The Solitary Reaper

William Wordsworth

About William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth is one of the most important English poets and a founder of the
Romantic Movement of English literature, a style of writing that focuses on emotion
and imagination. Wordsworth became known as a Lakeland Poet because of the
area where he lived, which is renowned for its beautiful, wild landscapes, charming
pastures, and countless lakes. He was often called a nature poet because of his
emphasis on the connection between humans and the natural world. He became
widely successful and was named Poet Laureate of England in 1843. Explore
more William Wordsworth poems.

The Solitary Reaper - Introduction

“The Solitary Reaper” is a poem by the English poet William Wordsworth. The poem
was inspired by the poet’s trip to Scotland in 1803 with his sister Dorothy
Wordsworth. It was first published in 1807. In the poem, the speaker tries—and fails
—to describe the song he heard a young woman singing as she cuts grain in a
Scottish field. The speaker does not understand the song, and he cannot tell what it
was about. Nor can he find the language to describe its beauty. He finds that the
traditional poetic metaphors for a beautiful song fail him. The poem thus calls,
implicitly, for a new kind of poetry: one that is better able to approximate and
describe the pure, unpretentious beauty of the reaper’s song.

“The Solitary Reaper” Summary

Look at her, alone in the field, that Scottish Girl by herself over there. She is cutting
the grain and singing to herself. Stop and listen to her or walk on quietly. She cuts
and gathers the grain and sings a sad song. Listen: the deep valley is overflowing
with her music.
No nightingale ever sang more soothing notes to tired groups of travelers as they
rested at an oasis in the Arabian desert. The cuckoo-bird never sang with such an
affecting voice in the spring, breaking the ocean’s silence around the Scottish isles.

Won’t anyone tell me what her song is about? Maybe she sings so sadly for old
tragedies and ancient battles. Or maybe the song is humbler, about everyday things
—the pains and sorrows that everyone endures.

Whatever she was singing about, the young woman sang as though her song would
never end. I saw her singing while she worked, bending over to cut the wheat with a
sickle. I listened to her without moving. And as I walked on, up a hill, I carried her
music in my heart: and I still do, long after I stopped hearing it.

Structure and Form

‘The Solitary Reaper‘ is composed of four octaves, each following a consistent

pattern. This structure allows Wordsworth to develop his narrative and reflections
methodically. The poem’s form mirrors its content: just as the reaper’s song
continues steadily, so does the poem’s structure maintain a regular rhythm. This
consistency reinforces the theme of the lasting impact of the reaper’s melody on the
speaker’s mind.

The poem follows a rhyme scheme of ABABCCDD in the first stanza, which slightly
varies in subsequent stanzas (EFEFGHGH, IJIJKLKL, MNMNPPQQ). The
alternating rhymes in the first four lines of each stanza (ABAB) suggest the back-
and-forth motion of reaping, while the coupled rhymes (CC, DD) at the end of each
stanza provide a sense of resolution, mirroring the speaker’s reflections.

As for the meter, it is primarily written in iambic tetrameter (although there

are trochees and other variations, such as “Stop her..” and “Reaping”). This regular
meter creates a rhythmic, song-like quality that mirrors the reaper’s melody. The
consistent meter throughout the poem reflects the steady, continuous nature of the
reaper’s work and song, as well as the speaker’s enduring memory of the
experience.
Analysis

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.

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.

In the third stanza of “The Solitary Reaper,” the poet depicts his plight over not
understanding the theme or language of the poem. The poet couldn’t understand the
local Scottish dialect in which the reaper was singing. So tries to imagine what the
song might be about. Given that it is a ‘plaintive number’ and a ‘melancholy
strain’ (as given in line 6) he speculates that her song might be about some past
sorrow, pain, or loss ‘of old, unhappy things‘ or battles fought long ago. Or perhaps,
he says, it is a humbler, simpler song about some present sorrow, pain, or loss,
a ‘matter of to-day.’ He further wonders if that is about something that has happened
in the past or something that has reoccurred now.
In the fourth stanza, the poet decides not to probe further into the theme. He comes
to the conclusion that whatever may be the theme of her poem, it is not going to end.
Not only her song but also her suffering sounds like a never-ending one. He stays
there motionless and listened to her song quite some times. Even when he left and
mounted up the hill he could 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 stanzas. Each stanza
follows the rhyme scheme: ABABCCDD. Use of end 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.