UNDERGRADUATE II YEAR
SUBJECT: English Language & Literature
PAPER II: Poetry
TOPIC: The Solitary Reaper by William Wordsworth
LESSON MAP: 2.1.C.2
DURATION : 00:26:00
Poem
William Wordsworth. 1770–1850
The Solitary Reaper – William Wordswarth
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 today?
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 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.
1. One day the poet chances upon a solitary Highland lass singing soulfully
as she reaps the harvest.
(Video of a peasant girl and of harvest being gathered, i.e. cutting and binding
of grain)
2. The poet invites us to pause there so that we could partake the
overflowing melody of her song that fills the deep valleys around.
(Video of beautiful farm lands surrounded by scenic valleys resounding with
musical notes)
3. If we do not have the patience or the inclination to stop by, we should at
least pass gently so that we do not distract the singer who is engrossed
in her work and engulfed in her music.
(Video of a singer lost in one’s own song and of people walking by quietly)
4. The poet now compares the song of the solitary reaper to the melodious
notes chanted by a nightingale that soothe the tired travellers that
traverse the sultry, lonely deserts of Arabia.
(Video of a peasant girl singing; of deserts and tired travellers; of a nightingale
singing)
5. Indeed the song of the solitary reaper is more mellifluous than the soulfilling tunes of the cuckoo that intones so excitedly that the waters of the
silent oceans resonate with its thrilling music.
(Video of islands of northwest of Scotland; of spring time; of a cuckoo singing
in spring time; of oceans)
6. The poet is unable to follow the content of the song of the solitary
reaper; all that he can understand is that it is melancholic and wonders
what makes it a sad song. Could she be singing about wars waged long
ago or about some unhappy past events? Or, could it be that her song
mourns the loss and sorrowthat are so characteristic of every day
human life?
(Video of wars, unhappy events like earthquakes, tsunamis and videos of
deaths, accidents, people suffering etc.)
7. Whatever may be the theme, the peasant girl kept singing as if there
were no ending to her song; she went on working with the sickle in her
hand and the song on her lips while the poet stood spellbound and lost
in the melody of her song. The reverberating music of the song stayed
with the poet long after he left the place.
(Video of a peasant girl with a sickle in her hand and bending to cut the crop
and singing; of a person who is lost in the music of her song, video which
shows that this music haunts the person)