Meaning of the poem the solitary reaper stanza by stanza
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Summary
The poet was on his evening walk. He was climbing an
uphill path; as he turned, his eyes met with a beautiful view. There was nature
all around, the evening sun was about to set. In the field, he saw a beautiful
rustic highland girl reaping and singing by herself. The poet was deeply
impressed by her singing; he decided to halt and listen to her song.
She was reaping, cutting, and binding the grain and
singing a sad song. The poet focused on the reaper’s song as there were other
natural sounds in the valley as well.
The poet felt the reaper’s voice was more melodious than
the nightingale that sang in the Arabian Nights; the poet also felt the
nightingale’s voice was more melodious than the cuckoo bird that warbled
melodiously on the island of Hebrides.
The poet wanted to know the theme of the reaper’s song as
she was singing in Highland Scottish dialect. Since there is no one around to
explain him what she was singing, he made guesses. , he surmised from the
sad tone of the song that she was singing some melancholy song. The theme of
her song could be a far old, unhappy event or a battle fought long ago or she
might be singing about some sorrow, loss, or pain.
The poet then stopped guessing and enjoyed the reaper’s
singing that appeared to be endless. The poet saw her singing while reaping.
The poet kept on enjoying her song for a while; then the
poet resumed his evening walk. The poet carried the melody of her song in his
heart; after a long time the poet stopped listening the melody in his heart.