Analysis of The Rainbow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1807 (Portland) – 1882 (Cambridge)



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.


Scheme ABCCABCDD
Poetic Form Nonet (33%)
Metre 11111101 01001 11111101 11111101 11111111 1111 01110101 01111111 11111100100
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 255
Words 63
Sentences 3
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 9
Lines Amount 9
Letters per line (avg) 21
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 188
Words per stanza (avg) 61
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 22, 2023

18 sec read
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Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline. more…

All Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poems | Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Books

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