The rain spoke in a foreign language

  6. Assertion (A): The rain makes pure and beautifies its own origin.
    Reason (R): It returns love to its birthplace after wandering.
    a) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
    b) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A.
    c) A is true, but R is false.
    d) A is false, but R is true.

  7. The rain descends to:
    a) Wash droughts, atomies and dust-layers
    b) Destroy seeds on the globe
    c) Rise impalpable to heaven
    d) Remain latent and unborn

  8. Which pair of words from the poem shows opposites?
    a) Eternal – impalpable
    b) Reck’d – unreck’d
    c) Lave – atomies
    d) Vaguely – changed

  9. The rain gives back life to its origin:
    a) Only during the day
    b) Only at night
    c) Forever, by day and night
    d) Once in a lifetime

  10. The bracketed lines compare the rain to:
    a) Seeds
    b) A song
    c) Heaven
    d) Droughts

Section B — Reference to Context (3 extracts, 4 marks each)

Extract 1

“And who art thou? said I to the soft-falling shower,
Which, strange to tell, gave me an answer, as here translated:
I am the Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain,”

  1. Who is the speaker and to whom is the question addressed?
  2. What does “strange to tell” suggest about the situation?
  3. Identify the literary device used in “I am the Poem of Earth”.
  4. What does the rain call itself and why?

Extract 2

“Eternal I rise impalpable out of the land and the
bottomless sea,
Upward to heaven, whence, vaguely form’d, altogether
changed, and yet the same,”

  1. Name the speaker of these lines.
  2. Explain the meaning of “altogether changed, and yet the same”.
  3. Identify the literary device in the repetition of the rain’s movement.
  4. What quality of the rain is highlighted by the word “impalpable”?

Extract 3

“(For song, issuing from its birth-place, after fulfilment, wandering
Reck’d or unreck’d, duly with love returns.)”

  1. Why are these lines placed within brackets?
  2. What similarity between rain and song is suggested here?
  3. Explain the meaning of “Reck’d or unreck’d”.
  4. What does the phrase “duly with love returns” imply?

Section C — Short Answer (5 questions, 3 marks each)

  1. Who are the two voices in the poem? Which lines show this clearly?
  2. How does the rain describe its own origin and its return to it?
  3. What does the rain do for the earth when it descends?
  4. Explain the cyclic movement of the rain as presented in the poem.
  5. Why does the poet place the comparison with a song in brackets?

Section D — Long Answer (2 questions, 6 marks each)

  1. Write a character sketch of the rain as presented in the poem, highlighting its eternal nature, its purpose, and its relationship with the earth. (100-120 words)
  2. “The poem presents rain as a life-giving and purifying force that maintains the cycle of nature.” Discuss with reference to the text. (100-120 words)

Section E — Language and Writing (2 questions, 4 marks each)

  1. From the poem, pick out two pairs of opposites and two words that describe the rain’s intangible or hidden qualities. Also rewrite the following poetic line in normal prose order: “Eternal I rise impalpable out of the land and the bottomless sea.”

  2. Imagine you are the poet. Write a short diary entry (80-100 words) describing your strange conversation with the rain and what you learnt about its role in nature.

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Section A

  1. b
  2. b
  3. c
  4. c (A true, R false – rain rises from both land and sea)
  5. b
  6. a
  7. a
  8. b
  9. c
  10. b

Section B

Extract 1
1. The poet is speaking to the soft-falling shower.
2. It suggests the unusual event of rain answering the poet.
3. Metaphor.
4. The rain calls itself the Poem of Earth because it is a creative, life-giving expression of nature.

Extract 2
1. The voice of the rain.
2. The rain changes form but remains essentially the same element.
3. Repetition / parallelism showing continuous cycle.
4. It cannot be touched or felt in its rising form.

Extract 3
1. They are an afterthought or additional reflection.
2. Both return to their origin after wandering, whether noticed or not.
3. Whether cared for or not cared for.
4. It suggests a loving and dutiful return.

Section C (Key points for 3 marks)
1. Poet and rain; opening dialogue lines.
2. Rises from land/sea, returns to purify origin.
3. Washes droughts, dust; gives life to latent seeds.
4. Rise → heaven → descend → return to origin (cycle).
5. They form a separate reflective comment on the parallel with song.

Section D (Key content points)
1. Eternal, impalpable, rises from land/sea, descends to cleanse and nourish, returns love to origin, compared to song.
2. Life-giving (seeds), purifying (make pure), cyclic return, beautifies earth, continuous day and night action.

Section E

  1. Opposites: reck’d/unreck’d; changed/same. Intangible: impalpable, latent. Prose: I rise eternally and intangibly out of the land and the bottomless sea.
  2. Diary: Date, informal tone, mention conversation with rain, note its self-description as Poem of Earth, express wonder at its cycle and life-giving role. (Format 1, Content 2, Expression 1)
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All questions are answerable from the NCERT chapter text. Reviewed by GFIS faculty.