Get out the microscope, because we’re going through this poem line-by-line.
Lines 17-20
Will no one tell me what she sings?—
Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow
For old, unhappy, far-off things,
And battles long ago:
- A-ha, so it turns out the speaker has no idea what the woman is singing about, does he? Nope, he sure doesn't.
- This is because the woman is a highlander, which you now know means that she lives somewhere way up in the north of Scotland.
- Up there, people used to speak a language known as Scots Gaelic, or Erse, which sounds absolutely nothing like English, as you can see… err, hear in this video.
- Since he can't understand a lick of what the woman is singing, the speaker decides that he will speculate.
- He wonders if perhaps the "plaintive numbers" (mournful songs) are about a bunch of sad, sad, things from long, long ago ("old, unhappy, far-off things"). Or maybe she's singing about old battles.
- The fact of the matter is the speaker really has no idea what the woman is singing about, but he can definitely tell the song is sad ("plaintive"), and that it's kind of like… a poem.
- This is why he says "numbers," a word that is often used to describe lines written in meter (because they have a predetermined "number" of syllables).
- The solitary reaper is kind of like a poet then. She is a peasant who is also a poet, something like the speaker's double or alter ego.
Lines 21-24
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?
- The speaker continues to ponder the woman's song.
- He now wonders if her song is a more "humble lay," something more "familiar" or day-to-day, like this, or this.
- Maybe she's just singing about your average, run-of-the-mill causes of sadness (the death of a bunny rabbit, a mean sibling, etc.).
- As before, he's really only sure about one thing: this woman's song is a sad one.
- Is somebody going to show up and help the speaker understand what's going on here? Or is he going to be in the dark for the remainder of the poem? Let's read on to find out.