Is solitary reaper a monologue or soliloquy ?
The origin of the word “monologue” is Greek “monologos” – speaking alone. The origin of soliloquy is Latin “soliloquium” – talking to oneself. According to the above definition solitary reaper is a monologue as the speaker indirectly suggests his awareness of others ( may be imaginary) in the lines Behold her singing in the field Stop here or gently pass He is talking alone but not to himself. But the earlier answerer is right–it is a ballad. The following is a line quoted from Wikipedia. “The Solitary Reaper” is a ballad by English Romantic poet William Wordsworth, and one of his best-known works in English literature. In it, Wordsworth describes in the first person, present tense, how he is amazed and moved by a Scottish Highlands girl who sings as she reaps grain in a solitary field.
In a play, dialogue is conversation involving two or more characters. A monologue is a speech delivered by one character. The character speaking the monologue might be talking to other characters or might be addressing the audience directly. A soliloquy is a special type of monologue spoken by a character who is alone on stage “thinking out loud,” talking to nobody but himself or herself. The word “soliloquy” doesn’t really apply to poetry outside the context of a play. But the term “dramatic monologue” is often used to describe a poem that is written as if it were being spoken by some character. For example, Robert Browning’s poem “My Last Duchess” is spoken in the voice of an Italian nobleman. “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death” by William Butler Yeats is spoken in the voice of a World War I pilot. In “The Solitary Reaper,” the speaker of the poem isn’t an invented character in that sense. The poem is narrated by someone who is describing something memorable that he saw and heard. T
