The poem “The Solitary Reaper” by William Wordsworth, has been a challenging work of art to interpret. It is both a powerful and a beautiful poem. This poem could actually be compared to the way the traveler tries to figure out what the woman is singing. Just like how I didn’t understand this poem at first it demonstrates how any form of art, even when it is misunderstood, is powerful and beautiful.
The first stanza in the poem is written simply by the poet, he makes sure that he describes the woman as alone. He shows that the woman is alone which is describing how the woman is a work of visual art herself. She is also the one creating the sound that interests the traveler showing that art alone is powerful. …show more content…
For example Wordsworth compares a different poet’s work to the woman’s song, saying that her song would be more welcomed than the song of a nightingale would be for a group of travelers walking through the desert. Also that her song is greater than hearing the song of the cuckoo bird in the spring time, again using her song as a comparison to the birds song. Wordsworth also exaggerates that her song is powerful enough to “Break the silence of the seas among the islands of Hebrides” (Wordsworth 15, 16).the poet uses this hyperbole to show that the art of music is so powerful that it can be heard from the farthest islands in Scotland …show more content…
The traveler is trying to decipher what the song is about. The traveler asks a question saying will no one tell me what she sings? This lets the reader know that he does not understand the words the woman is saying. He tries guessing and says “Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow for old, unhappy, far-off things,| Familiar to the matter of to-day? Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain, that has been and may be again? (Wordsworth 18, 19, 22, 23, 24). Knowing that the traveler doesn’t know what the song is about, further shows that even if art is misunderstood that it can still be a powerful thing, he is still interested in the song even though he does not know what it is about. In fact he is so interested that he starts naming off possible things she could be singing about. He thinks maybe the song could be about the past, or a battle from long ago. Or maybe something in the present time bothering her, and will eventually come up