The speaker of "The Solitary Reaper" is an Englishman, and he just so happens to encounter a highland lass singing a song in a language he can't understand. Now even though the speaker and this woman are part of the same empire (the British Empire), she's still a foreigner to him, more or less. He watches her with the same curiosity and intrigue with which we might look at Amish people these days. Now even though this woman is definitely an "other," the speaker doesn't exactly look at her as some foreign presence that needs to be expelled. Rather, she's an interesting representation of a dying culture, something that should be appreciated and cherished.
Questions About Foreignness and "The Other"
- In what ways does the speaker treat the woman as a foreign "other"?
- How does the speaker feel about the highland "other" that he encounters?
- Who is the real foreigner in this poem anyway? Could it be the speaker?
- Does the speaker want to shelter, protect, or shield the foreign "other" that he encounters? Why or why not?
Chew on This
Sometimes the foreign really isn't so… well, foreign. The speaker manages to find somebody in northern Scotland that, like him, has a knack for poetry and loves the outdoors.
Sometimes we ourselves are the true foreigner. The speaker of "The Solitary Reaper" kind of seems like an intruder or spy—just look at how sneaky and quiet he is.