My Heart Leaps Up
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.
Summary of My Heart Leaps Up
- Popularity of “My Heart Leaps Up”: Written by the English romantic icon William Wordsworth, this short poem “The Rainbow” first appeared in 1802. It is stated that he composed it the year when he was staying with his sister, Dorothy, at Dove Cottage in Grasmere. However, it appeared in the collection Poems in Two Volumes quite later in 1807. The poem outlines the poet’s philosophy of nature and the natural time cycle and lies in the popularity of the poem.
- “My Heart Leaps Up” As a Representative of Nature: The speaker of the poem, who is Wordsworth himself, states that he becomes excited and thrilled when he looks at the sky to see a rainbow. However, he questions its existence, saying that it is always there even when he was a child, and it is there now that he is a man. And it will be there even when he gets old. The main philosophy is the natural lifecycle in which a man becomes the father of a child, and this cycle continues unabated. The poet desires that his own days should be spent in nature to learn piety which he calls natural piety.
- Major Themes in “My Heart Leaps Up”: Love for nature, natural lifecycle, and purity in nature are major themes of this poem “My Heart Leaps Up.” Although the title does not correspond with the main thematic ideas, it is clear that the poet enjoys the proximity of nature. He loves it for the sake of nature as well as for the sake of his own purity and piety. He knows that natural things such as a rainbow have been present since time immemorial and that a generation will pass and they will stay there. Therefore, he desires to spend his time in the proximity of this nature so that he can become pure and pious himself. This purity of nature is the hallmark of nature Wordsworth presents in his poems as it appears here.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in My Heart Leaps Up
William Wordsworth’s literary skills par excellence when it comes to using literary devices to enhance the intended impact of his poems. Some of the major literary devices in this poem are as follows.
- Anaphora: It means the repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of successive verses. The poem shows the use of anaphora, such as “So.”
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /e/ in “My heart leaps up when I behold ” and the sound of /o/ in “So be it when I shall grow old.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /w/ in “So was it when my life began” and the sound of /ch/ and /n/ in “Bound each to each by natural piety.”
- Enjambment: This literary device shows the rolling over of one verse to the next to connect it to the main idea or theme or meaning. The poem shows the use of enjambment, such as;
The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. William Wordsworth used imagery in this poem, such as “A rainbow in the sky”, “So was it when my life began” and “The Child is father of the Man.”
- Paradox: It means to insert or put contradictory ideas into a verse or a statement. The poem shows the use of a paradox, such as “The Child is father of the Man.”
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols, such as a rainbow, sky, child, and father, to show the poet’s love for nature and its depiction.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in My Heart Leaps Up
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows good use of formal, poetic, and melodic diction.
- Free Verse: It means to use poetry without any rhyme scheme or metrical pattern. This poem is a free verse poem.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. This is a single-stanza poem with just nine verses.
- Tone: It means the voice of the text. The poem shows a loving, intimate, and natural tone.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote when talking about nature and its power.
The Child is father of the Man;
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.
