The exact words
“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.”William Wordsworth, “My Heart Leaps Up,” Poems in Two Volumes (1807)
✓ VerifiedFound in a primary source: the original book, speech transcript, letter or recording.
What people get wrong
Common reading
A statement about children taking care of their parents.
A statement about children taking care of their parents.
Closer to the original
It is about one person over time. The child you were “fathers” the adult you are, so Wordsworth hopes to keep his childhood sense of wonder all his life.
It is about one person over time. The child you were “fathers” the adult you are, so Wordsworth hopes to keep his childhood sense of wonder all his life.
Timeline
- March 1802Wordsworth writes the nine-line poem about the joy he still feels at seeing a rainbow.
- 1807It is published in Poems in Two Volumes.
- 1815Wordsworth uses its last three lines as the opening of his great “Intimations of Immortality” ode.
Use it in a speech
Wordsworth wrote that the child is father of the man. Watching you with your grandkids, Dad, I'd say the man never stopped being a child. That's the best compliment I've got.
~11 secondsto say aloud
Pauseafter “father of the man”
Best spotthe Father's Day toast
Wordsworth said the child is father of the man. Happy birthday. May you keep the kid in you who still stops to look at rainbows.
~8 secondsto say aloud
Pausenone needed in a card
Best spotthe birthday card
Wordsworth's paradox, “The Child is father of the Man,” anticipated by a century the modern idea that childhood experience shapes adult character.
~8 secondsto say aloud
Pausenone needed in writing
Best spotopening sentence
Questions people ask
What does “the child is father of the man” mean?
That our childhood shapes who we become as adults.
Which poem is it from?
William Wordsworth's “My Heart Leaps Up,” sometimes called “The Rainbow,” written in 1802 and published in 1807.
Cite this quote
These cite the original source directly, so you can use them in an essay or paper. Always check your teacher's required style.
MLAWordsworth, William. ““My Heart Leaps Up”, Poems in Two Volumes.” written 1802, published 1807. Project Gutenberg, www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8824.
APAWordsworth, W. (1802). “My Heart Leaps Up”, Poems in Two Volumes. Project Gutenberg. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/8824
CHICAGOWilliam Wordsworth, ““My Heart Leaps Up”, Poems in Two Volumes,” written 1802, published 1807.
IN TEXT (APA)(Wordsworth, 1802)