Question

Write the theme of the poem 'the solitary reaper'

Answer 1

The overall theme of the poem seems to be one that reveres the idea of nature and the individual's place within it. The ability of the speaker, presumably Wordsworth, to be able to hear the song of the solitary reaper and project the meaning of it in his own mind allows for an expansion of moral imagination that could have only been possible with the individual's assertion into the natural setting and the reverence of that setting.  The theme being advanced at the conclusion of the poem is that the "spontaneous overflow of emotions" that Wordsworth says defines poetry can also have application to the natural setting and we have to be mindful of this potential that exists and revere it.