Explanation of Paradox "The Child is the Father of Man"

English | Questions
My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold
William Wordsworth
Class : 11 | The Magic of Words

Explanation of paradox `The Child is the father of Man.' 

In this poem the poet William Wordsworth says," The child is the father of man". He wants to say that present is the outcome of past. According to him, the child grows up and becomes father. Manhood is outcome of the childhood. So, the poet says this statement. This paradox might have different meaning. The poet might have said that the child is innocent. We
can learn many things from the child who never lies. In reality, we try to learn from father. We can also say that a man can be younger by age but may be more matured by mind that is what the poet wants to express through this paradox. 

Summary

"My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold" is a poem written by a famous nature poet William Wordsworth. In this poem, the poet recollects/remembers an experience of his childhood days and gives his emotion and feelings a meaning. The poet also expresses his love towards nature. He feels great joy when he sees a rainbow in the sky. He used to enjoy a lot when he saw the rainbow in the sky in his childhood. He hopes he will still get pleasure at seeing the rainbow when he becomes old and if such feeling stops in the future he wishes to die. According to the poet, child is the father of man because childhood is the beginning of the manhood. In other words, the qualities of the grown up men are all derived from childhood. At last, the poet wishes that his remaining days would be bound by his love to nature.  A paradox is a statement containing opposite ideas that make it unlikely although it may be true. The above statement is paradoxical in the sense that it contains opposite ideas for normal people. The child cannot be the father; he is the man who can be the father. But, the poet through his statement "The Child is the Father of the Man", wants to say that childhood is the beginning of manhood. The thing we do and feel as children affect the way we feel when we are adults. The poet also wants to say that the present is the result of past.