---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow…"
description: "\"“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..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/william-wordsworth-403_children_my-heart-leaps-up-when-i-behold-a-rainbo_143712.jpg"
---

#  My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky: So…

![“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.” quote by William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/william-wordsworth-403_children_my-heart-leaps-up-when-i-behold-a-rainbo_143712.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/william-wordsworth-403_children_my-heart-leaps-up-when-i-behold-a-rainbo_143712.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65f/william-wordsworth-403_children_my-heart-leaps-up-when-i-behold-a-rainbo_143712.jpg)

> ““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.””

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The poet feels a timeless, natural reverence for rainbows, linking childhood wonder to adult life and mortality.

**In simple terms:** Rainbows inspire lifelong awe and humility.

Key Takeaway

Embrace natural wonder.

Themes

nature beauty childhood mortality spirituality

Mood

nostalgic uplifting

Type

poetic philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal reflection
- creative writing
- life milestones

Key Concepts

poetry philosophy

Questions to Reflect On

- What does the rainbow symbolize for you?
- How does wonder change with age?

A Different Perspective

Romantic idealism may overlook reality.

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[Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Grow Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grow-old/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Leap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leap/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Maturity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maturity/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Piety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/piety/) [Rainbow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rainbow/) [Rainbows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rainbows/) [Sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sky/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/)

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> [Always try to keep a patch of sky above your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/always-try-to-keep-a-patch-of-sky-above-your-life/)

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> [What are clouds, but an excuse for the sky? What is life, but an escape from death?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clavell/what-are-clouds-but-an-excuse-for-the-sky-what-is-life-but-an-escape/)

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> [The sky is always there for me, while my life has been going through many, many changes. When I look up the sky, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-ono/the-sky-is-always-there-for-me-while-my-life-has-been-going-through/)

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> [“I must say my heart leaped up, as Jeeves tells me his does when he beholds a rainbow in the sky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/i-must-say-my-heart-leaped-up-as-jeeves-tells-me-his-does-when-he/)

[P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/)

> [“The rainbow across the sky after a storm confirms Your kindness and Your forgiving heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euginia-herlihy/the-rainbow-across-the-sky-after-a-storm-confirms-your-kindness-and/)

[Euginia Herlihy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euginia-herlihy/)

> [A small child has no ambitions, he has no desires. He is so absorbed in the moment - a bird on the wing catches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/a-small-child-has-no-ambitions-he-has-no-desires-he-is-so-absorbed-in/)

[Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/)

> [I see the rainbow in the sky, the dew upon the grass; I see them, and I ask not why they glimmer or they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/i-see-the-rainbow-in-the-sky-the-dew-upon-the-grass-i-see-them-and-i/)

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> [“The whole world may say there is light and there is rainbow in the sky and the sun is rising, but if my eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/the-whole-world-may-say-there-is-light-and-there-is-rainbow-in-the/)

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Ras Michael

> [There's a rainbow in the sky, all the time, don't be blind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziggy-marley/there-s-a-rainbow-in-the-sky-all-the-time-don-t-be-blind/)

[Ziggy Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziggy-marley/)

> [A rainbow is something in the sky, so a rainbow flag fits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-baker/a-rainbow-is-something-in-the-sky-so-a-rainbow-flag-fits/)

[Gilbert Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-baker/)

> [Rain, rain, and sun! A rainbow in the sky!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/rain-rain-and-sun-a-rainbow-in-the-sky/)

[Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/)

## More by William Wordsworth

> [Spade! Thou art a tool of honor in my hands. I press thee, through a yielding soil, with pride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/spade-thou-art-a-tool-of-honor-in-my-hands-i-press-thee-through-a/)

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> [Brothers all In honour, as in one community, Scholars and gentlemen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/brothers-all-in-honour-as-in-one-community-scholars-and-gentlemen/)

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> [Now when the primrose makes a splendid show, And lilies face the March-winds in full blow, And humbler growths as moved with one desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/now-when-the-primrose-makes-a-splendid-show-and-lilies-face-the-march/)

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> [Knowledge and increase of enduring joy From the great Nature that exists in works Of mighty Poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/knowledge-and-increase-of-enduring-joy-from-the-great-nature-that/)

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> [The common growth of Mother Earth Suffices me,-her tears, her mirth, Her humblest mirth and tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/the-common-growth-of-mother-earth-suffices-me-her-tears-her-mirth-her/)

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> [And he is oft the wisest manWho is not wise at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/and-he-is-oft-the-wisest-manwho-is-not-wise-at-all/)

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