1. My heart leaps up
William Wordsworth

2. 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 a Father of the Man:
And I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.

3. New Vocabulary
•Leaps up: jumps
•Behold: look at , see ,watch
•Rainbow: the arch of colour that appears
in the sky when it is raining & the sun is
shining.
•Bound: attached , linked to , connected to
•Piety: feeling of a deep respect for God &
religion.

4. paraphrase
The poet tells us that he feels a wave of
happiness sweeps over his heart ,melts it
with joy, when he saw a rainbow . That
was the way he felt when he was a little
boy ,now as an adult, hoping that he’ll feel
the same way when he is getting older, & if
this feeling faded away even for one day,
he would rather die .
In line 7 the poet comes up with his
philosophy of life which is that childhood
is the main stage of our life , the child is
the first master & instructor of a Man.
In the last two lines the poet expresses his

5. Literary Terms
• Personification:
“My heart leaps up”
The poet’s heart jumps when he sees a rainbow.
• Paradox:
“the Child is a father of the Man”
The poet uses a statement which seems to hold opposite meaning, yet
turns out to have a reasonable & sensible aim.
• Repetition:
“So was it when my life began,
So is it now I a man,
So be it when I shall grow old,”
The word “so” is repeated three times.

6. Questions
•what type of poetry does this poem belong to ?
Why?
This poem belongs to the Descriptive Type.
It is brief, melodic, & very expressive, conveys
impressions, feelings, emotions, sensations & very
personal and intimate views concerning an
experience. It touches “Nature”.

7. •How does the poem express the poet’s feeling?
-He is lighthearted, connecting to his God &
religion , respecting them. He is a loving person,
the nature touches his heart that the sight of a
rainbow makes his heart happy. He is such a
thoughtful person, in line 7 when he told us
about that child inside each one of us is the first
teacher. And one more thing to add , he is a very
religious person, dreaming that the rest of his
life will be attached to his God with piety in his
heart.

8. ‘The child is a father of the Man’
•Can you explain this line in your own
words?
-He believes that every human being is
influenced by his childhood and that
child is Man’s first teacher &
instructor.

9. “ The poet sums up his philosophy of life
in this poem “ Discuss.
“The poet gives us wisdom in line 7
“Explain.

10. What is the tone of this poem?
He is talking with passion that appears in
his word & thoughts .
What is the theme of this poem?

11. Why does the poet capitalize the words
‘Rainbow, Child, Father, Man’?
What does the usage of different tenses
aim to in lines ‘3, 4, 5, 6’?

12. How does this poem make you feel?
If you were the poet and you want to
write a poem just like this one, what
could you do? Where would you prefer
to go? With whom? Why?