Class 9 Poem The Solitary Reaper Summary, Explanation Notes

 

 

CBSE Class 9 English Poem The Solitary Reaper Summary, Explanation and Question Answers from Literature Reader (Communicative) Book

 
The Solitary Reaper Class 9 – CBSE Class 9 English Literature Reader (Communicative) Book Poem The Solitary Reaper Summary and Detailed explanation of the Poem along with the meanings of difficult words. All the exercises and Questions and Answers given at the back of the lesson have been covered.

 

Class 9 English Literature Reader Poem – The Solitary Reaper
By William Wordsworth

 

 

• The Solitary Reaper Introduction
• The Solitary Reaper Summary
• Video Explanation of The Solitary Reaper
• The Solitary Reaper Lesson Explanation
• The Solitary Reaper Question Answers

The Solitary Reaper Introduction

This poem is about a day when the poet saw a beautiful woman working in the fields and harvesting the grain. She was singing a sad song which had a great impact on the poet. The poet never saw the woman again, but the song remained in his mind forever.
 
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The Solitary Reaper Summary

One day, the poet William Wordsworth saw a young woman from the Highlands region of Scotland working alone in a field and harvesting grain with a sickle. She was attractive. She was singing a luring song, whose melody sounded sad and melancholy. Her voice was as melodious as a nightingale’s and could be heard echoing throughout the valley. It was a voice suitable for welcoming some travellers to the deserts of Arabia. It was a voice which was more thrilling than that of a cuckoo bird, which was powerful enough to break the silence in the most remote group of islands that lie to the north-west of Scotland. The poet could not know the real reason or story behind the sad song, so he thinks of several backstories behind the song. He said that the song may have been just a plaintive flow about old, unhappy battles and wars. Next, he said that the song may have been an ordinary song about the hardships of ordinary life, a collection of what happens every day and will continue to happen every day. The poet observed that, regardless of the theme, the song seemed endless, just like her work. The poet was so affected by the melody that he stopped moving altogether. He climbed the hills, his heart full with the melody. He went back to the same fields where the young woman was working but the woman was no longer there and he could no longer hear the melodious voice or know the real backstory behind her sad song.
 
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Video Explanation of The Solitary Reaper

 

 
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The Solitary Reaper Explanation

Poem:
Behold her, single in the field,
Yon solitary Highland Lass!
Reaping and singing by herself;
Stop here, or gently pass!

Word meanings:
solitary: alone, lonely
highland lass: a girl who lives in the highlands (mountain regions) of Scotland
reaping: cutting and gathering a crop; such as corn or rice

Explanation:
The poet says that he once saw a young woman working in the fields alone. She was a ‘highland lass’, meaning that the woman looked like she had come from the highlands or the mountain regions of Scotland. The woman was harvesting the grain and singing a song to keep herself entertained. The poet says that by stopping at the fields or by gently passing, we would be able to hear her song clearly.

Poem:
Alone she cuts, and binds the grain,
And sings a melancholy strain;
O listen! for the vale profound
Is overflowing with the sound.

Word meanings:
bind: tie or fasten two things or objects together tightly
melancholy strain: sad song
vale profound: the entire valley

Explanation:
The poet says that not only was the woman harvesting the grain, but she was also binding some of the straws together to form a bunch of grains. While she was doing work in the field, she was singing a sad song which was echoing throughout the valley.

Poem:
No nightingale did ever chant
More welcome notes to weary bands
Of travellers in some shady haunt
Among Arabian Sands.

Word meanings:
nightingale: a bird noted for her sweet song
weary: tired
band: a group of people
shady: suspicious
haunt: a place frequently visited by a person
Arabian Sands: the deserts of Arabia (the Middle East)

Explanation:
The woman’s voice was so melodious that the poet says that no nightingale would have ever sung more meodiously than her. These nightingales can be heard in the deserts of Arabia. Their pleasant voice is the only source of joy to the tired travellers who take shelter in the shade while crossing these deserts.

Poem:
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.

Word meanings:
thrilling: something which is exciting and pleasurable
farthest Hebrides: the most remote group of islands that lie to the north-west of Scotland

Explanation:
The poet describes the voice of the woman to be so incredibly melodious, that it generates a feeling of excitement and pleasure that no other voice could ever generate. It was similar to the sound of the chirping of the cuckoo-bird that is heard in the spring season. The sound of a cuckoo-bird is the only one that can be heard across the silent sea to the north-west of the islands of Scotland.

Poem:
Will no one tell me what she sings?
Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow
For old, unhappy, far-off things,
And battles long ago:

Word meanings:
plaintive numbers: sorrowful songs
far-off: something which is distant or faraway

Explanation:
The poet wants to know the story behind the song. Almost each and every song has a story or a motive behind it. The woman was singing a sad but interesting song, and so the poet is curious to know what the song was about. He thinks that maybe the song was just a sorrowful song about the battles that had already taken place or the unhappy things that she may have faced.

Poem:
Or is it some more humble lay,
Familiar matter of to-day?
Same natural sorrow, loss, or pain,
that has been, and may be again?

Word meanings:
humble lay: ordinary song

Explanation:
The poet thinks that maybe the song was about ordinary or day-to-day happenings which cause grief in someone’s heart. Maybe the song was about some natural sorrows, loss of possessions, or pain caused by harsh words. This is the kind of sorrow that a person tends to experience everyday, and so such topics are familiar.

Poem:
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;

Word meanings:
sickle: a tool for cutting grass and grain crops. It has a short handle and a blade shaped like a hook.

Explanation:
The poet says that no matter what the theme or the story behind the song was, the maiden or the young woman was singing the song continuously, as if the song had no end. This indicates that the story behind the song or the pain or sorrow symbolised by the song is never-ending. The song was as never-ending as her work, as she kept on harvesting the grain using the sickle.

Poem:
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.

Word meanings:
listen’d: listened
mounted: climbed
bore: carried

Explanation:
The poet says that the song was captivating and moving that he could not even move. He stood still and just listened to the song with all his attention. After that, he climbed up a hill, but his heart and mind was full of the melody he had just heard. Perhaps, he was unable to concentrate on his journey. He wanted to listen to the woman’s voice again, but when he came to the same fields, he saw that the woman was not there anymore. He did not see the woman ever again, and so he did not hear the song again.

Poetic Devices

1. Rhyme Scheme
This can be found in all the stanzas.
Stanza 1: field, lass, herself, pass – abcb
Stanza 2: grain, strain, profound, sound – aabb
Stanza 3: chant, bands, haunt, sands – abcb
Stanza 4: heard, bird, seas, Hebrides – aabb
Stanza 5: sings, flow, things, go – abab
Stanza 6: lay, day, pain, again – aabb
Stanza 7: sang, ending, work, bending – abcb
Stanza 8: still, hill, bore, more – aabb

2. Apostrophe
It is the literary device which is used when a poet or poetess addresses an absent, dead or non-human as if the human were present.
Stanza 1: “O listen! For the vane profound”

3. Consonance – The repeated use of a consonant sound
Stanza 2: “Alone she cuts, and binds the grain, And sings a melancholy strain:” The sound of the consonant ‘n’ is repeated in these two lines.
Stanza 3: “No nightingale did ever chant, the sound of ‘n’ is repeated.
Stanza 4: “Breaking the silence of the seas”, the sound of ‘s’ is repeated.
Stanza 7: “Whate’er the theme, the maiden sang”, the sound of ‘t’ is repeated.
Stanza 8: “I listen’d, motionless and still”, the sound of ‘s’ is repeated.

4. Assonance – The repeated use of a consonant sound
Stanza 1: “Behold her, single in the field,” – the sound of the vowel “i” is repeated.
Stanza 2: “And sings a melancholy strain:” – the sound of the vowel “a” is repeated. “O listen! for the vale profound” – the sound of the vowel “o” is repeated.
Stanza 3: “No nightingale did ever chant” – the vowels ‘a’, ‘e’. ‘I’ are repeated. “More welcome notes to weary bands” – the sound of the vowel ‘o’ is repeated. “Among Arabian Sands” – the sound of the vowel ‘a’ is repeated.
Stanza 4: “In spring-time from the cuckoo-bird.” – the sound of the vowel ‘i’ is repeated. “Breaking the silence of the seas” – the sound of the vowel ‘e’ is repeated.
Stanza 6: “Same natural sorrow, loss, or pain,” – the sound of the vowels ‘a’ and ‘o’ are repeated. “that has been, and may be again ?” – the sound of the vowel ‘a’ is repeated.
Stanza 7: “Whate’er the theme, the maiden sang” – the sound of the vowel ‘e’ is repeated. “And o’er the sickle bending;” – the sound of the vowel ‘e’ is repeated.

5. Enjambment – the continuance of the sentence to the next line without punctuation marks at the end of a line
Stanza 2: O listen! for the vale profound
Is overflowing with the sound.

Stanza 3: No nightingale did ever chant
More welcome notes to weary bands

Stanza 4: 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.

Stanza 5: Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow
For old, unhappy, far-off things,

Stanza 7: Whate’er the theme, the maiden sang
As if her song could have no ending;

Stanza 8: I listen’d, motionless and still
And, as I mounted up the hill,

6. Alliteration – the repeated use of a consonant sound at the start of two or more consecutive words
Stanza 7: “the theme,” in “Whate’er the theme, the maiden sang”
More welcome notes to weary bands (line 10)

Breaking the silence of the seas (line 15)

Whate’er the theme, the maiden sang (line 25)

I saw her singing at her work (line 27)

The Music in my heart I bore (line 31)

7. Imagery – the creation of an image by using any way like imagery, sound, motion, etc.
In Stanza 1 – “Behold her, single in the field, Yon solitary Highland lass! Reaping and singing by herself; ”
and 2 – “Alone she cuts, and binds the grain, And sings a melancholy strain:”
 
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The Solitary Reaper Question Answers

Exercises

Q1. The poet could not understand the words of the song, yet he raised several possibilities about its theme. In the chart below are some of these possibilities. Read the third stanza again, and find the phrase that matches each.

Ans.
Death or illness of loved one – Same natural sorrow, loss, or pain,
A disaster or calamity in the past – Familiar matter of to-day ? Same natural sorrow, loss, or pain,
What is the theme of the solitary reaper’s song – Will no one tell me what she sings?
Everyday, routine events – Or is it some more humble lay,
An important historical event – And battles long ago:

Q2. A. On the basis of your understanding of the poem, answer the following questions by ticking the correct choice.
(a) The central idea of the poem ‘The Solitary Reaper’ is _______ .
(i) well sung songs give us happiness
(ii) melodious sounds appeal to all
(iii) beautiful experiences give us life-long pleasure
(iv) reapers can sing like birds
Ans. (iii) beautiful experiences give us life-long pleasure

(b) In the poem ‘The Solitary Reaper’ to whom does the poet say, ‘ Stop here or gently pass’?
(i) to the people cutting corn
(ii) to himself
(iii) to the people who make noise
(iv) to all the passers by
Ans. (iv) to all the passers by

(c) ‘The Solitary Reaper’ is a narrative poem set to music. This form of verse is called a _______ .
(i) ballad
(ii) soliloquy
(iii) monologue
(iv) sonnet
Ans. (i) ballad

(d) The poet’s lament in the poem ‘The Solitary Reaper’ is that _______.
(i) he cannot understand the song
(ii) he did not know the lass
(iii) she stopped singing at once
(iv) he had to move away
Ans. (i) he cannot understand the song

(e) Why does the poet feel that the reaper was most likely singing sorrowful songs?
(i) The poet himself was sad
(ii) The tune was melancholic
(iii) The surrounding was dismal
(iv) The reaper was weeping
Ans. (ii) The tune was melancholic

B. Read the given stanzas and answer the questions given below by selecting the correct option.
Alone she cuts and binds the grain,
And sings a melancholy strain;
O listen! for the Vale profound
Is overflowing with the sound.

1. The exclamation mark used in O listen! suggests
A. a call for attention.
B. a request to listen.
C. a sense of wonder.
D. a warning to alert.
Ans. A. a call for attention.

2. Select the option that illustrates the task done by “she”.

A. Option (1)
B. Option (2)
C. Option (3)
D. Option (4)
Ans. B. Option (2)

3. Select the option that displays lines with the same rhyme scheme as that of the given stanza.
A. Clear sky, no clouds high up
The farmer looks and sighs
No monsoons yet, God why?
It will rain, it must.
B. The farmer looks at the sky
Thankful for the monsoon days
I am sure it’s going to rain, he says
Thankful for the clouds up so high
C. Are any clouds visible?
No, none that I see.
How unfortunate, poor me.
Faith is my only reprieve.
D. The farmer looks at the sky
Thankful for the clouds up so high.
I am sure it’s going to rain, he says
Thankful for the monsoon days.
Ans. D. The farmer looks at the sky
Thankful for the clouds up so high.
I am sure it’s going to rain, he says
Thankful for the monsoon days.

Q3. Answer in detail
(a) Do you think that the poet feels overwhelmed by the song of the Solitary Reaper? Why/Why not?
Ans. Yes, the poet feels overwhelmed by the song of the Solitary Reaper. He was captivated by the melodious voice and the melancholy tune. He was so spellbound that he became completely still and silent. He did not move at all while he listened to the song. While he was ascending the hill, he replayed the music in his head and also wanted to hear more when he came back.

(b) The use of imagery in the poem has a major impact on the reading experience. Discuss.
Ans. Imagery is used in the stanzas 1 and 2.
“Behold her, single in the field,
Yon solitary Highland lass!
Reaping and singing by herself;”
These lines help us to imagine a young woman from the Highland region of Scotland working alone in a field of grain. She is reaping the grain and singing a song to entertain herself.
“Alone she cuts, and binds the grain,
And sings a melancholy strain:”
These lines help us to imagine the young woman cutting and joining multiple strands of grain together. She is doing all the work alone while singing a sad song to herself.
Therefore, these lines help us to see what the poet saw in the fields that day, which has a major impact on the reading experience.

(c) The language of music is universal. Justify with reference to The Solitary Reaper.
Ans. The language of music is universal. We can see this in the poem ‘The Solitary Reaper’. One day, the poet was passing by a field while heading towards the hills. While he was passing by, he saw a young woman from the Highlands working in the fields alone. She was singing a melancholy strain to herself, and her melodious voice filled the valley. The poet was captivated by the sad song and stood motionless for a while. He listened to the song to his heart’s content. The song filled his mind. However, the poet did not know what the song was about. Every song has a story behind it. However, the poet probably did not know the language in which the woman had sung the song and so he could never know the meaning of the words and the story behind the beautiful song. Even though he could not understand the theme behind the song, he could feel the sorrowful emotion due to the song’s melancholy tune. Therefore, even though the poet could not understand the language of the song, he could feel the emotions due to the tune. Hence, the language of music is universal.

Q4. (a) Read the second stanza again in which Wordsworth compares the solitary reaper’s song with the song of the nightingale and the cuckoo. On the basis of your reading (and your imagination), copy and complete the table below.

Ans.

(b) Why do you think Wordsworth has chosen the song of the nightingale and the cuckoo for comparison with the solitary reaper’s song?
Ans. Bird songs are almost always a pleasant and welcome sound; the songs of the nightingale and the cuckoo are particularly so. Both build images of attractive melody, mystery and romance, and so add to the atmosphere that the poet is trying to convey when describing his feelings on hearing the solitary reaper’s singing. Arabian deserts and winter bogged Hebrides wake up the melodies of a nightingale and a cuckoo (a promise of relief).

(c) As you read the second stanza, what images come to your mind?
Ans. The second stanza is about the comparison of the woman’s melodious voice with the welcome notes of the chanting of the nightingale and the thrilling voice of the cuckoo-bird. By reading the second stanza, we can imagine the voice of a nightingale welcoming a group of travellers travelling the arabian desert and the voice of the cuckoo-bird, breaking the silence of the seas of Hebrides, and casting a lively spirit amongst the inhabitants of Hebrides in the spring-time.

Q5. In the sixth line of the first stanza, we read:
“… and sings a melancholy strain,…”
This “s” sound at the beginning of sings and strain has been repeated. Poets often do this. Do you know why? Do you know what this “poetic repetition” is called? Can you find other instances of this in The Solitary Reaper?
Ans. Repetition of a sound at the beginning of words is called alliteration. It is used in poetry to add to the rhythm and melody. Other instances in The Solitary Reaper are:
More welcome notes to weary bands (line 10)
Breaking the silence of the seas (line 15)
Whate’er the theme, the maiden sang (line 25)
I saw her singing at her work (line 27)
The Music in my heart I bore (line 31)

Q6. In the first stanza, some words or phrases have been used to show that the girl working in the fields is alone. Which words and phrases highlight her being alone? What effect do they create in the mind of the reader?
Ans. The words are single, solitary, by herself, alone. They add to the atmosphere of sadness created by her singing and the loneliness of a human being opposite to the vastness of the universe.
 
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