The following are the major themes of "The Solitary Reaper": The fundamental themes of this poetry are eternal beauty and suffering. The poem depicts two things: the girl's effort and her expression of sadness. These elements make up the heart of this poem. She stands in a field of green grass with flowers that have not yet fallen beneath the hands of winter. It is a scene of beauty and peace, but also one of sorrow because the girl knows that she will soon lose this picture of springtime forever. She has been told by a farmer that since she is alone in the world, she should get married as soon as possible so that she can have children who will continue the family line. However, the young woman refuses to marry just anyone. She wants a man who will love and care for her, but most of all, she wants someone who will respect her desire to live in solitude. When she hears this, she feels like crying, but instead she smiles through her tears. She knows that there are other girls out there who want to stay single too, and she does not want to hurt their feelings by telling them that they must marry someone they do not want to. So she decides to leave the village where everyone else thinks she should be happy, and go into the woods where she can think about what kind of life she should lead.