We Are Seven

“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.