My heart leaps up when I behold/a rainbow in the sky.”
-- The Speaker (1-2)

Importance: These opening lines are important because they establish the speaker’s love of nature. The image of the heart leaping up expresses the speaker’s general elation, while the description of the rainbow in the sky connects this elation with the natural setting. These lines therefore inform the reader’s perception of the speaker, as well as the speaker’s perspective throughout the rest of the poem.

Or let me die!
-- The Speaker (chapter 6)

Importance: This line, the shortest in the poem, is significant because in it the speaker equates their relationship with nature with life itself. After describing the way that their love for nature has followed them throughout their life, here they say if it this love should ever cease, then they should be allowed to die. They see no point in continuing to live in a world where they...