Question

How does the line “The child is father of the man” add to the meaning of the poem?
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

A) It reflects the narrator’s opinion that youth often dictates how the elderly live

B) It casts doubt on whether nature can truly be enjoyed in old age the same way it was loved as a child.

Answer 1

C) It emphasizes that a love of nature that is fostered in childhood influences how one experiences nature as an adult.

D) It underscores the narrator’s opinion that nature is loved in a more pure way as a child than as an adult.

Answer 2

Hi tiffany.starr,

After I read the poem, the answer is C.
I say this because as the poem states "the child is father of the man", the child father's the love of nature that the man will have once the child is all grown up.
So the only reasonable answer here is C.

Hope this helps!!!

Answer 3

Thanks so much!

Answer 4

No problem :)