POETRY The Rainbow

By William Wordsworth

My heart leaps up when I behold

A rainbow in the sky;
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety!
Vocabulary:

Leaps : jump Behold : see

Bound : joined together

Piety : love and respect for God and religion.

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The rhyme scheme: abccabcdd

The main idea:

The poet expresses his love for nature. He talks about a rainbow as
a phenomenon and shows how beautiful it is. He wishes to spend
all his days enjoying the beauty of nature and showing a deep
respect for God.

Paraphrase
 In the first two lines,
 The poet expresses his happiness when he sees a rainbow in the
sky. This is to show his love for nature.
 In lines (3,4,5,6),
 The poet talks about himself and Nature. He says that our love for
Nature (the rainbow) is born with us and it grows with us as we
grow older. He compares Nature to Man’s life. The poet is mortal
and Nature is immortal‫خالدة‬.
 The child is father of the Man
In this line the poet sums up his philosophy. The child gains his love
for nature first. This love continues when he grows up and become a
man. So the experience of the child comes before the experience of
the man. So the child can be the father of the man.
 In the last two lines,
 The poet sums up his love for nature. He wishes to spend all his
days in peace and love for the beauty of nature and to show love
and respect for God.

 Figures of speech
1)Personification:
“My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky”
He personifies his heart as a person jumping with joy and happiness.

2)Contrast: "So was it when my life began"

"Or let me die!"
“my life began” and “die”

"The Child is the father of the Man"

“child” and “man”

3)Comparison : “Or let me die”

He compares himself to nature. His life is mortal because he will
die one day, but the nature is immortal.

4) Metaphor: " And I could wish my days to be

Bound each to each by natural piety."
The poet gives his life the image of a chain with joined parts.