THE SOLITARY REAPER
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.
Who is the central figure described in the poem "The Solitary Reaper"?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → A Highland Lass
The poem opens with "Yon solitary Highland Lass!" and the whole of it is about her: a young girl of the Scottish Highlands who is reaping and singing by herself. A lass is a girl or young woman.
Example: A young lass was selling flowers at the market.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: A traveller — Incorrect. Wrong focus: Travellers appear only in a comparison: the weary bands of travellers in the desert who hear the nightingale.
Option 3: A Nightingale — Incorrect. Wrong focus: the nightingale is used to praise the girl's voice: no nightingale ever sang more welcome notes.
Option 4: Cuckoo Bird — Incorrect. Wrong focus: the cuckoo too is only a comparison: its spring song was never as thrilling as her voice.
Note: The actual question was dropped by NTA. For the benefit of the students and to give additional practice, the original question has been replaced with a new question.