The Solitary Reaper

William Wordsworth

A. Lead in :

A thing of beauty is joy forever. The scenic view of a picturesque sight

pleases our eyes. The haunting melody of a cuckoo soothes our soul. A
soulful tone of a singer amuses our heart. The moment we take leave of this
sight or sound, they occur to us recurringly in a flashback. We can hardly
part with them. The voice and the vision have a long lasting effect on us.
They continue to be a perennial memory with us. They never cease to be.

Have you ever experienced such charming beauty and music? You
must have. Well, let’s read the following poem to note how the music of a
Scottish girl exercised an everlasting impact on the mind of the poet William
Wordsworth.

B. Let’s listen to the Poem :

Listen to William Wordsworth’s poem “The Solitary Reaper.” Your

teacher will recite the poem or use ‘You Tube’ to play the poem.

Now read the poem silently to get the meaning and message out of
the text.

C. The Text:

Behold her single in the field,

Yon solitary Highland Lass!
Reaping and singing by herself;
Stop here, or gently pass!

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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 to-day?
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;–

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 I listen’d, motionless and still;
And, as I mounted up the hill,
The music in my heart I bore,
Long after it was heard no more.

D. About the Poet :

William Wordsworth was born on 7th April 1770, in Cockermouth in the

Lake District, England. He is regarded as a worshipper of nature. Love of
nature is a major theme of his poetry. He wrote about ordinary men and
women in the language of the ordinary people. For him poetry is “the
spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” arising from “emotions recollected
in tranquility.” He died at Rydal Mount and Gardens, United Kingdom on
April 23, 1850.

E. About the Poem:

In the present poem, “The Solitary Reaper”, Wordsworth depicts a

‘Solitary Highland Lass’, her sweet song and the profound effect of the song
on him. The poem is one of Wordsworth’s finest lyrics.

F. Glossary and Notes:

behold : to look at or see somebody or something

yon : over there (old use)

solitary : single or alone

Highland Lass : a girl who lives in the highlands (mountain regions) of

Scotland

melancholy strain : sad song

vale : valley

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profound : deep, having or come from a great depth

chaunt : chant, sing

weary : very tired after working hard for a long time

band : a group of people

haunt : a place visited frequently

shady haunt : oasis, a place with water and trees in a desert for rest
and relaxation

Arabian sands : the desert of Arabia (the Middle East)

farthest Hebrides : the most remote group of islands that lies to the north-
west of Scotland

plaintive numbers : sad music, mournful verse

humble lay : ordinary song

sickle : a tool for cutting grass or paddy

motionless : without movement

Scotland : A country which is a part of the United Kingdom

G. Let’s understand the poem :

Answer the following questions orally. You may refer to the text with your
world knowledge to locate the facts / information required.

1. What is the central idea of the poem? (Tick the correct answer.)

Reapers can sing like birds.

Sweet music appeals to all.

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 Beautiful experiences have long- lasting effects.

Rich harvest makes the reaper happy..

2. The setting of the poem is ___________________________________.

(a) the Arabian deserts
(b) the British Isles
(c) the Hebrides Islands
(d) the mountain regions of Scotland

3. Who are the people described in the poem?

4. Who does the expression ‘Highland Lass’ refer to? Why does he
describe her as “Yon solitary Highland Lass?”
5. What is the girl doing?
6. Who does the poet say ‘Stop here or gently pass’? Why does he say
so?
7. Pick out the words which tell that the girl does not have anyone by her
side.
8. What is the tone of her song – happy, sad, soothing or sympathetic?
9. ‘Overflowing with sound’- Explain.
10. The solitary reaper’s song reminds the poet of other singers. Who are
they?
11. Who sings welcome notes? Where? For whom? What for?
12. Whose voice is thrilling?
13. Where does it sing? When?
14. Who does Wordsworth compare the farmer girl with? Why?
15. The peasant girl’s song is not intelligible to the poet because _________
(Tick the right answer.)
 her song is in a dialect he does not understand.
 he is far away to hear the words of the song.

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  her voice is not clear as she is humming the words.
 her voice is too soft for him to get.
16. What does the phrase ‘humble lay’ mean?
17. The expression ‘plaintive numbers’ refers to sad music. Pick out another
phrase in the poem carrying the same meaning.
18. What does the poet mean to say “As if her song could have no
ending.”?
Tick the most appropriate answer below.
 Her song is too long to end.
 She keeps on singing and seems not to end.
 The poet does not want the song to end.
 The song contains an everlasting universal theme which recycles.
19. The poet listens ‘motionless and still’ because ____________________.
(Tick the right answer.)
 the rich melodious voice of the singer holds him mesmerised and
spellbound.
 he was tired after walking uphill.
 he wanted to learn the words and rhythm of the song.
 he is rooted to the spot by the girl’s beauty.
20. How did the song affect the narrator?
21. In stanza-1 and stanza-2, four words and phrases have been used to
show that the girl working in the fields is without anyone by her. Pick
out these words and phrases.
22. The theme of the solitary reaper’s song contains sadness . What other
words are used in place of ‘sad’?
23. What are the two synonyms for the ‘young girl’?
24. Three other words are used to mean ‘song’. What are they?
25. ‘A melancholy strain’ in stanza-2 means ‘sad song’. Find out another
phrase in stanza-5 with similar meaning.
26. Which word in stanza-5 expresses the poet’s guess?

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H Let‘s appreciate the poem :
1. Describe what picture on the valley and the farm worker come to
your mind as you read the poem.
2. Why do you think Wordsworth has chosen the song of the
nightingale and cuckoo for comparison with the solitary reaper’s
song?
3. Whose song is sweeter according to the poet- the nightingale and
the cuckoo’s or the solitary reaper’s?
I. Let’s write :

1. The poet cannot understand the words of the song, yet he raised
several possibilities about its theme. In the diagram below are some
of the possibilities. Read the stanzas -5 and 6, and find out the phrases
that match each. Work in pairs and complete the diagram writing the
correct phrases in the blanks. One is done for you.

death or illness of a loved one everyday routine events

_________________________ ___________________

What is the theme of the solitary reaper’s song?

a disaster of calamity in the past an important historical event

__________________________ battles long ago_______

2. In stanza – 3 and 4 , the poet compares the solitary reaper’s song

with that of the nightingale and the cuckoo. On the basis of your
reading the poem and your imagination, complete the table below

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 with required information /facts. Work in groups of 4. Then check your
findings with others in a brief class discussion.

Singer Place Listener Impact on the listener

Solitary reaper Scottish Highland the poet holds him spellbound
Nightingale
Cuckoo
Now write one paragraph for each sub-table using the facts/
information available hereunder. One is done for you.
The solitary reaper was singing a melodious song as she reaped
crops in the deep valley of Scottish Highlands. The poet chanced to see
and hear her. The tone and the tune enchanted the poet. It held him
mesmerised and spellbound. The poet stood motionless and still as he
listened to the song.
3. Imagine that you are the poet, William Wordsworth. Just after hearing
the solitary reaper, you will continue on your walk and reach home. Try
to describe your experience to your younger brother what you saw and
felt.
4. ‘The Solitary Reaper’ is a superb panorama of events that slowly and
silently glides one to the other.
Given below a glimpse of the poet’s lofty thoughts occurring in the poem.
But they miss their sequence. Can you reorder them as they occur in
the poem? Write (a) / (b) / (c)/ (d)/ (e) in the boxes to show the order.
(a) the poet’s guess is that
the solitary reaper’s song
contains a theme of sorrow,
loss or pain.
(b) Touching tone and melody
of the song holds the poet
mesmerised and spellbound.

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(c) Poet walks up the hill
carrying the maiden’s song
in his heart and head.
(d) The young farm worker sings to
herself as she is reaping the corn.
(e) Wordsworth compares the girl’s song
with the songs of the nightingale and the cuckoo.
5. Given below is a description similar to your experience. But some words/
phrases are missing in it. Complete the description using appropriate
words / phrases from the HELP BOX.

“Just now, I was walking ____________________, I saw a

__________________ in the field. She was ___________________as she
worked. I was so affected ___________________________that I
___________________________.
She had __________________, which seemed to ____________________.
________________________was a sad one, and I could not ___________.
But its ____________________________and melancholy sound
___________________, and its _______________________reminded me
of the song of _______________ and ___________________________.
After some time I walked ______________________________,
________________________of the young ______________with me.”
HELP BOX
beauty up the hill singing to herself
a nightingale in the valley stopped and listened
a cuckoo by her singing fill the whole valley
the song a beautiful voice understand the words
woman’s song young farm worker touched me greatly
plaintive tone carrying the memory

6. Write answer to all the questions under “G. Let us understand the poem”.
  
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