22 pages • 44 minutes read
William WordsworthWe Are Seven
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1798A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Before You Read
Super Short Summary
In "We Are Seven," an eight-year-old girl insists that she has seven siblings, although two of them are deceased and buried nearby. The poem's speaker, perplexed by her steadfast belief that the dead siblings remain part of the family, engages her in a gentle but insistent debate, ultimately highlighting the differences between adult logic and the child's emotional and spiritual connection to her siblings.
Reviews & Readership
Review Roundup
Reviews for Wordsworth's We Are Seven generally praise its exploration of a child's perception of death, highlighting its emotional depth and simplicity. Some critics find the poem's repetition tedious and the adult narrator's disbelief at the child's perspective frustrating. Nonetheless, it remains celebrated for its poignant portrayal of innocence and mortality.
Who Should Read We Are Seven?
A reader who would enjoy William Wordsworth's "We Are Seven" appreciates Romantic poetry and themes of innocence and nature's beauty. Enthusiasts of William Blake's Songs of Innocence and of Experience and Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner will find joy in Wordsworth's exploration of childhood and the sublime.
RecommendedReading Age
13-18yearsBook Details
Lyric Poem
Emotions/Behavior: Conflict
Emotions/Behavior: Love
Life/Time: Childhood & Youth