Sunday, April 19, 2015

How does Wordsworth achieve the rhythmic and musical effect of "The Solitary Reaper"?

In "The Solitary Reaper," Wordsworth highlights his focus on music by writing the poem in a rhythmic, lyrical style. He accomplishes this lyrical effect in a couple of ways. For one thing, the poem is written in iambic tetrameter, which is a tighter composition than the more common iambic pentameter and contains only four feet per line. This tight construction ensures a quicker, more rhythmic transition between lines and results in a lyrical effect. Additionally, Wordsworth's verse is filled with alliteration. Take, for instance, the following lines:

Behold her, single in the field, 
Yon solitary Highland Lass! 
Reaping and singing by herself; 
Stop here, or gently pass! (1-4)

In these first four lines, Wordsworth repeatedly employs the repetition of the "s" sound. This decision creates a unified, musical tone that contributes to the poem's already lyrical quality and mirrors the singing of the solitary reaper. This repeated use of alliteration, along with the poem's tight construction and creative rhyme scheme, make it a piece as musical as its subject matter.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45554/the-solitary-reaper

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