Critical Appreciation Of The Poem We Are Seven

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Recommended: The poetical works of Wordsworth

William Wordsworth’s poem “We are Seven” from his Lyrical Ballads explores the complex theme of death through its effects on the living and the ways in which people think of those they have lost. The narrative is composed of a conversation between an adult male speaker and an eight-year-old girl, with the central focus on the girl’s two deceased siblings. Throughout the ballad, the young girl is insistent that despite two of her siblings having passed, they are seven in total – contrasting with the speaker, who is confident that the girl’s deceased siblings make her one of five. In this respect, Wordsworth demonstrates extensive use of perspectivism, which is crucial to the poem’s development, as it highlights the different outlooks that children and adults have on death. While social knowledge often upholds the belief that adults are more knowledgeable than children, “We are Seven” asks its readers to evaluate which of the characters has the superior understanding of life and death. An analysis of the adult speaker and young girl’s polar perspectives on death in “We are Seven” challenges the adult/child dichotomy – revealing that through her positive and imaginative approach to honouring the dead, …show more content…

Throughout the ballad, both characters quarrel over whether the girl should consider herself one of five siblings, or one of seven. In one sense, both the adult and child are correct in their respective methods of counting siblings. However, it is the young girl’s optimistic perspective on death which proves that though a child, her superior knowledge exceeds that of the adult. Through her clever understanding of death, the girl emphasizes the importance of remembrance – suggesting that you never lose the people you

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