英诗鉴赏

An Analysis on My Heart Leaps Up

By William Wordsworth

Abstract: Poetry is the carrier of traditions and civilizations of a nation?s progress. It is the treasure from ancestors. Poetry has the social function of appreciation and the metaphorization of the world. Therefore, it is necessary for us to study and know well about poetries. Romantic period is regarded as an age of poetry. The paper will give a detail analysis on a poetry—My Heart Leaps Up, written by William W ordsworth, one of the most influential poet during romantic period, helps readers to fully understand the author?s poetic feature features, feeling and the beauty of nature. Knowing well about poetry will enhance one?s sense of appreciation and cultivate a sense of appropriateness.

Key words: poetry, nature, heart

1.Introduction

In the mid-18th century, a new literary movement called romanticism came to Europe and then to England. It was characterized by a strong protest against the bondage of neoclassicism, which emphasized reason, order and elegant wit. In stead, romanticism gave primary concern to passion, emotion, and natural beauty. The Romantic period is an age of poetry. When talking about this period, William Wordsworth should be the one who can be mentioned. William Wordsworth was a Romantic Period poet in the mid-18th century. His Lyrical Ballads, published in 1798,

marked the beginning of Romanticism in English poetry. He is regarded as a “worshipper of nature”. He considers poetry to be the expression of nature. Most of his poetries manifest his affection to the nature.William Wordsworth as one of the major poets, made a great contribution to the English literature at that period.

William Wordsworth (1770-1850), was one of the most important poets of English literature, as well as the greatest and most influential poet in English Romantic Movement. His Lyrical Ballads, published in 1798, marked the beginning of Romanticism in English poetry.He was an English romanticist, as well as “an intelligent and hi ghly educated man: he was a learned, clever, even a witty poet.” (Purkis 12) He was born at Cockermouth, Cumberlan, a beautiful scenic spot in northwestern England, in1770, where developed his passionate love for nature. In Wordsworth﹒Selected Poems,it sa ys that Wordsworth “best remembered for his devoted love of nature and rejection of secular values.” Although he lost his parents in his early years, he was looked after by his relatives who discharged their trust in a praiseworthy manner. His early life was very stuff, however, the beautiful natural scenery of his living place made up the lack of his matter and kindness. Therefore, his memories of early life did not feel poor but plentifully.

2. Poetic features of Wordsworth

According to the subject matt ers, Wordsworth?s short poems can be divided into two groups: the poems of nature and the poems about human life. He is a poet of nature and a master hand in searching and revealing the feelings of the common people. Wordsworth is best known for his poetry of nature. He believed that “All good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feeling recollected in tranquility.” (Liu 31) He aimed at simplicity and purity of the language, describing the natural scenery and man with their life to expressed his feeling and deepen thought which enlightened people to rethink about nature and life. “His love for nature is boundless. To him nature means more than rivers, trees, rocks, mountains, lakes, and so on. Nature has a moral value and has its philosophical significance. Nature is for him the embodiment of the Divine Spirit. To him nature is the greatest of all teachers, and those who are uncorrupted by urban society, especially those simple rustic people, can communicate directly with nature which gives them pow er, peace, and happiness.” (Luo 7) His poetical creation was featured by his idea of “back to nature” and “back to the patriarchal system of the old time”. (Liu 31) As a romanticism poet, he fully embodies the essence of the five characterizations of the period, which are

Imagination, Intuition, Idealism, Inspiration and Individuality.

3. An Analysis on My Heart Leaps Up

Wordsworth defines poetry as “the spontaneous overflow of feelings”. (Luo 4) He wrote a lot of short lyrics to express his deep love for nature which are manifest the essences of Romanticism. As we all know that Romanticism is characterized by five …I?, which are means Imagination, Intuition, Idealism, Inspiration and Individuality. Take My Heart Leaps Up for an example, a simple and cheerful poem. This poem was written by Wordsworth in 1802 when he was 32 years old, which used rainbow as the image to express his passionate to the nature. Moreover, it was used to express the internal thought of man and implicated some truth of life. In this poem, we see the author reflecting on the beauty and wonder of nature, of which he is a part.

Here is the poem:

My heart leaps up when I behold

A rainbow in the sky:

So was it when my life began;

So it is 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.

My Heart Leaps Up is a poem that basis on the five “I” very strictly. The five “I” of this poem are very simple and obviously. The imagination is the rainbow. When we read it we can know the intuition and the idealism, which express that the beauty of the nature. The aim of the poem is that hope to inspire people?s attention to the nature, and implicate some truth of life. Finally, the individuality expresses the author?s own desire that he wishes he can be bound by natural piety.William Wordsworth used simple words to indicate his passionate to the nature and some truth of human life.

Here is a detail analysis on the poem:

My heart leaps up when I behold

A rainbow in the sky:

(My Heart Leaps Up, Line 1-2)

When we read this two lines, a rainbow image appears in our mind. We can see that extremely happiness of the author and his love to the nature. These two lines reflected that the author was a part of the natural world, and he was very glad to see the rainbow in the sky. His heart flied up into the sky and we could feel how he felt at that time. It described a pleasure picture for the children. Rainbow is one of the natural scenery. As an image, it represents hope, beauty and faithfulness in life. When children saw rainbow in the sky, they were rejoice and cheering. And often we can hear scream sound from them. They just like angels, innocent and happiness. That feeling was very pleasure and delightful, and now the author still can remember that kind of feeling. Every time he recollects the rainbow, his heart will full of hope and feel the power of nature. Seven colors of the rainbow represent seven kinds of living conditions. That represent the colorful and rich live of human beings. As far as I am concerned, the author tried to show us the beauty of nature, and the natural power, life is full of hope, and it represents the beginning of life, and wishes whenever he saw the rainbow, he still can hold that innocent heart or prefer to die. Then he said:

So was it when my life began;

So it is now I am a man;

So be it when I shall grow old,

Or let me die!

(My Heart Leaps Up, Line 3-6)

These four lines strongly manifest the author?s passion of nature. If he can not live with an innocent hear like a child to appreciate such kind of beauty, he would prefer to die. “So was it…” represents the past, “So it is…” represents the present, and “So be it…” represents the future. Those simple words “So w as it…; So it is…; So be it…”stand for the whole life of a man, which emphasize the emotional highlight of the cheering to behold the rainbow in the sky. From the four lines, we can deeply see Wordsworth?s love to the nature. He hoped his heart for the whole life can maintain the love of nature and the pure innocence. Should no to be so, he would think life is meaningless, and prefer to die.

The next line:

The Child is father of the Man;

(My Heart Leaps Up, Line 7)

This line is the gist of the whole poetry. It conveys many thought of the author. Not only refers to the biological life, but also to the spiritual life. Wordsworth was

trying to tell us we tend to distant away from the nature as we grew old, and we tend to overlook some basic and primitive sources of happiness. This line contains two meanings. One is the surface meaning, which is the child will grow up be a man and a father. And in the early years of the child is the best period to formative and establish a child?s character for life. In China, there is an idiom has the similar meaning like that, which is a child can be seen the old when he was three years old. The other is the deepen meaning, which is the child?s innocence soul. The child?s innocence can inspire adults how sensitive nature is. Adults can not control the uncertain world. They have to concern and face many stresses from the life. Adults may forget their feelings to the nature because the coldness reality and the pollution of the society. They have to struggle for life, busy everyday. All their minds are working, working and working, money, money, and money. That dazed them everyday and had no concern about the beauty of nature. At the moment when children see the rainbow in the sky, their cheerful happiness yelling will remind the adults of the joy they have had in their youth. And then the adults will realize such kind of feeling and regain it.

And finally:

And I could wish my days to be

Bound each to each by natural piety.

(My Heart Leaps Up, Line 8-9)

The last two lines express the author?s inner prayer that he wishes he can live with the nature in the whole of his life. He can remember the beauty of life and he might never take this beauty for granted. The words “natural piety” also contains two aspect meanings. (Huang 181) One is th e younger?s natural piety to the elder; the other is the author?s natural piety to the nature.

4. Conclusion

Poetry is the most lovely and perfect discourse form that humans can achieve. Poetry expresses human affection and mind through the musical features of words, and highlights imagination and perfection, so its function of appreciation is highlighted. Its matapharization of the world is realized by images, strong affection to appeal for the reader?s affection, but not by mock reality. Wordsworth?s hear t leaps up when he behold the rainbow in the sky, and he felt delightful to see it when he was young and grew up. He wishes he can maintain such delightful feeling of the nature when he grows old, or through his whole life. The child in some part is the father of man. The child?s purity helps the adults to regain their inner heart and the sensitive to the nature. This simple lyric contains philosophy and embodies Wordsworth?s idea of

“back to nature”. Now, we still can feel the beauty of nature and that kin d of feeling shall not perish in the world.

REFERENCES

Huang, Gaoxi, trans. William Wordsworth Poems. Shanghai: Shanghai Translation Publishing House, 2000.

John Purkis. A Preface to Wordsworth. Beijing: Peking University Press, 2005. Liu, Dan.Selected Reading in English and American Literatures. Beijing: Intellectual Property Publishing House, 2004.

Luo, Jingguo. A New Anthology of English Literature, V olume II. Beijing: Peking University press, 1996.

Penguin Group. Wordsworth﹒Selected Poems. England: Penguin Press, 1996.