ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Summary. In this poem, the poet (William Wordsworth) tells us about a girl, a Highland lass, who is in a field alone: “single in the field". As she is harvesting her crops, she is singing a sad tune which echoes in the deep valley. The speaker asks us to stop and listen to her tune or “gently pass".

Detailed explanation-2: -Reaping and singing by herself; Stop here, or gently pass! The highland lass is “reaping” (gathering crops) and “singing” all alone. The speaker notices this, and then gives another order.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Solitary Reaper, poem by William Wordsworth, published in 1807 in the collection Poems, in Two Volumes. It is a pastoral snapshot of a young woman working alone in a field in the Highlands of Scotland, singing a plaintive song in Gaelic.

Detailed explanation-4: -Ans. Once the poet comes across a highland girl while climbing up a hill. The young girl was reaping and binding the corn as it was the harvest time. As she was working peacefully all by herself, she was singing.

Detailed explanation-5: -The tune of the Highland girl’s song was thrilling and melancholy at the same time. It reminded the poet of a Nightingale’s song. He compared its sweet notes with the Cuckoo’s call. And yet, at the same time, he thought that the song told the tale of some unhappy events of the past or of some battles fought long ago.