In William Wordsworth's "We Are Seven," perception plays an important role in the relationship between the perceiver and the perceived.

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        In William Wordsworth’s “We Are Seven,” perception plays an important role in the relationship between the perceiver and the perceived. It plays an important role because it shows how the death of the girl’s siblings is viewed differently by the speaker (the perceiver) and the girl (the perceived). Firstly, the speaker’s perception of death is different from that of the girl. Heaven or the afterlife is viewed differently by both the speaker and the girl. In addition, the speaker represents cynicism and experience. The girl is perceived by the speaker as pastoral and innocent. Their different circumstances in life create the different opinions that they have. Finally, these areas of contention between the perceived and the perceiver create a situation where the two characters insist on their own individual perceptions and this shows how limiting individual perception can be.

        Death is viewed by the speaker as completely removing the dead individuals from existence on Earth. “But they are dead; those two are dead! / Their spirits are in Heaven!” (Wordsworth, LL 65-66). The speaker believes that the girl’s dead siblings are in Heaven, while the girl believes they are in the ground and still dwell on Earth. The speaker perceives that the girl’s dead siblings are gone. The speaker is experienced and has a different perception of death than the girl. The girl insists that “we are seven” and that her dead siblings remain with her: “Their graves are green… / And there upon the ground I sit, / And sing a song to them” (Wordsworth, LL 37, 43-44). This shows the different perceptions the two characters have on life after death. For the girl, death has not robbed her of her siblings; they are just in a different place. She sings to them, spends time with them as if they were still living. To her they have just “gone away” (Wordsworth, L 52). To the speaker, her siblings are dead. The speaker can only see the situation through his own perception and thus cannot grasp why the girl feels the way she does. The speaker states that: “You run about my little Maid, / Your limbs they are alive; / If two are in the church-yard laid, / Then ye are only five” (Wordsworth, LL 33-36). The speaker’s opinion is such that because the girl can move about and he can see that she is alive, he believes she exists on Earth as a living human being. Thus, because her brother and sister are dead, he does not include them among her brothers and sisters because he is only including the siblings that are living; that he can see for himself are living. Accordingly, the speaker counts five siblings. The girl however, includes her dead siblings among her brothers and sisters and thus counts seven siblings. Therefore, the speaker and the girl view death differently.

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The reasons that the speaker and the girl view death differently are because of their different situations in life. The speaker represents cynicism and experience, while the girl represents the pastoral and the innocent. The two characters are at different stages of their lives. The meaning of death and dying change as people grow from childhood to adulthood, and the girl does not completely understand death. She believes her brother and sister are still with her – they are in the churchyard, but the speaker insists they are gone to Heaven. Their particular perceptions of death are indicative of their ...

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