Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[kyobancha]

I believe you are familiar with the following poem by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Rain

The rain is raining all around,
It falls on field and tree,
It rains on the umbrellas here,
And on the ships at sea.

This is one of my favorite poems and I have read it over and over again. Yet I have always had a question about the usage. Why isn't the second line like:

It falls on the field and the trees,

Both "field" and "tree" are countable nouns, yet "field" is used without "a" or "the", and "tree" is not pluralized.

Even if we say "It falls on the field and the trees," it seems to me that it won't damage the rhythm of the poem.

I hope you can help me with this. Thank you.
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Kyobancha, Japan

[Lorikeet]

The poem has an 8 syllable/6 syllable/8 syllable/6 syllable pattern, and I don't think it would read as well if the changes you suggest were made. Poems often have their own grammar. I think it would damage the rhythm of the poem. Try saying it while clapping your hands and see if it sounds as good with the changes.

[kyobancha]

Thanks, Lorikeet, for your reply to my query. As I read your reply, I noticed that the author had to use "tree" instead of "trees" in the second line. The second line rhymes with the last line and should end with "tree."

Aside from the rhyming matter, I am still confused about the meter of the poem. The meter of the poem is:

iambic tetrameter
iambic trimeter
imabic tetrameter
iambic trimeter

If we phrase the second line as:

It FALLS on the FIELD and the TREES.

doesn't it still conform to iambic trimeter?

As a nonnative speaker of English I hesitate to propose an interpretation, but is it possible to interpret the second line in the following manner?

Here the field and the trees are not perceived as tangible existence, but are recognized as something abstract, thus making a contrast with the tangible objects of "the umbrellas" and "the ships"?
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Kyobancha, Japan

[Lorikeet]

[kyobancha]

Lorikeet, I thank you again for taking time to reply my query. I definitely agree with you about the point that you made about the second line.

"It falls on field and tree," is by far the better than "It falls on the field and the trees,"

The presence and absence of articles and singular/plural distinctions are always a problem for us English learners.

There is a book published in Japan titled _Learn English Rythm and Intonation_, which is intended for Japanese learners of English. This book uses Robert Louis Stevenson's poem and, alas, misquotes the second line as follows:

It falls on the field and trees,

Worse than that, alas, this book is accompanied with a CD which contains the recording.
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Kyobancha, Japan

[Lorikeet]

Oh dear. I guess they decided to "fix" the grammar of the poem. Too bad!

[SimpleEnglishBlogger]

Poetry has no rules. LOL
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