My heart leaps when I behold

OBJECTIVE TYPE QUESTIONS

 

Q1. Name the poet of the poem ‘MY HEART LEAPS WHEN I BEHOLD’.

Ans. William Wordsworth.

 

Q2. What does he feel when he sees a rainbow in the sky?

Ans. His heart is filled with immense pleasure.

 

Q3. What would the poet wish to do if his love for nature does not remain the same?

Ans. He would rather like to die than to live such a life.

 

Q4. Which figure of speech is used in the line ‘My Heart Leaps When I Behold’?

Ans. Personification.

 

Q5. Which line seems like a paradox (A contradictory statement)?

Ans. The line is: ‘The child is father of the man’.

 

SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

 

Q1.How has the poet been fascinated by the rainbow through his manhood?

Ans. He used to become happy when he saw the rainbow in the sky in his childhood. The condition is still same in the present. Now the poet is adult and his heart still becomes happy when he sees the rainbow.

 

Q2.How would the poet like to react to the beauty of the rainbow in his old age?

Ans. He wants his heart to be happy and feel the same joy in the same way in future also. The poet wants it to continue to the end of his life.

 

Q3.What does the poet mean when he says: ‘The child is father of the man’?

Ans. The poet means all the qualities, which become manifest in manhood, can often be found in the childhood of a person. From the childhood begins the manhood. Yesterday's child is today's man and today's man is tomorrow’s man.

 

Q4.What do you learn about the poet's attitude towards nature from his poem ‘My Heart Leaps When I Behold’?

Ans. This poem shows the poet's deep love and fascination for nature. It has been a source of intense pleasure since his childhood. He wishes to remain the ardent lover of nature to the end of his life.

ABOUT THE POET

 

. William Wordsworth was an English Romantic poet.

. He, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication Lyrical Ballads (1798).

. He is generally acclaimed as the High Priest of Nature.

. He loved every object of nature, its beauty and quietness, with a rare intensity.

 

MY HEART LEAPS WHEN I BEHOLD

William Wordsworth - 1770-1850

 

My heart leaps 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

 

GLOSSARY AND NOTES

 

Leaps:  Jumps, beats

Behold:  See (especially something unusual)

My life began:  Childhood or infancy

So be it:  An expression of acceptance or resignation

The Child-man:  Impressions and habits acquired in the childhood continue to guide human personality all through the life.

Natural piety:  The poet refers to filial affection, natural respect and duty of the child towards parents.

 

Summary/Substance

. This is a short lyric poem by the nature poet William Wordsworth.

. This poem is a powerful expression of the poet's love and fascination for nature in all its colours.

. The poet shows the everlasting influence of nature on him from his childhood.

. He has nurtured a lifelong passion for the rainbow.

. It has been a source of great joy since his childhood. Whenever he sees the rainbow in the sky, his heart is filled with immense pleasure.

. The situation was same when he was a child. He used to become happy when he saw the rainbow in his childhood.

. The poet ardently wishes that his heart would respond to the power and glory of the rainbow with the same intensity in old age as well.

. He says: ‘The child is father of the man’. Through this paradoxical statement, he wants to convey that all the qualities which become manifest in manhood can often be found in the childhood of a person. The poet also appreciates the importance of carrying childlike enthusiasm and wonder throughout life.

. So the poet wishes to tie each of his coming days with the worship and love of nature.

EXPLANATION WITH REFERENCE TO THE CONTEXT

 

(1)

 

MY HEART LEAPS

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!

 

Reference to the context: These lines have been taken from the poem ‘My Heart Leaps When I Behold’, composed by William Wordsworth. In this poem, the poet shows the everlasting influence of nature on him from his childhood. He has nurtured a lifelong passion for the rainbow.

Explanation: In these lines, the poet says that his heart becomes extremely happy when he sees the rainbow in the sky. The situation was same when he was a child. He used to become happy whenever he saw the rainbow in the sky. The condition is still same in the present. Now the poet is adult and his heart still becomes happy when he sees the rainbow. He wishes his heart to be happy or feel the same joy in the same way in future also. He wishes to die if the happiness in his heart for the rainbow does not remain same when he will become old in future.

 

EXPLANATION WITH REFERENCE TO THE CONTEXT

 

(2)

The Child is father of

the Man;

And I could wish my

days to be

Bound each to each

by natural piety.

Reference to the context: These lines have been taken from the poem ‘My Heart Leaps When I Behold’ composed by William Wordsworth. In this poem, the poet shows the everlasting influence of nature on him from his childhood. He has nurtured a lifelong passion for the rainbow.

Explanation: To show his continuous fascination for the rainbow, he writes the line: ‘The Child is Father of The Man’. This line looks like a paradox. But the poet wants to convey that from the childhood begins the manhood. It means that the impressions and habits formed in childhood continue to guide human personality all through the life. In a way, his childhood fancy for the rainbow has generated his later day fascination for the rainbow. The poet wants to carry this child like enthusiasm and wonder throughout his life. So he wishes to tie each of his coming days with the worship and love of nature.