[Poem Review] William Wordsworth's We are Seven

                        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:                                    10
          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.                                    20

          "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;                               30
          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.                                  40

          "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,                                     50
          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."                                   60

          "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!"
                                                              (Lines: 1-69)

One of the best Romantic poems I've ever read is William Wordsworth's We are Seven, A poem that reflects many of the period’s ideas and point of views. Wordsworth, here at his best, writes this poem that is more of an argument than an actual poem. Many consider this poem to be a flagship poem for all Romantic writers and thinkers, and it sure looks like it to me.

In Wordsworth’s poem, he shows the argument that thinkers and philosophers at that time had, an argument between using one’s imagination or one’s using reason instead. As this argument went on in the poem itself and in real-life conversations at that time, one can see which of these sides won this argument from the way that thinkers at that time thought. The period itself, The Romantic period, was famously known by its alternative name, the age of imagination, as many of its writers choose to use their imagination in their writing instead of reason. Wordsworth here is clearly showing this side of the argument, the side of imagination.

Although we know which side is Wordsworth on, for he is a well known writer of the Romantic period, he starts his poem by stating the two sides of the argument. These two sides are represented by the little girl, which represents the element of imagination, and the old male character, which clearly represents reason in the poem. These two characters face of in the poem as both of them want to showcase their point of view regarding their opinion towards both reason and imagination. The girl tries to show the male character that she has six siblings, although many of them are dead, but she tries to prove to him that death can’t separate siblings and that they will always be there in her heart. The male character, that represents reason, will not understand this idea and will try to explain to the little girl that she is wrong and that REASON can prove her wrong. As this argument goes on, the reader will fell sympathy towards the little girl and will understand her pain, and eventually her answers. This is exactly what Wordsworth wants us to feel when he wrote this poem, he wanted us to use our imagination and feel what the little girl is feeling, although our reason will not accept it at first, but we always have our imagination to guide us through.

I’ve wrote many research papers on this Wordsworth’s poem, simply because it’s an amazing poem. I’ve not only enjoyed reading it, but also writing about it. It shows exactly how the Romantic writers thought at that time. And although the Romantic period is not my favorite literary period, as I’m a Victorian reader, this poem is my favorite poem of all the period combined. I thought I should share this poem with you, read it and use your own imagination to understand it and then to interoperate it the way you want.