Question

Which lines in Wordsworth's lyric poem "The Solitary Reaper" present the reaper's song as more beautiful than nature? 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.

Answer 1

Answer:

"No Nightingale did ever chant

 More welcome notes to weary bands

 Of travelers 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 sea

 Among the farthest Hebrides."

Explanation:

In "The Solitary Reaper," the speaker of the ballad tunes in to the tune of a lady working in the fields. Moved by the straightforward integrity of this single collector, the speaker feels an association with nature and the endless.  

The speaker hears a Highland Lass singing in the fields. He doesn't talk her language, be that as it may, and can't comprehend the words she sings. All things considered, he's moved by her song.  

The speaker feels that her melody addresses a few certainties about nature and human presence, to some agony or history or distress that has been gone down through the ages.  

Indeed, even after he moves out of earshot of her melody, he can in any case hear it in his heart. He considers it a significant, unceasing tune and conveys it with him wherever he goes.