My Heart Leaps Up

“The Rainbow” by James Thomson (1735)

James Thomson was an 18th-century Scottish poet. This poem alludes to Sir Isaac Newton’s book Optics (1704), which explains the science of rainbows. (Wordsworth was also aware of Newton’s work on the topic.) According to this poem, those who understand Newton’s theory can better appreciate that “grand ethereal bow” (Line 8). A young boy, however, knows nothing of Newton and (like the speaker in “My Heart Leaps Up”) just feels delight in the rainbow as an aesthetic natural object; he runs to catch it and is then amazed when the rainbow vanishes.

“Nutting” by William Wordsworth (1800)

This poem appeared in the second edition of Lyrical Ballads. Like the first two books of The Prelude, for which it was originally intended, it describes Wordsworth’s experience in nature as a young boy. He makes his way into the woods, feeling great delight as he sits beneath the trees and plays with flowers. His “sudden happiness” (Line 29) is similar to the joy the rainbow inspires in “My Heart Leaps Up.” The moment is perfect until, in a disruptive mood, he grabs some branches in this peaceful spot and drags them down, spoiling the order and quiet of the place. He quickly regrets what he has done; the end of the poem implies that “a spirit in the woods” (Line 56) is after him because of his disruptive actions. This disruption echoes the demand to die in “My Heart Leaps Up.”

“To the Rainbow” by Thomas Campbell (1819)

Scottish poet Thomas Campbell, one of Wordsworth’s contemporaries, wrote a strikingly similar poem about the fact that as an adult, he has the same response to the rainbow as he did when he was a child. The poem’s speaker sees this natural phenomenon as “A midway station given, / For happy spirits to alight, / Betwixt the earth and heaven” (Lines 6-8). His reaction to the rainbow does not “grow pale with age” (Line 43), which was also Wordsworth’s hope. However, for this continuity, Campbell thanks the grace of God, whereas Wordsworth keeps his religious feelings fixed squarely on nature itself. Campbell emphasizes, as Wordsworth does not, the rainbow’s symbolism as God’s promise in the Book of Genesis (See: Symbols & Motifs).

“The Rainbow” by Walter de la Mare (1902)

Walter de la Mare was an English poet whose career spanned the early to mid-20th century. This short lyric poem emphasizes the beauty of the rainbow and its ephemeral nature. It is there for a moment and then gone. This gives the poem a tinge of sadness.