The child is ___of the man..?

[Gёггч]

The child is ____of the man.
A: father B:a father C:the father D:fathers
This sentence sounds weird to me...
is this a saying or proverb..?
i choose C is it correct..?

[Dr. Jamshid Ibrahim]

The child is ____of the man.
A: father B:a father C:the father D:fathers
This sentence sounds weird to me...
is this a saying or proverb..?
i choose C is it correct..?

This is one of the lines in a poem by Wordsworth and became proverbial. It means the child is the basis (father) of the man as in psychology. Childhood plays a decisive role in shaping the adult in us.

[RonBee]

The Child is the father of the Man.
William Wordsworth
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/williamwor147010.html

The child is the father of the man
http://www.answers.com/topic/the-child-is-the-father-of-the-man

The Rainbow
http://www.bartleby.com/101/532.html

[Gёггч]

The Child is the father of the Man.
William Wordsworth
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/williamwor147010.html

The child is the father of the man
http://www.answers.com/topic/the-child-is-the-father-of-the-man

The Rainbow
http://www.bartleby.com/101/532.html

You mean C is the right one..?
But the answer should be A(says my reference book)

[Gёггч]

Heyyy!
i've just found this......
"My Heart Leaps Up"
by: William Wordsworth

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.

[Teia]

The child is ____of the man.
A: father B:a father C:the father D:fathers
This sentence sounds weird to me...
is this a saying or proverb..?
i choose C is it correct..?

As far as I know the phrase should sound : Child is father to the man

Child Is Father to the Man - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[BobK]

As far as I know the phrase should sound : Child is father to the man

Child Is Father to the Man - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I've seen both "of" and "to" in print (but never "the father - the line is an Iambic tetrameter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia , so "the" doesn't fit:

The child/is fa/-ther to/the man

).

If you're talking about current spoken English though - as opposed to what was written by a Romantic poet two centuries ago) - "the father" strikes me as better.

As to the of/to variation, perhaps this is an instance of Wordsworth's tendency to edit his early poems after he had become 'a pillar of the Establishment'.

b

[RonBee]

The child is ____of the man.
A: father B:a father C:the father D:fathers

Since it is that way in the original, I would choose A.
532. Rainbow. William Wordsworth. The Oxford Book of English Verse

This sentence sounds weird to me...
is this a saying or proverb..?
i choose C is it correct..?

Say:

The sentence sounds weird to me. Is it a saying or proverb? I chose C. Is it correct?

In the original it is A, but when it is quoted (misquoted) C is often used.


Again, since the original omits "the", I would choose A.

~R

[Teia]

I've seen both "of" and "to" in print (but never "the father - the line is an Iambic tetrameter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia , so "the" doesn't fit:

The child/is fa/-ther to/the man

).

If you're talking about current spoken English though - as opposed to what was written by a Romantic poet two centuries ago) - "the father" strikes me as better.

As to the of/to variation, perhaps this is an instance of Wordsworth's tendency to edit his early poems after he had become 'a pillar of the Establishment'.

b

Hi Bob

Just a question :What does "Establishment " mean here?
Thank you

[BobK]

Wordsworth wrote much of his best poetry (at least that's what I think) when he was a young man, full of enthusiasm, even revolutionary zeal (his publication of Lyrical Ballads was a gesture of defiance to the poetical beliefs of the time, and he was a supporter of the French Revolution).

When he grew older he became less fiery and more careful. I believe he was Poet Laureate (check in Wikipedia) - a sort of official rhyme-writer, doing what the Monarch required. In religion too he 'toed the line' (became a conformist). Whereas in his youth he believed in a strange sort of personal spirituality, in later years he became a staunch Church of England Christian.

Usually the idiom 'pillar of the establishment' just means 'reliable supporter of the social and political status quo'; but I gave 'establishment' a capital E as a reference to the Established Church - the Church of England.

b