We are Seven

by William Wordsworth

The famous poem We are Seven by William Wordsworth which was written in 1798 and published in his Lyrical Ballads. The poem is a discussion about the number of brothers and sisters who dwell with a little girl, and whether to count two dead siblings.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, School, British Literature, Read For School, Literature, 18th Century

15 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1798

About the author

William Wordsworth (1770-1850) was a major English romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their 1798 joint publication, Lyrical Ballads.

Wordsworth's masterpiece is generally considered to be The Prelude, an autobiographical poem of his early years, which the poet revised and expanded a number of times. The work was posthumously titled and published, prior to which, it was generally known as the poem "to Coleridge". Wordsworth was England's Poet Laureate from 1843 until his death in 1850.

Reviews

[BookHeroin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely beautiful piece. And to think that he was only 18 years old when he wrote it, is outstanding.
We are seven is simply a beautiful, powerful piece, it is also very emotional to read if you understood it. William Wordsworth wrote this poem in 1793, and published in his Lyrical Ballads.
At the beginning of the poem, he described and young, innocent,naïve, very smiple , little girl ...

———A simple Child,
That lightly draws its breath,
And feels its life in every limb,
What should it know of death?

I met a little cottage Girl:
She was eight years old, she said;
Her hair was thick with many a curl
That clustered round her head.

She had a rustic, woodland air,
And she was wildly clad:
Her eyes were fair, and very fair;
—Her beauty made me glad.

Then the conversion between this girl and a stranger begins, the man asked her how many brothers and sisters does she have, and the child answers him, then he asked her where they are and then he gets confused.

“Sisters and brothers, little Maid,
How many may you be?”
“How many? Seven in all,” she said,
And wondering looked at me.

“And where are they? I pray you tell.”
She answered, “Seven are we;
And two of us at Conway dwell,
And two are gone to sea.

“Two of us in the church-yard lie,
My sister and my brother;
And, in the church-yard cottage, I
Dwell near them with my mother.”

Clearly the little girl has counted her dead brother John and her dead sister Jane , and the man found that inaccurate since most people-lets face it, doesn't count the dead members anymore, but this little girl did! and he found that very strange, perhaps the little girl is in denial??

Then he insisted that they are only now five not seven-umm who is being the child here? The little girl clearly knows that they are dead, so why insisting that they are alive?
Here comes the powerful, emotional part. The little girl, is happy that her sister is no longer sick, and that God took her to take her pain away, and she believes that she'll see her someday and her brother in heaven, she still thinks of them as a members of her family, because they are! and being dead doesn't extract them from the family. The little girl understood that and she moved on, living her life, smiling, dancing, and singing, but she doesn't forget about them. She is dancing and eating and playing around their graves(Her house is near the court yard so she and her mother are around the graves alot-
The "grow up" stranger still don't get the girl point of view.

“But they are dead; those two are dead!
Their spirits are in heaven!”
’Twas throwing words away; for still
The little Maid would have her will,
And said, “Nay, we are seven!”

Very powerful and inspirational poem, i suggest you read it :)

[Evoli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This poem was so lovely and pure, it really warmed my heart how the little girl talked about her siblings (coming from somebody who is an only child).
In “We are Seven”, the speaker converses with a young girl (child) who believes that her two deceased siblings should still be counted among her family members when she talks about them, while the speaker disagrees and states that they are dead, and shall, thus, no longer be counted.
The poem raises important questions about the nature of death, family bonds, as well as highlights the logical/rational as well as emotional/philosophical side of somebody passing away and their importance in your life after their death.

[Shaunaly Higgins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This poem exhibits the pure innocence of children who do not fully comprehend the finality of death. For the little girl, her two dead siblings are still with her as she continues playing with them, even it's just in an imaginary realm. As adults, we often refuse to accept the death of our loved ones and spend so much time mourning for them and their memory because we fully understand that they are never to be returned to us. The end is the end when they physically leave this Earth and us. However, as children, we sometimes feel their presence even when we can no longer see them. It's kind of like playing pretend with an imaginary friend. Many children have them so perhaps when children cannot fully grasp that their loved ones are gone forever, to them, they really aren't.

[María · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've loved this, I'm looking forward talking about it in class

[Ruby Scupp]

A simple Child,
That lightly draws its breath,
And feels its life in every limb,
What should it know of death?

[Deer ✧.* · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 🌟

Another great poem by Wordsworth.

[Jinx:The:Poet {the LiteraryWanderer & WordRoamer} · Rating 4 out of 5]

"We Are Seven"
By William Wordsworth

--------A Simple Child,
That lightly draws its breath,
And feels its life in every limb,
What should it know of death?

I met a little cottage Girl:
She was eight years old, she said;
Her hair was thick with many a curl
That clustered round her head.

She had a rustic, woodland air,
And she was wildly clad:
Her eyes were fair, and very fair;
--Her beauty made me glad.

"Sisters and brothers, little Maid,
How many may you be?"
"How many? Seven in all," she said
And wondering looked at me.

"And where are they? I pray you tell."
She answered, "Seven are we;
And two of us at Conway dwell,
And two are gone to sea.

"Two of us in the church-yard lie,
My sister and my brother;
And, in the church-yard cottage, I
Dwell near them with my mother."

"You say that two at Conway dwell,
And two are gone to sea,
Yet ye are seven!--I pray you tell,
Sweet Maid, how this may be."

Then did the little Maid reply,
"Seven boys and girls are we;
Two of us in the church-yard lie,
Beneath the church-yard tree."

"You run about, my little Maid,
Your limbs they are alive;
If two are in the church-yard laid,
Then ye are only five."

"Their graves are green, they may be seen,"
The little Maid replied,
"Twelve steps or more from my mother's door,
And they are side by side.

"My stockings there I often knit,
My kerchief there I hem;
And there upon the ground I sit,
And sing a song to them.

"And often after sunset, Sir,
When it is light and fair,
I take my little porringer,
And eat my supper there.

"The first that died was sister Jane;
In bed she moaning lay,
Till God released her of her pain;
And then she went away.

"So in the church-yard she was laid;
And, when the grass was dry,
Together round her grave we played,
My brother John and I.

"And when the ground was white with snow,
And I could run and slide,
My brother John was forced to go,
And he lies by her side."

"How many are you, then," said I,
"If they two are in heaven?"
Quick was the little Maid's reply,
"O Master! we are seven."

"But they are dead; those two are dead!
Their spirits are in heaven!"
'Twas throwing words away; for still
The little Maid would have her will,
And said, "Nay, we are seven!"

[Mary Lynn HR · Rating 5 out of 5]

We Are Seven by William Wordsworth recommended by booksandquills.
William Wordsworth, son of John and Ann Cookson Wordsworth, was born on 7 April 1770 in Cockermouth, Cumberland. Died in 1850.
Poem of a pretty little girl, who he could not convince there were not 7 siblings since 2 were buried in the church cemetery. It felt like a riddle.
Many of the reviews are very enjoyable reading.

[Akrabar · Rating 5 out of 5]

touching poem

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Death again

[Amelia Bujar · Rating 1 out of 5]

FULL REVIEW ON MY WEBSITE
https://thebookcornerchronicles.com/2...

Yet again once more very boring and uninteresting poem.

The plot was very boring here and very uninteresting. It was in a way a huge torture reading this poem.

The writing style here was pretty weak it might be just me who is very picky about what I liked and what I don’t like. But in my opinion it was pretty uninteresting.

[Aly Shah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Children, as in this poem, have the ability to discuss serious topics like death without being afraid of it. Even they're welcoming to death because their belief is stronger than the adult. They know that apartment in one world allow us to unite in other. Such an amazing poem.

[Britney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What a poignant poem!!!

[Eli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really haunting and bittersweet poem about a child not comprehending the death of their siblings.

[Abi Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contrasts the traditional Wordsworthian lexicon: joy. Instead, he talks about death and the conflicting idea of whether you should count dead people as people, or mere spirits. ;)

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

very colloquial

[Tanisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s an impactful poem that encounters the themes of child innocence, death and a child’s inability to understand the meaning of death.

[Viv · Rating 3 out of 5]

the little girl is slay

[Katherine Hernandez · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wordsworth, the genius.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most touching poems about siblings I have ever read

[Ally Jensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars ⭐️ We’ve been reading a lot about children in my British Literature class and it’s starting to be a little weird.