Reverence of Nature

The speaker’s communion with nature lies at the heart of the poem’s message. By linking their own spiritual well-being with the appreciation of nature, the speaker underlines nature's power to affect humanity.

The initial and most obvious indication that the speaker reveres nature occurs within the first two lines of the poem as they describe their reaction upon seeing a rainbow. “My heart leaps up when I behold/a rainbow in the sky,” they say, expressing the rapture they experience witnessing such a sight (1-2). The line break between these two lines effectively portrays the speaker’s emotion. By opening with “My heart leaps up when I behold,” they place a strong emphasis on their visceral reaction to seeing the rainbow (1). As a result, it becomes apparent to the reader that this speaker has a strong reverence for nature. Furthermore, the visualization...