William Wordsworth

In “We Are Seven” Wordsworth makes a very interesting observation about life after death, but what is even more interesting is the way in which he goes about doing this. He places his voice in the mouth of a child even though he is probably the person speaking to that child. Wordsworth wishes to make a very specific observation that life does go on after death, and he uses a child to make his point.
The message of “We Are Seven” is a very hopeful one. This poem tells us that even though those we loves sometimes die, they never really leave us. They are always with us somehow. The little girl knows that even though “Two of us in the church-yard lie” (200; ll. 21) there are still seven siblings. Death only causes a physical separation. The memory of the two dead siblings live on in the memories of their brothers and sisters and so they are able to live on through those memories. They are remembered by the little girl through certain visual cues. The little girl comments that “Their graves are green, they may be seen” (200; ll. 37). By seeing their graves she remembers the people within them. She also spends time near the graves communing with her siblings. She says “And there upon the ground I sit -- / I sit and sing to them” (201; 43-44). They cannot truly be gone because they are still within this little girl and they always will be.
The most interesting part of this poem is that obviously the little girl speaks the beliefs of Wordsworth; however, it is hard to see William Wordsworth as a little girl. It is very curious that he chose a little girl to express his beliefs when there is an older man also present in the poem. It would seem that Wordsworth would be this narrator who is asking the little girl questions, which may, in fact, be the case, but the opinions of the little girl are obviously the same as Wordsworth’s. It is a very comforting thought to know that there are still people who believe a person can live forever in thoughts of others.