Read the following poem by William Wordsworth, first published in 1807:
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.
In the poem's final two lines, which of the following best describes the function of the enjambment?
- Aestablish a rigid, mechanical rhythm that emphasizes the speaker's feelings of entrapment by time.
- Bemphasize the word 'be' to highlight the speaker's philosophical doubt regarding his own existence.
- visually and rhythmically connect the speaker's present wishes to the future, reinforcing the concept of a life bound together in continuity.Answer
- Dinterrupt the flow of the poem to introduce a dramatic shift in tone from optimism to grief.
- Esummarize the literal steps the speaker must take to become more religious in his daily routine.
Answer
The correct answer is the option stating that the enjambment serves to visually and rhythmically connect the speaker's present wishes to the future, reinforcing the concept of a life bound together in continuity.
The correct answer is correct because the enjambment between the final two lines allows the thought to flow without grammatical pause from one line to the next. This structural continuity directly mirrors the thematic focus of the lines, in which the speaker wishes for his days to be continuously linked ('Bound each to each') by a consistent love of nature.
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
The use of enjambment to mirror and reinforce thematic continuity and connection.