We Are Seven by William Wordsworth (Poem, Summary, Paraphrase & Analysis)

 

We Are Seven

by William Wordsworth

(Poem, Summary, Paraphrase & Analysis) 

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:

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.

 

Two of us in the churchyard lie,

My sister and my brother;

And in the churchyard 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;

Two of us in the churchyard lie,

Beneath the churchyard tree.”

 

“You run about, my little Maid,

Your limbs they are alive;

If two are in the churchyard 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.

 

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,

Till God released her of her pain;

And then she went away.

 

So in the churchyard 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.”

 

“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!”

 

Summary

William Wordsworth’s poem We Are Seven tells a touching story of a conversation between the poet and a young country girl about her family. The poem begins with the poet reflecting on the innocence of children. He wonders how much a “simple child” can truly understand about the concept of death, suggesting that their perspective might be quite different from that of adults.

The poet then describes meeting a little girl in the countryside. She is about eight years old, with curly hair and a rustic appearance. Though her clothing is simple and somewhat wild, her beauty and bright eyes immediately strike the poet and fill him with gladness.

Curious about her life, the poet asks the child how many brothers and sisters she has. The girl quickly replies that there are seven of them in total. This surprises the poet, and he asks her to explain further where they all are. She tells him that two of her siblings live in Conway, two more are away at sea, and two have died and are buried in the churchyard near her home. She lives with her mother in a cottage close to the churchyard where the graves lie.

The poet points out what seems to him a contradiction. If two siblings are dead, he reasons, then surely the girl should say they are only five, not seven. But the little maid insists that they are seven in all. She explains that the two who have passed away are still very close to her. Their graves are not far from her mother’s door, and she often spends time there. She knits stockings, hems her kerchief, and even sings songs while sitting by their graves. At times, she even takes her supper there after sunset.

The girl continues by recalling how her sister Jane was the first to die, after lying in bed in pain until God took her away. Jane was buried in the churchyard, and the little maid, together with her brother John, used to play around her grave when the weather was fair. Later, when winter came and the ground was covered with snow, her brother John also passed away and was buried beside Jane.

Still, the little maid insists that she has seven siblings in total. Even though the poet argues again that two of them are dead and their spirits are in heaven, she refuses to accept that this reduces the number. She firmly concludes the conversation with the simple yet unshakable statement: “Nay, we are seven!”

The poem closes with this unwavering response, highlighting the child’s innocent and steadfast view of family. For her, the bond between brothers and sisters continues unbroken by death, and in her world, the number of siblings remains whole.

 

Line-by-line Paraphrase

———A simple child,

-> An innocent little child,

That lightly draws its breath,

-> Breathing easily and freely,

And feels its life in every limb,

-> Full of energy and life in every part of the body,

What should it know of death?

-> How much could such a child really understand about death?

 

I met a little cottage girl:

-> I met a young girl living in a small country cottage.

She was eight years old, she said;

-> She told me she was eight years old.

Her hair was thick with many a curl

-> Her hair was thick and curly,

That clustered round her head.

-> With curls gathered all around her head.

 

She had a rustic, woodland air,

-> She looked like a simple country child,

And she was wildly clad:

-> And her clothes were rough and untidy.

Her eyes were fair, and very fair;

-> Her eyes were beautiful, very lovely indeed,

—Her beauty made me glad.

-> And her charm brought me joy.

 

“Sisters and brothers, little Maid,

-> I asked her, “Tell me, little girl, about your brothers and sisters,

How many may you be?”

-> How many of you are there in total?”

“How many? Seven in all,” she said,

-> She answered, “Why, seven altogether,”

And wondering looked at me.

-> And she looked at me in surprise.

 

“And where are they? I pray you tell.”

-> I asked, “And where are they? Please tell me.”

She answered, “Seven are we;

-> She replied, “There are seven of us;

And two of us at Conway dwell,

-> Two live in the town of Conway,

And two are gone to sea.

-> And two have gone away to sea.

 

Two of us in the churchyard lie,

-> Two of my siblings are buried in the churchyard,

My sister and my brother;

-> One sister and one brother,

And in the churchyard cottage, I

-> And I live in the small cottage by the churchyard

Dwell near them with my mother.”

-> Together with my mother, close to their graves.

 

“You say that two at Conway dwell,

-> I said, “You say that two live at Conway,

And two are gone to sea,

-> And two are at sea,

Yet ye are seven! I pray you tell,

-> But still you say you are seven! Please explain,

Sweet Maid, how this may be.”

-> Dear girl, how can this be so?”

 

Then did the little maid reply,

-> Then the girl answered,

“Seven boys and girls are we;

-> “There are seven of us altogether,

Two of us in the churchyard lie,

-> Though two are buried in the churchyard,

Beneath the churchyard tree.”

-> Resting under a tree there.”

 

“You run about, my little Maid,

-> I told her, “You are alive and active, little girl,

Your limbs they are alive;

-> Your body is full of life;

If two are in the churchyard laid,

-> So if two are lying dead in the churchyard,

Then ye are only five.”

-> Then surely there are only five of you.”

 

“Their graves are green, they may be seen,”

-> She replied, “Their graves are covered with grass, you can see them clearly,

The little Maid replied,

-> The girl explained,

“Twelve steps or more from my mother’s door,

-> Just a short distance, about twelve steps from my mother’s door,

And they are side by side.

-> And the two graves are right next to each other.

 

My stockings there I often knit,

-> I often sit by their graves knitting my stockings,

My kerchief there I hem;

-> Or sewing my kerchief there;

And there upon the ground I sit,

-> I sit on the ground there,

And sing a song to them.

-> And I sing songs to my brother and sister.

 

And often after sunset, Sir,

-> Many evenings, after sunset, sir,

When it is light and fair,

-> When the light is still soft and pleasant,

I take my little porringer,

-> I carry my small bowl of food,

And eat my supper there.

-> And I eat my dinner beside their graves.

 

The first that died was sister Jane;

-> The first to die was my sister Jane;

In bed she moaning lay,

-> She lay in bed, moaning in pain,

Till God released her of her pain;

-> Until God freed her from suffering,

And then she went away.

-> And she passed away.

 

So in the churchyard she was laid;

-> She was buried in the churchyard,

And, when the grass was dry,

-> And when the weather was good and the ground was dry,

Together round her grave we played,

-> My brother John and I played around her grave,

My brother John and I.

-> Just the two of us.

 

And when the ground was white with snow,

-> Later, when the ground was covered in snow,

And I could run and slide,

-> And I could run around and slide on it,

My brother John was forced to go,

-> My brother John also had to leave this life,

And he lies by her side.”

-> And now he lies buried beside her.

 

“How many are you, then,” said I,

-> I asked her again, “So how many are you now,

“If they two are in heaven?”

-> Since those two are now in heaven?”

Quick was the little Maid’s reply,

-> She quickly answered,

“O Master! we are seven.”

-> “Oh sir, we are still seven.”

 

“But they are dead; those two are dead!

-> I insisted, “But they are gone; those two are dead!

Their spirits are in heaven!”

-> Their souls are in heaven!”

’Twas throwing words away; for still

-> But it was useless to argue, because still

The little Maid would have her will,

-> The little girl firmly held to her view,

And said, “Nay, we are seven!”

-> And replied, “No, we are seven!”

 

Analysis in Detail

William Wordsworth’s We Are Seven, first published in the Lyrical Ballads of 1798, is one of his most famous poems. At first glance, it seems a simple dialogue between an adult and a child, yet it touches on profound questions of life, death, and how people—especially children—perceive them. The poem captures Wordsworth’s central themes: the innocence of childhood, the simplicity of rustic life, and the truth found in ordinary human feelings.

The poem begins with a reflection on the nature of a child. Wordsworth calls her a “simple child,” full of life and vitality, and asks, “What should it know of death?” This opening sets the stage for a contrast: the adult expectation that a child cannot fully understand death versus the child’s own heartfelt, unshaken perspective. From the outset, Wordsworth highlights the purity of childhood innocence, suggesting that it contains a wisdom different from, and perhaps deeper than, adult reasoning.

The encounter itself is narrated vividly. The little girl, with her curly hair, rustic dress, and bright eyes, is portrayed as a natural, almost emblematic child of the countryside. Her charm and beauty immediately strike the poet, creating a sense of admiration and affection. She is not a sophisticated character but one rooted in nature and simplicity, a figure Wordsworth often celebrates in his poetry.

When asked about her family, the girl firmly states, “Seven in all.” This answer introduces the central theme of the poem: her unyielding conviction that the number of siblings remains unchanged, even though two are dead. The adult speaker, applying logic, argues otherwise. If two siblings are buried in the churchyard, he insists, then surely only five remain. But the child does not waver. For her, the dead are still present, still part of the family circle, because she remains connected to them through memory, routine, and love.

The girl explains in touching detail how she spends time by her siblings’ graves. She knits, sews, sings, and even eats her supper there. Her daily life flows naturally between the living and the dead, without the separation adults tend to impose. To her, the graves are not symbols of absence but of continued closeness. Her sister Jane’s death, followed by that of her brother John, has not broken the bond of family. Instead, she incorporates their memory into her everyday life, keeping them near in both thought and practice.

The poem dramatizes a tension between adult rationality and childlike perception. The adult insists on a numerical logic: death reduces the count of living siblings. But the child resists such reasoning, holding fast to her emotional truth: “Nay, we are seven!” Her answer is more than stubbornness; it reveals an intuitive sense of unity that transcends death. Wordsworth shows how the child’s perspective, though simple, carries a profound recognition of enduring connection.

This tension illustrates Wordsworth’s Romantic philosophy. He often argued that children possess a kind of spiritual wisdom that adults lose as they grow older, becoming too bound by reason and convention. In this poem, the child’s refusal to diminish her family’s number demonstrates her instinctive grasp of a truth that reason alone cannot measure—the persistence of love and memory beyond physical death. The adult’s logic may be correct in a literal sense, but the child’s conviction is emotionally and spiritually deeper.

Stylistically, the poem is conversational and musical, using ballad form with alternating four- and three-beat lines. This simple structure mirrors the simplicity of the subject: a country child, a cottage, and a churchyard. Yet within this plain form lies a deep meditation on life and death. Wordsworth’s language is accessible, almost childlike at times, but carries an emotional resonance that makes the dialogue powerful.

In conclusion, We Are Seven is more than a charming dialogue; it is a meditation on how death is perceived differently by adults and children. For the adult speaker, death is a final separation, a subtraction from the living. For the child, death does not erase presence but reshapes it, keeping the family whole. Wordsworth suggests that there is truth in the child’s vision—that love and relationship are not bound by physical life. By presenting this insight through a child’s voice, he upholds the Romantic belief that in innocence and simplicity there is profound wisdom.