Short Answer Questions: The Solitary Reaper

Read the following extracts and answer the questions given below :

1. Will none tell me what she sings?
 Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow
 For old, unhappy, far-off things,
 And battles long ago.

(a) Explain the use of 'perhaps' in the second line.
​Ans. 'Perhaps' shows the poet's uncertainty about the exact subject of the reaper's song; he offers a tentative suggestion rather than a definite explanation.

(b) 'Flow', - what quality of the solitary reaper song is expressed here?
Ans. The word 'flow' suggests the song's smooth, continuous and natural movement; it implies that the music comes easily and spontaneously, like water flowing.

(c) What is the poet's guess?
​Ans. The poet guesses that she might be singing of old, unhappy memories-perhaps past sorrows or battles fought long ago.

2. Or is it some more humble lay,
 Familiar matter of today?
 Some natural sorrow, loss or pain,
 That has been, maybe again.

(a) 'It' in the first line refers to:
​Ans. 'It' refers to the solitary reaper's song.

(b) Explain 'humble lay'.
​Ans. 'Humble lay' means a simple, unadorned song about everyday life or ordinary events rather than an elaborate or heroic theme.

(c) What does the poet wish to convey by saying 'that has been and maybe again' ?
​Ans. He means that the song may tell of common sorrows or losses that have happened before and could occur again - ordinary experiences that repeat in life.

3. Whatever 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

(a) What other activities is the maiden doing besides singing?
​Ans. Besides singing, the maiden is reaping and binding the corn - she works with a sickle and gathers the harvest.

(b) What makes the maiden's song extraordinary?
Ans. Her voice is so melodious, clear and emotionally charged that it turns an ordinary work-song into something remarkable and deeply moving.

(c) What effect does the song have over the poet?
​Ans. The song makes a powerful emotional impression on the poet and remains fixed in his memory long after he stops hearing it.

4. 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.

(a) Where does the poet go?
​Ans. The poet climbs up a hill.

(b) How did the song affect the poet?
​Ans. The song filled his heart with music and made a lasting emotional impression that stayed with him.

(c) What does the poet want to convey by ''long after it was heard no more''?
​Ans. He means that the memory of the music continues to give him pleasure long after the actual sound has stopped; the music lives on in his heart.

Short Answer Questions

Q1. Discuss the significance of the title of the poem.

Ans. The poem's title and theme are based on the fact that once in the course of his walking tours of Scotland William Wordsworth, the poet, and his sister came across a solitary reaper, a young highland lass, who was reaping and binding corn as it was the harvest time. As she was working peacefully all by herself, she was singing. Her song had a touch of sadness. The memory of this lone girl and the melancholy notes of her song remained with the poet for all time. Wordsworth's poem "The Solitary Reaper" somehow immortalises her.
Q2. 'Solitary Reaper' is a poem that depicts a simple peasant girl gifted with an extraordinary voice. What qualities make the girl unforgettable?

Ans. The melodious voice of the Solitary Reaper is unforgettable. It has tender, melancholic strains, the sweetest human voice ever heard that haunted the poet for all time. He could not understand the dialect, nor the theme of her song. Her musical notes ran like water and surpassed the beauty of the songs of the nightingale and the cuckoo. The intensity and the enchanting quality of her song left an everlasting impression on the poet's mind.

Q3. Give two examples of hyperbole and alliteration from the poem.

Ans. 'Silence of the seas,' and 'sings a melancholy strain, 'perhaps the plaintive numbers flow,' this poetic repetition of the 'S' sound and 'P' sound is a device used by poets called alliteration. Hyperbole in also a poetic device in which something written or described is made to sound more exciting, better or dangerous. "O' listen! for the vale profound is overflowing with the sound". The sound of the reaper's song is so powerful that it fills the deep valleys, it is an exaggeration.

Q4. Why is the song of the solitary reaper compared to the nightingale's song?

Ans. The nightingale is acclaimed as a songbird endowed with a sweet voice who is supposed to sing in a melodious and soothing way. The solitary reaper's voice is also sweet and melodious. Her song is so sweetly melancholy that it leaves an indelible mark in the poet's mind. Shady haunt is a cool resting place in an oasis in the Arabian desert where weary travellers rest.

Q5. What arrested the attention of the poet out for a walk in the countryside? 

Ans. While walking in the countryside, the poet heard the solitary reaper's song. He was struck by the fact that the girl was cutting the harvest alone and on a happy occasion singing a melancholy song. It was so melodious that it once caught poet's attention. He finds her song sweeter than a nightingale and more thrilling than a cuckoo bird.

Q6. How could the poet hear the song of the Solitary Reaper, when it could be heard no more?

Ans. One day, while climbing up a hill, the poet hears the solitary reaper's song. The song reminds him of a nightingale and a cuckoo. He finds the song so enchanting that it leaves an indelible mark on the poet's mind and he believes that the memory of the song will remain with him forever. This also shows that music has a universal appeal.

Q7. How do we know that the highland girl was engrossed in her work?

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 harvest time. As she was working peacefully all by herself, she was singing. The whole valley resounds with her melodious voice but she is ignorant of all this and is totally engrossed in her work.

Q8. What guesses does the poet make about the theme of the Solitary Reaper's song?

Ans. The solitary reaper was singing the song in a dialect. The poet was unable to comprehend its meaning but was able to gauge from its sad note that it probably relates to some unhappy memories, some battles fought long ago. The poet also guesses that the song may be about the commonplace things like joys and sorrows.