Summary Of The Poem We Are Seven

There are two things in this world that are inevitable, life and death. Everything relating to death is unpredictable. From the way we die, to how we die, even how we cope with it all varies from one person to the next. We all have a different coping mechanism when it comes to handling death. Is there really a correct or wrong way of dealing with it? Does our age truly reflect on how we process the meaning of death? The poem “We Are Seven,” by William Wordsworth expresses how innocently and naively a child perceives death. William Wordsmith conveys this by utilizing diction, compare and contrast, and repetition.

In, “We Are Seven,” William Wordsworth writes about a dialogue between an older man and a young child conversating about the total

They believe what they believe and repeat and repeat despite what anyone says. This is exactly what the young girl and older man in the poem does. For instance, the phrase, “We are seven” comes out in the poem numerous times in various ways such as, “How many? seven in all,” she said”(15), “She answered, “Seven are we”(18).This repetition illustrates how passionate she feels that her siblings are still her siblings even when an older man comes into her life and tells her she is wrong. She has the strength and courage to try to open his eyes. Another phrase that was mentioned several times throughout the poem was, “Sweet Maid, how may this be” (28)? “The little Maiden did reply”(63),. The choice of words he chose to repeat illustrates a condescending attitude the older man possessed. Overall, William Wordsworth’s poem “We Are Seven” is a conversation that begins so simple, but unfolds into a rather more complex view on death. The poem clearly consists of certain characteristics that can help the reader dissect the poem and analyse the content to expose what the poet is trying to express. The poem offers a chance for the reader to input their own experiences, in order, to side with one of the views the poet