The Solitary Reaper
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The Solitary Reaper is a poem by William Wordsworth in which the poet recounts his tale of meeting with a girl, reaping in the fields alone.
Summary
In this poem, the poet meets a solitary girl reaping in the fields, singing as she does so. The poem focuses more on the song rather than on the girl. The poet says that the song is of a melancholy nature and the strength of the song is so great that it is filling up the valley and echoing across the farthest corners of the world.The poet compares the song to the song of the nightingale, soothing his sorrows and easing his weariness. It is also compared to the song of a cuckoo bird, which is a harbinger of summer and a bringer of happiness. The poet is unable to comprehend its meaning, but is able to gauge from its sad tone that it is most probably relates to some unhappy memory or pain that the reaper has had to face.
Wordsworth's preface to the 'lyrical ballads' argues that poetry contains a natural delineation of human passions, human characters, and human incidents and that it ought not be judged by the presence of artificial, poetic diction. Rather, the language of conversation in the middle and lower classes of society can be its medium. The Solitary Reaper exemplifies these beliefs.
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