Rain (CIE IGCSE English Literature)

This revision guide to Edward Thomas’ poem ‘Rain’, from the Songs of Ourselves, Volume 1, Part 4 anthology, includes:

• Overview: a detailed breakdown of ‘Rain’, including its possible meaning and interpretations

• Writer’s methods: an exploration of Thomas’ poetic methods

• Understanding the text: an exploration of Thomas’ ideas, themes and possible messages in ‘Rain’

In order to answer an essay question on any poem, it is vital that you understand what it is about. The section includes:

• The poem in a nutshell
• A “translation” of the poem, section-by-section
• A commentary of each of these sections, outlining Thomas’s intention and message

'Rain' in a nutshell

'Rain' by Edward Thomas is a poem written in 1916 during the poet’s training as a World War I soldier. The speaker in the poem contemplates his mortality and the solitude of life as the rain pours around him.

'Rain' breakdown

Lines 1–3
“Rain, midnight rain, nothing but the wild rain

On this bleak hut, and solitude, and me

Remembering again that I shall die”

Translation

• The poem begins by introducing the main focus of the poem, which is rain

Thomas’ intention

• The repetition of the word “rain” establishes the atmosphere and setting, and also emphasises the pervasive nature of rain:
• “Rain” is repeated three times in the first line to mimic the monotonous sound of rain hitting the roof
• This could also reflect the relentless inevitability of death
• The use of the word “wild” adds an element of chaos and unpredictability to the rain, which could reflect the speaker’s state of mind
• The imagery of the “bleak hut” evokes a sense of isolation and confinement
• The word “solitude” emphasises the speaker’s isolation and loneliness
• The word “and me” highlights the speaker’s individual experience and personal connection to the scene
• The final line – “remembering again that I shall die” – introduces the theme of mortality and the speaker is clearly contemplating his own mortality:
• The word “remembering” suggests that this realisation is not new to the speaker, which is particularly significant as the speaker is a soldier 

Lines 4–6

“And neither hear the rain nor give it thanks

For washing me cleaner than I have been

Since I was born into this solitude”

Translation

• The speaker is contemplating his own mortality

Thomas’ intention

• The speaker observes how it will continue to rain even after he is dead
• He acknowledges how the rain has made him “cleaner” than he has ever been:
• This could symbolise a baptism and a washing away of sin
• The speaker goes on to say “since I was born into this solitude”:
• The speaker is a soldier who is in battle and the repetition of the word “solitude” could suggest the loneliness a soldier feels when they are on the battlefield

Lines 7–10

“Blessed are the dead that the rain rains upon:

But here I pray that none whom once I loved

Is dying to-night or lying still awake

Solitary, listening to the rain,”

Translation

• The speaker thinks of his loved ones and hopes they are well

Thomas’ intention

• The speaker begins by thinking of “the dead that the rain rains upon”, which suggests that the rain falling on them is a form of blessing or purification:
• This imagery evokes a sense of peace and serenity, implying that the rain brings solace or comfort to those who have passed away
• The religious imagery continues in these lines as he states that those who have passed are “blessed” and this line is an echo from the Bible (Matthew, verse 5) 
• In contrast to the blessing bestowed upon the dead, the speaker expresses concern for the living as he prays for those he “loved”:
• It is important to note that when the speaker is referring to love, he uses the past tense, which could suggest that the life he is now living has no room for love

Lines 11–16

“Either in pain or thus in sympathy

Helpless among the living and the dead,

Like a cold water among broken reeds,

Myriads of broken reed all still and stiff,

Like me who have no love which this wild rain

Has not dissolved except the love of death,”

Translation

• The poet acknowledges the helplessness of people 

Thomas’ intention

• The sense of helplessness underscores the speaker’s vulnerability as they acknowledge how powerless they feel
• The simile “like a cold water among broken reeds” evokes a stark image of the speaker’s presence amid a scene of devastation and fragility:
• The “cold water” could symbolise the speaker’s emotional detachment or numbness 
• The line “myriads of broken reed all still and stiff” is significant:
• The use of the word “myriads” suggests a countless number and the phrase “still and stiff” could be used to describe corpses
• The speaker then goes on to personify the reeds by stating that they “have no love” left:
• The reader is left in no doubt that the reeds symbolise the fallen soldiers

Lines 17–18

“If love it be for what is perfect and

Cannot, the tempest tells me, disappoint.”

Translation

• The speaker has accepted his fate

Thomas’ intention

• The speaker accepts that death seems to be inevitable
• The speaker has concluded that the rain has washed away all love except the love of death:
• The speaker has, therefore, accepted his fate with stoic resolution

Although this section is organised into three separate sections – form, structure and language – it is always best to move from what the poet is presenting (the techniques they use; the overall form of the poem; what comes at the beginning, middle and end of a poem) to how and why they have made the choices they have. 

Focusing on the poet’s overarching ideas, rather than individual poetic techniques, will gain you far more marks. Crucially, in the below sections, all analysis is arranged by theme, and includes Thomas’ intentions behind his choices in terms of:

• Form
• Structure
• Language

Form

The poem is a single stanza and its lines are written in blank verse, also known as unrhymed iambic pentameter, with a regular metre.

Theme	Evidence	Poet’s intention
The inevitability of death	Thomas wrote in blank verse and this means that his poem is made up of lines of ten syllables each. The iambic pentameter means that the syllables are generally arranged in pairs with one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable	The rhythm of the poem could be mimicking the rain hitting the roof of his hut, but also the relentless inevitability of death
	The poem has no rhyme scheme	The lack of a rhyme scheme could reflect the lack of logic and meaninglessness of life

Structure

The poem consists of a single stanza, which is made up of two sentences.

Theme	Evidence	Poet’s intention
Solitude and loneliness	The word “rain” is repeated three times in the opening line and eight times in the whole poem	The poet’s repetition of the word “rain” could highlight the speaker’s loneliness and solitude. By highlighting that the speaker is surrounded by rain, it paints a bleak and sorrowful picture that he is alone with his thoughts
	The writer uses caesura every time he writes the word “solitary” or “solitude”	The poet has used punctuation marks to isolate the word from the rest of the line, which could reflect the speaker’s isolation from the rest of the world

Language

Thomas uses language to reflect his negative state of mind as he sits in the hut listening to the rain.

Theme	Evidence	Poet’s intention
The inevitability of death	“Rain” is repeated in the poem throughout	The poet focuses on the image of the rain and the relentless downpour, which could reflect how death has surrounded him and is inevitable
	The poem states that the “wild rain” has “dissolved” all love “except the love of death”	It could also be suggested that the rain is preparing the speaker for death by helping him embrace death and removing his love of the world
	In line 3, the speaker says that he “shall” die	The use of this word highlights how the poet is coming to terms with his own mortality
Solitude and loneliness	The poet uses the words “nothing”, “bleak” and “solitude” in the first two lines of the poem	The poet’s use of these words immediately highlights to the reader that the poet is alone in a hut, surrounded by rain at midnight. This creates a sombre scene and sets the bleak tone for the rest of the poem
	The poet thinks of his loved ones and prays for their wellbeing (lines 8–11)	This emphasises the poet’s solitude and loneliness as he is far away from those he once loved and does not know if they are well. The sense of isolation is evident here

All questions in the IGCSE encourage an informed, personal response, which means that it is not enough just to know the poem itself really well; you also need to develop a sound understanding of the themes, main ideas, settings, situations and events depicted. While context is not explicitly assessed in the IGCSE, an awareness of background information as relevant to the main themes in the poem can help you to develop a sustained, critical understanding of the text, so that you are able to demonstrate individuality and insight in your answer. Therefore, this section has been divided into two main themes that Thomas explores in ‘Rain’:

• Solitude and loneliness
• The inevitability of death

Solitude and loneliness

• The poem 'Rain' was written in 1916 during Edward Thomas’ training at an army barracks:
• It is based on an earlier event of a downpour that the poet experienced
• The poet, Edward Thomas, suffered bouts of depression, which is reflected in his creative work
• It is said that Thomas could not find comfort in nature and that he actually felt alienated from it:
• 'Rain' could reflect how he found nature isolating rather than comforting
• The poem is a reflection of how the poet felt lonely and detached from human love:
• This is seen in the lines “no love which this wild rain/Has not dissolved except the love of death” 
• The speaker is making a statement that they no longer love anything or anyone except death, which further isolates him from the rest of the world
• While the poet prays for those he “loved”, the use of the past tense suggests that he has lost his ability to love anything:
• This statement shows how solitude has alienated him emotionally from other people

The inevitability of death

• It is worth noting that the poet is a soldier who is training and preparing himself for war. Therefore, death feels closer than ever before as it is a real possibility
• The speaker begins the poem by referring to the “bleak hut”. The use of the word “bleak” suggests a lack of hope and happiness
• The writer is surrounded by rain, which could reflect the idea that he is surrounded by death that he cannot escape
• The poet reflects on the cleansing effect that water has as he begins by contemplating death and thinking about his loved ones to finally accepting his fate as the “wild rain” has “dissolved” everything except a “love of death”:
• The use of enjambment could reflect the speed of the rain but could also reflect the inevitability and speed of death approaching
• He claims that death is something that “cannot…disappoint” which reinforces the idea that death is inevitable and imminent:
• The poet’s only hope is dying as his loneliness and isolation have made him aware of his own mortality