New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired

There Will Come Soft Rains

“There Will Come Soft Rains” (1950)

“There Will Come Soft Rains” Text Version

“There Will Come Soft Rains” Audio Version

Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury (born August 22, 1920, Waukegan, Illinois, U.S.—died June 5, 2012, Los Angeles, California) was an American author best known for his highly imaginative short stories and novels that blend a poetic style, nostalgia for childhood, social criticism, and an awareness of the hazards of runaway technology.

As a child, Bradbury loved horror films such as The Phantom of the Opera (1925); the books of L. Frank Baum and Edgar Rice Burroughs, and the first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories. Bradbury often told of an encounter with a carnival magician, Mr. Electrico, in 1932 as a notable influence. Wreathed in static electricity, Mr. Electrico touched the young Bradbury on the nose and said, “Live forever!” The next day, Bradbury returned to the carnival to ask Mr. Electrico’s advice on a magic trick. After Mr. Electrico introduced him to the other performers in the carnival, he told Bradbury that he was a reincarnation of his best friend who died in World War I. Bradbury later wrote, “a few days later I began to write, full-time. I have written every single day of my life since that day.”

“There Will Come Soft Rains” Discussion Questions

What is ominous about the house at the beginning of the story?

Why is the action just after nine o'clock somewhat more personal than the others of the day? How does the house choose the poem? Why is it an appropriate poem for the situation?

Describe the scene of the destruction of the house. How is the house left in the end? How does the action of the house in the last line compare to its action in the first line?

Based on Bradbury's descriptions in the story, how do you think the city and its inhabitants were destroyed?

Why do you think Bradbury waited until paragraph 10 to explain what had happened to the city?

Why do you think he waited to show what had happened to the family?

What makes the actions of the house senseless? Might it be dangerous to put too much of our lives in the hands of machines? Why, or why not?

What comment is Bradbury making about the essential stupidity of machines? Of mankind?

Contrast this with Sara Teasdale's view of nature in her poem "There Will Come Soft Rains."

What do you think the theme of Sara Teasdale's poem is? Why do you think Bradbury chose to use the name of this poem for the title of his story as well as to incorporate the poem into the story? How are the themes of the poem and the story similar?

What is special about this house that makes it different from other houses? What specific lines, especially in the fire scene, describe the house in human terms? What is ironic about the survival of the house?

Easy Reader

Be Thankful for Trees