Poem#5: Rain

THE POEM: Rain

I opened my eyes
And looked up at the rain,
And it dripped in my head
And flowed into my brain,
And all that I hear as I lie in my bed
Is the slishity-slosh of the rain in my head.

I step very softly,
I walk very slow,
I can't do a handstand--
I might overflow,
So pardon the wild crazy thing I just said--
I'm just not the same since there's rain in my head.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shel Silverstein was born in September 25, 1930 and died in May 8/9, 1999. He was born in America and he had several occupations. He was an American poet, singer-song writer, cartoonist, screenwriter and author of children's book. Throughout his work, he won a 1970 Grammy for "A Boy named Sue" and for his song "I'm Checkin' out", he was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe.


PERSONAL RESPONSE

While reading this poem, I thought that this poem was really interesting in the way the writer described the rain falling as rain flowing into his head. I also liked the part when the speaker said that he was not able to think because of the rain inside the speaker’s head. Although it does not make any sense, it gave humor to the poem. While reading this poem, the poem reminded me when I had to get soaked up by the rain. That happened when I forgot about bringing my umbrella when I had to go to school. I was in school uniform and it took me 20 minutes to walk to school. The 20 minutes to school felt like 2 hours and I was really depressed and upset about the rain. When I arrived in the classroom, I felt like the dirtiest person in the world and I was embarrassed to show this to my friends. Because of the rain, I was not able to focus on anything what the teacher explained and this is similar to the poem in the 2^nd stanza line 6, where it says, “I’m just not the same since there’s rain in my head”. Especially during the first period, I felt like water was soaking into my brain. The air conditioner felt like the rain dropping. Unlike the speaker who is imagining the sounds of the rain, I was not able to imagine the sounds of the rain because the rain was pouring during the whole day. 

TP-CASTT

TITLE: By reading the title, I think this poem will talk about the rain and the characteristics of rain. I hope this poem will not only talk about the rain itself but rather talk about the events that had happened with the writer of this poem.

PARAPHRASE:
My eyes are open
I looked up at the rain
Rain started to fall on my head
Rain flowed into my brain
And the sounds I hear from my bead
Is the sound of the rain in my head

I softly take my step
And start walking slowly
Doing a handstand is impossible for me
I might run over
Sorry for the crazy things I have just said
I have changed ever since rain came in my head

CONNOTATION: (Formal Analysis)
1. Structure: Rhyme in the last two lines in each stanza,
2. Speaker: No specific speaker Audience: No specific audience
3. Figurative language: none
4. Imagery: Sight(flowed into my brain), Touch(dripped in my head)
5. Repetition: and(1st stanza), I(2nd stanza)

ATTITUDE: Imaginative
SHIFTS: Shifts occur in stanza 2 line 5. Before line 5 in stanza 2, the speaker is describing in details about rain dropping on the speaker's head. However, in line 5, the speaker suddenly says that what he said was wild and crazy because rain is in his head.

TITLE: The title "Rain" in this poem is actually the rain "flowing" into the speaker's head. Unlike other people who just ignores about the rain, the speaker feels special about the rain and describe the rain falling to him as rain flowing into his head. By using hyperbole, the poem prompts the readers imaginary and makes it easier to be absorbed into the poem.

THEME: Feel the rain

REFERENCES (APA-6)
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shel_Silverstein>.