William Wordsworth wrote, "We are Seven" while walking in the grove at Alfoxden. In 1973 while walking to and fro within the area of Goodrich he met a little girl and composed this poem with the last stanza first, starting with the last line, "And said, nay, we are seven" (page 201). The poem is actually about the death of two children as viewed through the eyes of their sister.
The first stanza speaks of the innocence of the child as it relates to the idea of death. Then the next two stanzas introduces the little girl whom Wordsworth met that day. The little girl is described as very simple, natural being; someone for whom Wordsworth feels a kind of empathy. Words such as "rustic", "wildly clad" conveys this simple, natural being giving his poem the credibility that it deserves. Instead of scorning this girl, Wordsworth was glad seeing her the way she was. It must have reminded him of the natural beauty of an untouched forest. The girl's age, "She was eight years old" must have brought back childhood memories because his own mother died when he was just turning eight years old.
The poem then continues with the interaction between Wordsworth and the little cottage girl. It seems as if this little girl is very smart and is a fast thinker because when asked, "How many may you be?" she replied, "Seven in all." The author continued by using the words, "Wondering looked at me" suggesting that the little girl might be saying can't you see for yourself that there are seven of us, why do you asked how many may you be. The little girl replies as if her siblings have been and are always there. The little girl assures him that there is still life in her dead siblings.
I am not sure if William Wordsworth believes in life after death, but he gives the girl's perspective of the subject using the line "Their graves are green, they may be seen" (line 37, page 200). The little girl’s reply assures the reader that her siblings, even though dead, are still alive. The last stanza reaffirm the little girl's point that her brother and sister are not died because their spirits are in heaven.
"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!
The girl’s belief that her siblings still play a part in her life, and are perhaps themselves alive, strongly reinforces the supernatural by emphasizing the possibility of physical life after death. This, I strongly believes in. There is life after death. Death is not the end.
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Anthony,
I think that "We Are Seven" is an interesting poem to discuss, but I am not sure your post gets to some of the significant points. One problem here is that you call the adult speaker in the poem Wordsworth, but that is a very problematic assumption. The adult speaker is not sympathetic towards the little girl's perspective; in fact at the end of the poem he is shouting at her, trying to make her see things his way: 7-2=5. She refuses to give in, but maintains "we are seven." I think the poet is sympathetic with the girl, not the adult, and that the adult is a character who represents a limited, "adult" perspective that is not wiser than the natural, innocent wisdom of the child. I think in general it is safer to assume that the "I" who is the speaker in a poem is a character, not the poet.
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