Analysis of "The Solitary Reaper" – A Poem written by William Wordsworth

Background
"The Solitary Reaper" is a lyrical ballad written by the famous English poet; William Wordsworth. It’s actually one of his best written works that have continued to attract lots of analysis and commentaries. He wrote the poem during the romantic era of 17th century BC.

Poem Structure
The poem is divided in 4 different stanzas with each having 8 lines. The poet presented the speaker in diverse ways. He portrayed the speaker as an emerging voice which responds to several dynamic situations that occurred in the poem. The poet uses hyperbole, metaphor and other poetic devices in conveying his message.

Analysis and Summary
The analysis of The Solitary Reaper comes with several interpretations. The reaper is said to be lonely. This is clearly seen from the title of the poem. The reaper who is described as a young girl is seen singing but her song is not understood by the speaker. Hence, the speaker only focused on the mood, tone and the beauty of the song.

The poem extols the beauty of music and the awesome feelings that emanates from it. The beauty of nature is also expressed. It’s seen as the music and spirit of humanity. For the poet, nature is a true source of peace and happiness. The solitary girl was actually reaping corn in the field while she was singing melodiously. The sound of her song was renting the air. A very gentle and relaxed mood was also expressed by the song. The reaper’s voice was very pleasurable to any listening ear around. The poet uses a variety of poetic devices to describe the scenario in such a way that anybody who reads the poem will start imagining himself or herself listening to the sweet voice of the reaper.

All through the entire poem, the poet tries to establish a perfect relationship between the reaper and the speaker. The poem also portrays the awesome relationship that exists between nature and music. It’s indeed a very romantic poem that has lots of pleasurable connotations.