Poem analysis and interpretation

¶ … William Wordsworth illustrates the narrator's love of life. His "heart leaps up" when he sees a rainbow, indicating his affection for natural beauty. Moreover, he hopes his sense of awe and appreciation of all aspects of living continues throughout his life. This is what the narrator calls "natural piety," a type of spiritual devotion that comes not from organized religion but through nature and introspection. In this poem, "natural piety" is also associated with childhood and innocence. Children experience the world with fresh eyes, untainted by dogma or the bitterness that often accompanies adulthood. When Wordsworth says, "The child is the father of the man," he implies that children are often wiser and more attuned to spirituality than adults are because of this natural innocence.

Therefore, this poem is part prayer, part assertion: the narrator hopes that his days will be filled with this sense of wonderment, for he fears that with maturity and adulthood comes cynicism. Wanting to avoid this, he asserts his intention to maintain a childlike love of life, "or let me die!" At the middle of the poem, this line conveys the central theme: that life is not worth living unless each moment is savored and appreciated the way the narrator felt when he beheld his first rainbow. Even when he is old and physically enfeebled, he still hopes that this type of joy will pervade his days.