Key Facts

• Full Title: The Solitary Reaper
• Original Title: The Solitary Reaper
• Author: William Wordsworth (1770–1850)
• Written Date: 1803
• Published Date: 1807 ✪✪✪
• First Collected In: Poems in Two Volumes (1807) ✪✪✪
• Publisher: Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme
• Genre: Romantic Nature Poem / Lyrical Poem ✪✪✪
• Form: Lyric poem of four stanzas, each with eight lines
• Rhyme Scheme: ababccdd in each stanza (regular and musical)
• Total Lines: 32
• Total Stanza: 4
• Meter: Iambic tetrameter (each line usually has 8 syllables with 4 beats)
• Tone: Peaceful, Musical, Reflective, and Deeply Emotional
• Point of View: First-person (the poet as an observer and listener)
• Climax: When the poet realizes that the girl’s unknown song has deeply touched his heart and will live in his memory forever. “The music in my heart I bore, / Long after it was heard no more.” 
• Summary in Short: The poem describes a Highland girl reaping and singing alone in a field, and how her mysterious song fills the poet’s heart with lasting emotion.
• Famous Line: “The music in my heart I bore, / Long after it was heard no more.” ✪✪✪
• Atmosphere: Calm, natural, filled with the sound of her sad and beautiful song
• Setting:

• Time Setting: A summer or harvest day in the early 19th century
• Place Setting: A quiet, green valley in the Scottish Highlands where the solitary girl works alone

Key Notes

• Original Title – The Solitary Reaper: The title “The Solitary Reaper” expresses the image of a lonely rural girl working in a field. “Solitary” means alone, and “Reaper” refers to a working woman who cuts crops. At the center of the poem stands this girl who, in the quiet Highland valley, reaps and sings a sad song. The title itself symbolizes the poem’s main emotions: loneliness, labor, nature, and music united in one harmonious scene.
• Form and Structure: It is a lyrical poem, which means it expresses deep personal feelings, musical rhythm, and the beauty of nature together. The poem is divided into four stanzas, each consisting of eight lines.
• Meter: The poem is written in Iambic Tetrameter, meaning each line has four strong beats (stresses). This rhythm creates a musical flow throughout the poem, making the poet’s feelings move softly like a song. Features:

• The poem reveals a deep connection between nature and human emotion.
• The language is simple, musical, and melodious, like a gentle tune.
• The poet is not part of the scene; he is an observer and listener who is deeply moved by the girl’s song.
• The meaning of the song is unknown, but its melody remains eternal in the poet’s heart.
• In the final lines, memory, music, and emotion blend into one timeless experience.