“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.
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The Full Text of “The Solitary Reaper”
1Behold her, single in the field,
2Yon solitary Highland Lass!
3Reaping and singing by herself;
4Stop here, or gently pass!
5Alone she cuts and binds the grain,
6And sings a melancholy strain;
7O listen! for the Vale profound
8Is overflowing with the sound.
9No Nightingale did ever chaunt
10More welcome notes to weary bands
11Of travellers in some shady haunt,
12Among Arabian sands:
13A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard
14In spring-time from the Cuckoo-bird,
15Breaking the silence of the seas
16Among the farthest Hebrides.
17Will no one tell me what she sings?—
18Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow
19For old, unhappy, far-off things,
20And battles long ago:
21Or is it some more humble lay,
22Familiar matter of to-day?
23Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain,
24That has been, and may be again?
25Whate'er the theme, the Maiden sang
26As if her song could have no ending;
27I saw her singing at her work,
28And o'er the sickle bending;—
29I listened, motionless and still;
30And, as I mounted up the hill,
31The music in my heart I bore,
32Long after it was heard no more.
The Full Text of “The Solitary Reaper”
1Behold her, single in the field,
2Yon solitary Highland Lass!
3Reaping and singing by herself;
4Stop here, or gently pass!
5Alone she cuts and binds the grain,
6And sings a melancholy strain;
7O listen! for the Vale profound
8Is overflowing with the sound.
9No Nightingale did ever chaunt
10More welcome notes to weary bands
11Of travellers in some shady haunt,
12Among Arabian sands:
13A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard
14In spring-time from the Cuckoo-bird,
15Breaking the silence of the seas
16Among the farthest Hebrides.
17Will no one tell me what she sings?—
18Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow
19For old, unhappy, far-off things,
20And battles long ago:
21Or is it some more humble lay,
22Familiar matter of to-day?
23Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain,
24That has been, and may be again?
25Whate'er the theme, the Maiden sang
26As if her song could have no ending;
27I saw her singing at her work,
28And o'er the sickle bending;—
29I listened, motionless and still;
30And, as I mounted up the hill,
31The music in my heart I bore,
32Long after it was heard no more.
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“The Solitary Reaper” Summary
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“The Solitary Reaper” Themes
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Art and Communication
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The Limits of Poetry
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Nature and the Poet
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Solitary Reaper”
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Lines 1-4
Behold her, single in the field,
Yon solitary Highland Lass!
Reaping and singing by herself;
Stop here, or gently pass! -
Lines 5-8
Alone she cuts and binds the grain,
And sings a melancholy strain;
O listen! for the Vale profound
Is overflowing with the sound. -
Lines 9-12
No Nightingale did ever chaunt
More welcome notes to weary bands
Of travellers in some shady haunt,
Among Arabian sands: -
Lines 13-16
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. -
Lines 17-20
Will no one tell me what she sings?—
Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow
For old, unhappy, far-off things,
And battles long ago: -
Lines 21-24
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? -
Lines 25-32
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.
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“The Solitary Reaper” Symbols
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Nightingale
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Cuckoo-bird
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Arabia and the Hebrides
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“The Solitary Reaper” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Apostrophe
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Enjambment
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End-Stopped Line
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Caesura
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Allusion
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Metaphor
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Alliteration
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Assonance
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Polyptoton
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“The Solitary Reaper” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Highland
- Lass
- Reaping
- Strain
- Vale
- Profound
- Nightingale
- Bands
- Haunt
- Arabian
- Hebrides
- Plaintive
- Numbers
- Lay
- Sickle
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Solitary Reaper”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“The Solitary Reaper” Speaker
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“The Solitary Reaper” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “The Solitary Reaper”
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More “The Solitary Reaper” Resources
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External Resources
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Manuscript of "The Solitary Reaper — A digital reproduction of the original manuscript for "The Solitary Reaper," currently in the holdings of the British Library.
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Biography of William Wordsworth — A brief biography of Wordsworth from the British Library, with extensive links to other articles on aspects of Wordsworth's life and thought.
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Reading of "The Solitary Reaper" — A reading of "The Solitary Reaper" from Pearls of Wisdom
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The Romantics — An article on the history of British Romanticism from the British Library.
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Preface to Lyrical Ballads — Wordsworth's preface to the 1800 edition of Lyrical Ballads, in which he lays out his theory of poetry and his relationship with Romanticism.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by William Wordsworth
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