Poem: The Solitary Reaper
— By William Wordsworth

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.

বঙ্গানুবাদ :

ঐ দেখ তাকে, একাকী সে মাঠে,
একাকী সে পাহাড়ী কুমারী!
ফসল কাটছে আর গান গাইছে আপন মনে;
থাম এখানে নতুবা মৃদু পায়ে চলে যাও!
একাকী সে ফসল কাটছে আর আঁটি বাঁধছে,
আর গাইছে একটি করুণ সুরের গান;
আহ, শোন! গভীর উপত্যকাটি
উপছে পড়ছে গানের তানে।
কোন বুলবুল পাখি এমন গান কখনো গায়নি
আবসাদগ্রস্ত পথিক দলের জন্যে এমন স্বাগত সুর
ভ্রমণকারীদের জন্যে কোন ছায়াঘেরা কুঞ্জে
আরবীয় মরুভূমিতে।
এমন শিহরণজাগী ধ্বনি কখনো শোনা যায়নি
বসন্তকালে কোকিলের থেকে,
সমুদ্রমালার নীরবতা ভেঙ্গে
সুদূর হেব্রীজস (Hebrides) দ্বীপমালার মাঝে।
কেউ কি আমায় বলবে না সে কি গান গায়ঃ-
হয়ত বা বিষাদের কোন গানের প্রবাহ।
পুরনো, অসুখী, বহু আগের জিনিস,
এবং বহু আগের যুদ্ধের গাঁথা।
না কি এটা কোন চারণ কবির গাঁথা,
আধুনিক যুগের পরিচিত ঘটনা?
কিছু স্বাভাবিক দুঃখ, হারানোর বেদনা,
যা ঘটেছে এবং আবারও ঘটতে পারে?
যা-ই হোক বিষয়বস্তু কুমারীর গানের।
যেন তার গান না হয় গো শেষ; ।
কাজের মাঝে গাইতে তাকে দেখেছি,
কাস্তের উপর ঝুঁকে পড়ে;-
আমি শুনলাম, নিশ্চল, স্থির হয়ে;
এবং যখন আমি পাহাড়ের উপর আরোহণ করছিলাম
সুরটি আমি বয়ে নিলাম হৃদয়ে ধরে,
দীর্ঘকাল যাবৎ যখন ইহা আর শ্রুত হচ্ছিল না।

বাংলা সারাংশ:

তার দিকে তাকান, মাঠে একা, সেই স্কটিশ মেয়েটি সেখানে একা। সে শস্য কাটছে এবং নিজে নিজে গাইছে। থামুন এবং তার কথা শুনুন বা চুপচাপ হাঁটুন। সে শস্য কাটে , সংগ্রহ করে এবং একটি দুঃখের গান গায়। শুনুন: গভীর উপত্যকা তার সঙ্গীতে উপচে পড়ছে।

আরবের মরুভূমিতে একটি মরুদ্যানে বিশ্রাম নেওয়ার সময় ক্লান্ত পরিব্রাজকদের জন্য এত সুন্দর গান কোন নাইটিঙ্গেল কখনও গায়নি। কোকিল-পাখি স্কটিশ দ্বীপপুঞ্জের চারপাশে সমুদ্রের নীরবতা ভেঙ্গে বসন্তে এমন প্রভাবশালী কণ্ঠে গান গায়নি।

কেউ কি আমাকে বলবেন না তার গান কী? হয়তো সে পুরানো ট্র্যাজেডি এবং প্রাচীন যুদ্ধের জন্য এত দুঃখের সাথে গান করে। অথবা হতে পারে গানটি নিত্যনৈমিত্তিক, দৈনন্দিন জিনিস সম্পর্কে—যে যন্ত্রণা ও দুঃখগুলো প্রত্যেকে সহ্য করে।

সে যাই গাইছিল না কেন, তরুণী এমনভাবে গেয়েছিল যেন তার গান শেষ হবে না। কাজ করার সময় তাকে গান গাইতে দেখেছি, কাস্তে দিয়ে গম কাটছে। আমি নড়াচড়া না করে তার কথা শুনলাম। এবং আমি যখন হেঁটে যাচ্ছিলাম, একটি পাহাড়ের উপরে, আমি তার সঙ্গীত আমার হৃদয়ে বহন করছি: অনেক পরে আমি আর এটি শুনতে পেলাম না।

Summary:

Look at her, alone in the field, that Scottish Girl by herself over there. She is cutting the grain and singing to herself. Stop and listen to her or walk on quietly. She cuts and gathers the grain and sings a sad song. Listen: the deep valley is overflowing with her music.

No nightingale has ever sang such a beautiful song for tired groups of travelers as they rested at an oasis in the Arabian desert. The cuckoo bird never sang with such an affecting voice in the spring, breaking the ocean’s silence around the Scottish isles.

The poet cannot understand the meaning of her song. So he asked himself- Won’t anyone tell me what her song is about? Maybe she sings so sadly for old tragedies and ancient battles. Or maybe the song is humbler, about everyday things—the pains and sorrows that everyone endures.

Whatever she was singing about, the young woman sang as though her song would never end. I saw her singing while she worked, cutting wheat with a sickle. I listened to her without moving. And as I walked on, up a hill, I carried her music in my heart: Long after I could no longer hear it.

Summary:

There is a Highland girl. She is alone in the field. She is cutting and binding crops and singing a melancholy song. The poet advises the passers-by to listen to her song or to pass very gently so that she is not disturbed. The whole valley is overflowing with the tune of her song. Her song is sweeter than the song of the nightingale and more thrilling than the song of the cuckoo. The poet cannot understand the meaning of her song. He guesses that perhaps she is singing about sone unhappy events of the past or about some ordinary matter of the present age. To the poet, her song is never ending. He listen to her song with rapt attention. He is so moved by her song that he carries the melody of her song with him long after he can no longer hear it.

Theme:

Love of nature is the central theme of the poem. The poet sees a Highland girl in a field. She is alone. She is reaping crops and singing a melancholy song. Her song was sweeter than the song of the nightingale and more thrilling than the song of the cuckoo. But he cannot understand the subject matter of her song as she is singing in her local dialect. He thinks that perhaps she is singing about some unhappy events of the past or of the present. He is so impressed by the song that he carries the memory of the song with him long after when he no longer hears it. The song of the girl is a part of the beauty of nature which has a lasting impression on the mind of the poet. Thus, the theme of the poem is the love of nature.

Generic Form:

The poem is a lyric. Subjectivity is an essential element of lyrical poetry, and in this poem, the poet expresses his personal feeling and thought. Imagination is another mark of lyrical poetry. In this poem, the poet guesses the theme of the song of the solitary reaper through imagination. Lyrical poetry is propelled by profound emotion, and the poet expresses his profound emotion by describing the rhythm of a song. A lyric has a basic unity in its theme, tone, and treatment, and this unity is maintained in this poem. Thus, the poem is a lyric.

Rhyme Scheme:

The rhyme scheme is the ordered rhymes at the end of the rhymes of a poem or verse. A rhyme scheme is used in poetry. It helps us to read a poem with rhythm. It may be common or uncommon. It establishes the poem. It is the combination of a number of stanzas. Every stanza has some lines.

The rhyme scheme is easily identified, usually by the accent or sound of the last word of each line of every poem. “The Solitary Reaper” rhyme scheme is given in the poem. The poem consists of 4 stanzas and 32 lines.

Now I am going to mention below rhyme scheme with an explanation:

• field – A
• Lass! – B
• herself – C
• pass! – B
• grain – D
• strain – D
• profound – E
• sound – E

The poem is divided into four stanzas. Each stanza has eight lines. The rhyme scheme of the first and the last stanzas is ab cb dd ee. The rhyme scheme of the second and third stanzas is ab ab cc dd.

Mood & Tone:

The tone of the poem is melancholic as well as ardent. The poet sees a reaper who is alone in the field. She is cutting crops and singing a melancholy song. The poet does not understand the meaning of her song. But he guesses that perhaps she is singing about some unhappy events that have taken place in the past. Or perhaps she is singing about battles that have been fought in the past. She may also sing about the ordinary matter of the present. The subject matter of her song may also be some simple sorrow or some misery. It establishes the melancholic tone of the poem. The tone of the poem may also be ardent as the poet expresses his intense feeling in the poem. He is deeply moved by the song of the solitary reaper. To him, her song is sweeter than the song of the nightingale and the cuckoo. He is so impressed by the song that he carries the memory of her song with him and hearts the song in his heart when he does not hear the song by his ears.

Author position:

The author’s position of the poem is – Objective as it describes about a girl.

Figure of speech:

The poet has used a number of figures of speech in this poem. The poem is rich in imagery. The poem starts with the image of the solitary reaper who is working in a field cutting and binding crops. Then the poet presents another two beautiful images. One is the nightingale singing in the Arabian Desert and another is the cuckoo singing in the early spring. Both of these are theges of two beautiful birds. The nightingale in the desert and the cuckoo in the field are two important metaphors as well. The poet compares the song of the solitary reaper with that of the nightingale and the cuckoo. The poet also uses alliteration. The lines alliterations like “lass/pass”, “grain/strain” etc. “Stop here or gently pass” is an antithesis. We find hyperbole in the phrase, “breaking the silence of the seas”.

• Imagery:
  • The solitary reaper, who is working in a field cutting and binding grain.
  • A nightingale singing in the Arabian Desert.
  • The Cuckoo singing in the early Spring.

• Metaphor:
  • The poet compares the song of the solitary reaper with that of the nightingale in the desert and the Cuckoo in the field.

• Alliteration:
  • “Lass/pass”
  • “Grain/strain”

• Antithesis:
  • “Stop or gently pass”

• Hyperbole:
  • “Breaking the silence of the sea”

What is the effect of the song of the solitary reaper on the poet?

The song of the solitary reaper has a lasting effect on the poet. The solitary reaper is alone in the field. She is cutting and binding crops and singing a melancholy song. The whole valley is overflowing with the tune of her song. Her song is sweeter than the song of the nightingale and more thrilling than the song of the cuckoo. The poet cannot understand the meaning of her song, but the song seems to be never-ending to the poet. He listens to her song with rapt attention. He is so moved by her song that he carries with melody of her song with him long after he can no longer hear it. Thus, the song has a lasting effect on the poet.