22 pages 44 minutes read

William Wordsworth

We Are Seven

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1798

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Further Reading & Resources

Related Poems

Anecdote for Fathers” by William Wordsworth (1798)

This poem, which is subtitled “shewing how the art of lying may be taught,” appears immediately before “We Are Seven” in Lyrical Ballads. Like that poem, it features a conversation between an adult and a child, in this case, father and son. The adult asks the boy where he would sooner live, the farm where they are now or at Kilve, their former home by the sea. The boy would sooner be at Kilve, which his father thinks is a strange choice, pressing his son five times to explain himself. Intimidated, the boy makes something up, even though it is obviously not true. Like “We Are Seven,” this poem honors the fact that the child’s reality contradicts that of an adult; however, rather than being able to express it, the boy is persuaded to misrepresent it in the face of an adult’s persistent questioning. 

She dwelt among th’untrodden ways” by William Wordsworth (1798)

This is one of five short poems by Wordsworth about a girl named Lucy who lived in the countryside and died young. The speaker expresses his grief at her passing and celebrates her beauty and specialness: “Fair, as a star when only one / Is shining in the sky!” Like “We Are Seven,” it shows Wordsworth’s deep appreciation of children.

Related Titles

By William Wordsworth

Study Guide

logo

A Complaint

William Wordsworth

A Complaint

William Wordsworth

Plot Summary

logo

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal

William Wordsworth

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal

William Wordsworth

Study Guide

logo

Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802

William Wordsworth

Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802

William Wordsworth

Study Guide

logo

Daffodils

William Wordsworth

Daffodils

William Wordsworth

Study Guide

logo

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

William Wordsworth

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

William Wordsworth

Study Guide

logo

Tintern Abbey

William Wordsworth

Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey ...

William Wordsworth

Study Guide

logo

London, 1802

William Wordsworth

London, 1802

William Wordsworth

Plot Summary

logo

Lyrical Ballads

William Wordsworth

Lyrical Ballads

William Wordsworth

Study Guide

logo

My Heart Leaps Up

William Wordsworth

My Heart Leaps Up

William Wordsworth

Study Guide

logo

Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood

William Wordsworth

Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood

William Wordsworth

Study Guide

logo

Preface to Lyrical Ballads

William Wordsworth

Preface to Lyrical Ballads

William Wordsworth

Study Guide

logo

She Dwelt Among The Untrodden Ways

William Wordsworth

She Dwelt Among The Untrodden Ways

William Wordsworth

Study Guide

logo

She Was a Phantom of Delight

William Wordsworth

She Was a Phantom of Delight

William Wordsworth

Plot Summary

logo

The Prelude

William Wordsworth

The Prelude

William Wordsworth

Study Guide

logo

The Solitary Reaper

William Wordsworth

The Solitary Reaper

William Wordsworth

Study Guide

logo

The World Is Too Much with Us

William Wordsworth

The World Is Too Much with Us

William Wordsworth

Study Guide

logo

To the Skylark

William Wordsworth

To the Skylark

William Wordsworth