"The Solitary Reaper" by William Wordsworth

Target Audience: Polytechnic Teachers and Students in Tamilnadu
Subject: English-2, II YEAR MOP, M SCHEME
Objective: Students should be able to interpret and explain a poem in English. 
Question Pattern in Exam: IV. Answer any THREE questions in a paragraph  each in 100 words : (3 x 5=15)
Four questions from 4 poems will be given in the exam and students should answer three questions in 100 words.
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The Solitary Reaper
By William Wordsworth
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 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;—
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.

Answer the following questions in a paragraph in about 100 words:
1. Reaping and singing by herself;
       Stop here, or gently pass!
These lines are from “The Solitary Reaper" a lyrical poem written by William Wordsworth.  The poet is walking through a countryside and happens to see a girl.  The girl is reaping corn and singing a melancholy song alone. Anyone who comes across such a girl can have only two options: They should stop, listen to her song and enjoy. Or, they should gently pass her without disturbing her song. The poets love and care for beauty of the countryside is reflected here.

2. No Nightingale did ever chaunt
      More welcome notes to weary bands  (OR)
      A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard
      In spring-time from the Cuckoo-bird,

In these lines from “The Solitary Reaper"  William Wordsworth compares the song of the solitary reaper to that of Nightingale and cuckoo.  He says that her song is more enchanting than the song of the nightingale that solaces the tired travellers of the Arabian desert.  Similarly, the girl’s song is more thrilling than the song of the cuckoo, in the spring that breaks the silence of the seas. In reality, sorry to Wordsworth,  male cuckoo alone sings to attract the female for matching but, we all know,  beauty of poetry lies in lies.

3. Will no one tell me what she sings?
       Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow
         For old, unhappy, far-off things,
         And battles long ago:
Wordsworth writes these lines in his “ The Solitary Reaper” , when he guesses what the girl’s song may be about.  The poet does not know her language. But he is able to guess that it may be about old unhappy events or about ancient battles. He also supposes that it may be just about day-to-day matters.  Wordsworth means that language can never be a barrier to get delighted by a song. It is just as Keats says, “Heard melodies are sweet but those unheard are sweeter.”

4. The music in my heart I bore,
      Long after it was heard no more.
These are the ending lines of “The Solitary Reaper” by Wordsworth. A melodious song is one that leaves lasting echoes in our heart.  After leaving the place, his ears heard the song no more but his heart carried it as a treasure.  Of course, the whole poem is “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings recollected in tranquillity.”  For a long time, he enjoyed her song in silence, but now he has to 'gently pass' since she sings endlessly.