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William Wordsworth

The Solitary Reaper

Behold her, single in the field,

Yon solitary Highland Lass!

Reaping and singing by herself;

Stop here, or gently pass!

Alone she cuts and binds the grain,

And sings a melancholy strain;

O listen! for the vale profound

Is overflowing with the sound.

No nightingale did ever chaunt

More welcome notes to weary bands

Of travellers in some shady haunt,

Among Arabian sands:

A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard

In spring-time from the cuckoo-bird

Breaking the silence of the seas

Among the farthest Hebrides.

Will no one tell me what she sings?

Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow

For old, unhappy, far-off things,

And battles long ago:

Or is it some more humble lay,

Familiar matter of today?

Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain,

That has been, and may be again!

Whate'er the theme, the maiden sang

As if her song could have no ending;

I saw her singing at her work,

And o'er the sickle bending;

I listened, motionless and still;

And as I mounted up the hill

The music in my heart I bore,

Long after it was heard no more.

no more. The beautiful experience left a deep impact and gave him a long-lasting pleasure.

Analysis of The Solitary Reaper

Stanza One

Behold her, single in the field, Yon solitary Highland Lass! Reaping and singing by herself; Stop here, or gently pass! Alone she cuts and binds the grain, And sings a melancholy strain; O listen! for the Vale profound Is overflowing with the sound.

In the First stanza of “The Solitary Reaper,” Wordsworth describes how the Reaper was singing all alone. During one of his journeys in the countryside of Scotland, he saw a Highland girl working in the field all alone. She had no one to help her out in the field. So she was singing to herself. She was singing without knowing that someone was listening to her song. The poet doesn’t want to disturb her solitude so requests the passerby’s go without disturbing her. She was immersed in her work of cutting and binding while singing a melancholy song. For the poet, he is so struck by the sad beauty of her song that the whole valley seems to overflow with its sound.

Stanza Two

No Nightingale did ever chaunt More welcome notes to weary bands Of travellers in some shady haunt, Among Arabian sands: A voice so thrilling ne’er was heard In spring-time from the Cuckoo-bird, Breaking the silence of the seas Among the farthest Hebrides.

In the second stanza of “The Solitary Reaper,” the poet compares the young woman’s song with ‘Nightingale’ and ‘Cuckoo’ – the most celebrated birds by the writers and poets for the sweetness of voice. But, here he complains that neither ‘Nightingale’ nor the ‘Cuckoo’ sang a song that is as sweet as hers. He says that no nightingale has sung the song so soothing like that for the weary travelers. For, the song of the girl has stopped him from going about his business. He is utterly enchanted that he says that her voice is so thrilling and penetrable like that of the Cuckoo Bird, which sings to break the silence in the ‘Hebrides’ Islands. He symbolically puts forth that her voice is so melodious and more than that of the two birds, known for their voice.

Stanza Three

Will no one tell me what she sings?– Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow For old, unhappy, far-off things, And battles long ago: Or is it some more humble lay, Familiar matter of to-day?

still hear her voice coming amongst the produce, she was cutting and binding. Though the poet left that place, the song remained in his heart, long after he heard that song.

Literary/ Poetic Devices Used

‘ The Solitary Reaper’ by William Wordsworth uses straightforward language and meter as well as natural theme and imagery. Once again Wordsworth reflected his belief in the importance of the natural world. The poem highlights his definition of poetry to be ‘a spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings from the poet and the readers’ part.

Rhyme scheme

The poem’s 32 lines are equally distributed among the four eight-line stanzas. Each stanza is subdivided into a quatrain and two couplets and follows the rhyme scheme: ABABCCDD. Use of end perfect rhymes, such as “profound/sound”, “still/hill”, “lay/day” and “grain/strain” makes the poem melodious.

Apostrophe

The poem “The Solitary Reaper” begins with an Apostrophe “Behold” where the poet addresses the unknown passersby. He uses it again in the seventh line “O Listen” telling them how the valley is filled with the sound of her.

Symbolism/ Metaphor

The poet makes a symbolic comparison of the young woman’s song with Nightingale and Cuckoo bird for the melodious nature of her song. But it turns out to be hyperbole for he exaggerates that her song is better than theirs. The poet very much captivated by her song that the valley is “ overflowing with the sound”. Again, he says that the song looked like a never-ending as her sorrows.

Rhetorical questions

The rhetorical question helps to make the point clear. For example, Wordsworth used “Will no one tell me what she sings?”, “That has been, and may be again?” and “Familiar matter of to-day?” it to express his curiosity over the theme and meaning of the song, the girl sang.

Imagery

The imagery used in a literary work enables the readers to perceive things involving their five senses. For example, “ Reaping and singing by herself”, “I saw her singing at her work” and “More welcome notes to weary bands” gives a pictorial description of the young woman at work. He makes the readers visualize what he has seen and how he felt.

The poet's sincerity

The poet is, undoubtedly, so sincere in his sensitive and sensible feeling for the poor unknown girl whose singing and humanistic attitude in her singing managed to move him emotionally and imaginatively as well. So, the elapse of a long time never obliterated the memory of the poor human being so much so that every time he becomes in a state of solitude he becomes obsessed with that past experience.

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