The Solitary Reaper
William Wordsworth 1770 (Wordsworth House) – 1850 (Cumberland)
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 to-day?
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 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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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 01, 2023
- 57 sec read
- 700 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABXBCCDD AEXEFFGG HIHIJJCX XKXKLLMM |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,157 |
Words | 187 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8 |
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"The Solitary Reaper" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/42386/the-solitary-reaper>.
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