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(The Poet : William Wordsworth)
[William Wordsworth (April 17, 1770 -- April 23, 1850) was an English Romantic poet. He helped to launch The Romantic Age in English Literature.
Wordsworth's poetry is known for its simplicity. Nature and common people are the main themes of his poetry. He is known for his poems that explore the human relationship to nature and the spiritual and epistemological aspects of life.
Definition of poetry by William Wordsworth : "Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings : it takes its origins from emotion recollected in tranquility."
He wrote this poem in the year 1802 in Dove Cottage (Grasmere), where he was with his sister Dorothy Wordsworth. It was published in his famous collection 'Poems, in Two Volumes' in the year 1807.
This poem is also known as The Rainbow.]
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[Summary and Question-Answers]
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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 my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.
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Summary
This poem is composed by William Wordsworth. He is known as a poet of nature.
This poem is about the simple beauty of the rainbow in the sky. It begins with a reference to a rainbow. Here we find the poet recollecting the memory of his childhood and giving it a continuity to present up to future. The continuity is provided by the rainbow.
[A Beautiful Rainbow in the Sky]
This poem expresses the poet's pleasure at the sight of the rainbow in the sky. He becomes very glad and his heart starts to leap up at the sight of the rainbow. This attraction of the rainbow was the same when he was a child, and it is the same in the present time. He also says that his attraction for the rainbow will remain the same in the future. He would rather die if his attraction for the rainbow becomes less.
He says that the child is the father of man. The deep meaning of this sentence is that the things we do and feel as children affect and control our later lives.
Finally the poet wishes that his love and attraction for the nature should remain with him every day.
Line by line meaning of the poem :
Line 1. and 2.
My heart leaps up as I behold
A rainbow in the sky:
Meaning : These two lines tells about the poet's reaction towards a rainbow in the sky. The poet has a deep attraction for it. So he says his 'heart leaps up" (feels extreme happiness).
In other words he wants to say that seeing a rainbow makes the speaker feel happy and joyful.
Line 3, 4 and 5.
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Meaning : These three lines are in three different tenses. Line number 3 is in the simple past tense, line number 4 is in the simple present tense, and line number 5 is in the simple future tense.
Using these three different tenses, he gives a continuity of his love for nature from his childhood to to the time when he would be old.
In line number 3 and 4, he expresses his reaction to the rainbow in his past and in his present time. He used to have a strong love and attraction towards the rainbow when he was a small boy. And now , as he is a grownup person , his love for the rainbow has not decreased. Still he feels the same attraction at the sight of the rainbow.
Line number 5 tells us about his wish for future. He says that even when he will be old, his love for rainbow will not melt or die out. He wishes to retain the same attraction for rainbow in his old age too. In other words, he wants to preserve his childhood pleasure in future too.
Thus we find the continuity of his love for nature (rainbow) from the beginning days to his till the end of his life.
Line 6.
Or let me die !
Meaning : This line is a determination of the speaker to give a continuity of his love for nature through his life. He is not ready to give up his love (for nature) a bit even in his future.
In an extreme emotional state he declares that he is even ready to die in case his love for nature drops out from his heart. He prefers death to being unable to be happy seeing a rainbow in his old age.
Line 7.
The child is father of the Man;
Meaning : This line has a deeper meaning. Learned people explain this line in many different ways.
The simple meaning is that every person used to be a child in the past. A person's habits and behaviors developed in their childhood shape what a person s/he would be in future.
The speaker used to love nature as a child, and so as a grown up person too he is a nature lover, and he is determined to maintain his love for the nature.
Line 8 and 9 :
And I could wish my days my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.
Meaning : These two lines come as the speaker's wish. He wants the remaining days of his life bound together with nature.
He wants every day of his life to be tied together by love for the nature. The words 'natural piety' shows that poet gets almost spiritual experience at the sight of the rainbow.
Questions and Answers :
1. Explain the paradox in "The Child is father of the Man".
Answer : This famous sentence from this poem is a very good example of paradox. At the first reading it seems that the sentence is meaningless, because a child can never be a father of a man. Rather man is the father of a child.
But a deeper study of this sentence gives several meanings of it.
It can be interpreted in different ways. We can say that in his turn every child grows , gets matured , and becomes father.
But I think this sentence wants to say that it is the environment in which a child is brought up affects and controls his/her later life. In other words, the things we do as children and feel as children determine what type of person we are going to be in future.
2. Interpret the poem in any way you like.
Answer : This is a fine example of how much the poet loves nature. It is through the rainbow that the poet has expressed his love for the nature. He used to be very glad by seeing the rainbow in his childhood . At present time also he feels the same pleasure and he hopes that in the future also his love and attraction for the rainbow will remain the same. Thus he gives a continuity to his life through the the rainbow. His love for the rainbow is very instinctive.
The poem not only presents the poet's love for nature, but it also explores the relationship between nature and humanity. A strong bond with nature is the key to human happiness, as here the poet gets happiness at the sight of the rainbow.
In his childhood he was brought up in very very beautiful place. There he developed a love for nature which is still fresh in him. So he thinks that the atmosphere of a child's rearing affects and controls the adult life. So he says that "The Child is the father of the Man".
3. What does the poet mean by "natural piety" ?
Answer : Piety is deep respect for God or religion . Wordsworth was the poet of nature. For him nature was the beat guardian. So he had a deep respect for it. This is natural piety. Here the poet hopes that his love for nature will remain with him every day.
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Some Additional Questions Answers
Now answer the following questions after sharing your ideas with your partner :
1. The poet says "My heart leaps up". Why do you think he feels way ?
Answer : The poet says that his heart leaps up when he sees the rainbow because the sight of the rainbow gives him a great pleasure . He is a nature lover person , and he has been in love with the rainbow since his childhood.
2. When did the speaker have these feelings about the rainbow first ?
Answer : He had these feelings about the rainbow since his childhood.
3. Discuss with your partner and write a few sentences on why the poet wants to continue to have these feelings about the rainbow even he grows old .
Answer : The poet wants to continue these feelings about the rainbow because he has a mixed feeling of joy, respect and wonder for the rainbow in his heart. He wants to carry the joy of nature with him until the last day of his life.
4. The poet shows that life without the ability to see the beauty in Nature is meaningless. Or, he points to how a rainbow brings out the child in us. Do you agree with these statements. Explain.
Answer : Yes, I agree with the poet. Here the rainbow is the symbol of the nature. Nature is the best guardian of a man. It not only shapes our future, it also fills our heart with pleasure. So in order to keep our childish self alive , we be in the habit of enjoying the different aspects of nature , as the poet is still enjoying the rainbow in the sky.
5. Write a short paragraph (four sentences) on your experience of seeing a rainbow.
Answer : I just love a rainbow. We can't see a rainbow everyday. Certainly the first feeling at the sight of it fills my heart with joy and pleasure. Its different colours attract me. My mom used to say that a rainbow is a sign of hope, so the sight of a rainbow fills me with hope for future. I feel blessed by the God.
6. Identify the major figure of speech in this poem. Give some similar examples.
Answer : Many different figures of speech are used in this beautiful poem for example metaphor, paradox allusion etc. But I think the major figure of speech is paradox. A paradox is putting two contradictory ideas in a statement, which might seem meaningless in the beginning , but a second reading gives meaning.
The example of paradox is : "The Child is Father of the Man".
7. Write in one sentence what the poem is about .
Answer : This poem is about the recollection (memory/ remembering) of a joyful experience of the poet's childhood with a rainbow and the continuity of the emotion and feeling onto future.
8. Summarize the poem in a small paragraph.
Answer : Here the poet recollects (remembers) a joyful experience of his childhood at the sight of a rainbow, which has always been a source of continuous joy and happiness for him.
He wants to give this experience of joy a continuity onto his future also. Whenever the poet sees a rainbow in the sky, he feels a great joy. It was the same when he was a child, it is the same when he is a man now, and the pleasure will remain the same for him when he will grow old.
Present is the outcome of the past and future is the outcome of the present.
In the end, he expresses his regard and respect for the nature and wish to continue in the future also.
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Very Short Questions and Answers :
Question 1. What happens to the poet when he beholds a rainbow in the sky ?
Answer : When he beholds a rainbow in the sky, his heart is filled with a pure joy and happiness.
Question 2 . When did the speaker have these feelings about the rainbow first ?
Answer: He had these feelings about rainbow in his heart since his childhood.
Question 3. Why does the poet want to continue to have these feeling about the rainbow even when he grows old ?
Answer : The poet is nature, and he feels a divine feeling in the presence of the rainbow. So he wants to continue his feelings about it.
Question 4. What is the meaning of the expression 'natural piety' ?
Or : What is 'natural piety' ?
Answer : Here this expression means (the respectful, worshipful feelings) spiritual feelings for nature.
Question 5. Give one example of personification from the poem.
Answer : The first line My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold is an example of personification.
Question 6. Which line is an example of paradox in this poem ?
Answer : The example of paradox in this poem is : 'The Child is father of the Man' .
Question 7. What is the theme of the poem?
Answer : The major theme of this poem is 'pleasure in nature' , and 'happiness'. Another important theme is 'Time' and 'Aging'.
Question 8. What literary devices are used in this poem ?
Answer : The following major literary devices are used in this poem :
a. Synecdoche: Synecdoche is a figure of speech where of something is used to refer as a whole, or vice versa.
Here the example is ; " My heart laps as I behold". Here the whole sentence refers to the pleasure of the poet (at the sight of a rainbow).
b. Anaphora : Anaphora is a rhetorical device that involves repeating a word or phrase at the beginning of multiple sentences, phrases, or clauses.
Here the example is :
"So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old"
Here all the three sentences begin with 'So'.
c. Hyperbole: Hyperbole is a figure of speech that uses exaggeration to emphasize a point, or to create a dramatic effect.
Here the example is;
"Or let me die!"
Here it is hyperbole because the speaker is ready to die than to lssen his love for the nature in the future.
d. Personification:
"My heart leaps up"
e. Metaphor: A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two things that are not related, usually stating that one thing is anothar.
Here the example is "The child is father of the Man;"
Question 8 . Who is thge speaker of this poem ?
Answer : The speaker of this poem is the poet William Wordsworth himself. It was he had spent his childhood in the beautiful natural place Lake district where he developed a deep love for nature.
Question 9. What is the mood of the poem ?
Answer : The mood of the poem is joyous.
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(All my audiences are requested to write their comments or feedbacks
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