The poem, We are Seven (p.200), the narrator is telling a story of an encounter with an eight- year old little girl who has lost members of her family. At the start of their conversation the narrator asks the little girl, “How many may you be?” She replies, “…Seven in all.”(p.200, line 14-15) Eventually the narrator learns that two of the seven are deceased. It is clear to the reader that the little girl does not really make a distinction between life and death. Her inclusion of these deceased siblings in her daily routine is no different than had they been alive.
As I contemplated the mindset of a young girl who clearly missed her siblings to the point that her daily routine continued to revolve around them, I felt some sense of admiration for her. We all like to think that we will be remembered after we’re gone but this child took that literally. Although I admired her dedication and loyalty to those who were gone, I also wondered if their absence in her life had overtaken her life. A young child who would normally play with siblings and friends occupied herself speaking to gravesites and living a routine tethered to memories of lost family members. Viewing her actions between the perspectives of admiration and pity I began to assess my own feelings about loved ones I’ve lost. When looking at it in that framework I began to pity the girl more than admire her.
I viewed the choice of an eight- year old girl as the heroine in this poem as a projection of Wordsworth’s own feelings about his mother who passed away when he was eight. The gentle exchange between the narrator and the little girl displays a knowing compassion for the loss of loved ones at so early an age. This compassion stems from Wordsworth’s own experience and is likely a window into how Wordsworth continued to keep deceased loved ones present in his life. The narrator does not apply harsh logic or cynicism and simply repeats his questions to the little girl as a way of gently letting her know that those who are dead can’t continue to be counted among the living.
The narrator’s exchange with the little girl may be an indication of how Wordsworth admired the faith of a young girl in the face of adversity. It could be possible that Wordworth’s poem about the girl was a commentary on the childlike faith of a Christian. As a Christian myself I applaud the effort but think the portrayal might make readers think Christians are immature, naïve, or silly in the way they honor their dead. The final stanza of the poem shows the narrator offering a concession to the little girl that the spirits of her deceased siblings were in heaven. The narrator realized that despite that concession and his attempts to convince the little girl that her siblings were gone, the child held firm in her belief and concluded the poem with the statement “Nay, we are seven!” (p.200, line 69)
I felt better with the way Wordsworth finished the poem because the child remained strong and upbeat and it was a lighter way to conclude what otherwise is a sad scenario of a discussion with a young child about a heavy and unhappy adult situation.
I really liked how you made the comment that we all want to be remembered when we are gone, but noticed how this little girl took it to heart. One of the most common things that are said when someone passes is they will live on in our memories and hearts. But you made a very good point that this child almost stopped living in order to keep her siblings alive. There is a fine line between living with ones memory and living in ones memory. I think that when someone loses someone very close it can be very easy to lose one’s self in grief and anguish. You are right; she is less a heroine and more a pitiful soul.
ReplyDeleteAshlei,
ReplyDeleteVery good engagement with and exploration of this poem. You do a good job of foregrounding your thoughts and values as you read Wordsworth's poem. I do wish you had done a bit more to connect your insights to the text more directly, through analysis of specific quoted passages (other than the brief phrases you quote, you really tend to rely on paraphrase more than quotations for evidence). On the whole, though, a nicely written post.
I think it is also important to look at how old the child is. Developmentally, she is shifting from an age where she would not have understood what death is. Children react in a wide variety of ways to death, and many would begin as this girl has done. Eventually, I think the child will move beyond playing near the graves. As she matures, she will have a view point more like yours. For this reason, I disagree that she is pitiable--as you say, she remains strong and upbeat, and one day, she will develop to the point where she can move on.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your perspective on the poem. However, I do not feel pity for the child. I found her mantra of "we are seven" as a statement against forgetting the dead. She understands that just because two of her siblings are deceased that does not mean that their memories should be forgotten. She is trying her best to express this idea through her limited understanding. Therefore, she repeats we are seven as a rejection to the speaker's beliefs.
ReplyDeleteIn this poem i admire this little girl who is trying so hard to hold on to the memories of loved ones she has lost. You can see because of her age she is not dealing with the deaths as would an adult. I believe her memories are few so she is desperately holding on to the ones she has.
ReplyDeleteYour post definitely made me consider this poem from a different standpoint. I never thought about the fact that Wordsworth might have been expressing his own trials with death. However, I have to agree with Lauren above that I found pity for the little girl. I believe she truly missed her siblings and that the narrator was trying to show her that her actions were wrong. I do not believe that anyone has the right to question a person's dealings with grief and unfortunately I took the narrator's attitude in this poem as condemning her for believing that although her siblings were gone, they were still a family of seven (children).
ReplyDeleteShabnoor I agree with your admiration of the little girl. I can't imagine being that age and trying to understand the death of a loved one. Rebecca that is a good point to bring up about Wordworth because I didn't get that from the poem. I just was so focused on the little girl, that I didn't notice that
ReplyDeleteI have a daughter that is six, back in December my grandmother passed away and she seemed to have understood what that meant at the time. But every once in a while she will ask when or if we are going to see her. Its funny even though you think children are mature to understand death at certain ages, they really do not. As the little girl in the poem said we are 7, I guess there will always be grandmother for the next couple of years.
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