We Are Seven

Wordsworth's "We Are Seven" is written in simplistic stanzas that almost mimic a children's nursery rhyme. This stylistic choice contributes to the overwhelming feeling that either the characters know something simple enough for a child to realize or that the views expressed by the little girl are oversimplified. Wordsworth is decriptive about the entire scene of himself meeting a little country girl who refuses to back down when she states that she is one of seven siblings, even though two are dead and buried. It is important to consider the meaning of this statement "We Are Seven." The main points that seemed relevant were that high infant and child mortality rates meant that women were having more children, and the entire faily had to deal with losses and take them in stride. Just as the little woodland girl seems utterly undaunted at the thought of her siblings dead and buried in the churchyard, so too all families need to bury children and continue to lead their lives. Another interesting point is that there is the religious reference to having huge families and living right near the church, almost percieving her dead siblings as being present there in the churchyard where they are buried. This references a very simplistic understanding of religion, a hearty and personal way of percieving the otherworldly in life, which may be attributable to her youth and the more clear understanding of the ways of the world that children often have.