22 pages • 44 minutes read
We Are Seven
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Book Brief
417
Poem • Fiction
1798
Adult
13-18 years
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.
Contemplative
Melancholic
Bittersweet
Emotional
Nostalgic
Reviews & Readership
229 ratings
Loved it
Mixed feelings
Not a fan
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.
229 ratings
Loved it
Mixed feelings
Not a fan
417
Poem • Fiction
1798
Adult
13-18 years
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