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We Are Seven

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This poem, we are seven, tells the story of a man talking to a young girl about her family and how many siblings she has. Even though two of her siblings are dead, and only four are alive, she insists that she and her brothers and sisters "are seven" in total. The man, however, thinks that they are only five. He thinks that the dead siblings don't count and that she should only count the family members that are physically there. Throughout the writing and the dialogue in this poem, we can clearly understand that the little girl and the man think about death entirely differently. The girl believes that when people die, they are still apart of the family and life that they once lived and then left behind. She thinks that although her siblings …show more content…

In these 2 specific stanzas I think there is a lot of interesting imagery that really shines through and it also shows the extreme difference in the way the girl thinks about death and the way the man thinks about death. The girl speaks of her siblings as if they are still with her. The little girl says that "she dwells near them with my mother" at their cottage. She is explaining her sibling’s state in a more matter-of-fact language. That she does this and that she is with them. Also in this part of the poem, the little girl describes heir burial with the word "dwell" which suggests sleeping rather than actually being dead. The little girl also uses imagery to explain the reality of her two deceased siblings. She tells the man, "their graves are green." This detail of color imagery makes it more real to the girl. By sharing this detail it shows that these graves mean something to her, they are not just where her siblings lie dead but where they are currently residing. She also mentions to the man the activities she does when she is "with" them: knitting, sewing, eating and playing. By saying that she does these activities “with” them, it really shows how she thinks of her siblings continuing to be with

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