Introduction
"There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury is regarded as one of the best short stories of all time by a lot of literary critics. It is one of the hallmarks of Bradbury's career and it is a story that got a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation in 2007.
The story was written in 1950, and it was set in 2026, what a coincidence that I got to read it for the first time in 2026 😀. I found that really interesting.
Commentary Proper
Now, I agree with the critics that it is a good story, the setting, premise, and plot were all good, and the fact that a person living in the 1950s could imagine something like
but the most important thing I've got to say about it is that it was made by Sara Teasdale's poem also by the name "There Will Come Soft Rains". And when I say it was made by this poem, I mean it was the poem that made it great. Without that poem the story would have been way less than it actually is.
When one reads the story they first of all wonder what is happening, with time you get to understand what kind of house it is, and just when you're starting to knit everything together the poem comes and helps you. The poem is so great and poignant and it drives the point home just so perfectly and poignantly.
When I got to the end of the poem I was so impressed and was in awe, and I started to say to myself no wonder this story is regarded as one of the best short stories ever, Ray Bradbury is a fucking genius. But then the only reason you think or feel so is because you'll think Bradbury wrote the poem himself.
That was what I thought, and I think everyone reading the story would also associate the poem to Bradbury's genius, but that would be a mistake. It was by accident I even found out that the poem was not written by Bradbury but the author mentioned in the story (Sara Teasdale) was actually a real poet who wrote that poem.
Since the poem that was one of the top two greatest things about the story was written by someone else who isn't the author it is only right the reader realize that the author's credit has gotta reduce. If what is a great part of what makes your writing great is a piece of writing someone else made then your writing isn't that great.
This poem is a 1918 poem and by the time Bradbury wrote his story it was already quite a famous poem. It was part of the Teasdale's collection titled "Love Songs" that won the 1918 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
This is something that really has to be said about the story, with all due respect, and I think if the critics thought about this no reasonable critic would rate it that highly or at least rate the author that highly for this story in particular.
Here is a Link to the full short story for those who want to weight my criticism/commentary or just read the highly regarded story.
The End
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