Lesson : 3

We are Seven

William Wordsworth

Let's start : 🚀

The poet:

William Wordsworth [1770-1850] was one of the greatest poets of nature. He was a major poet of the Romantic period. His greatest poems are The Prelude, The Daffodils, Tintern Abbey, London 1802, Ode to Duty, Upon Westminster Abbey etc. He spent his life in the Lake District of England. The present text is an edited version of his poem We are Seven.

Let's share: 🗣️

• Do you have any brother or sister?
• How many cousins do you have?
• How old are they?
• Where do they live?

Let's read: 📖

A simple child, That lightly draws its breath, And feels its life in every limb, What should it know of death?

I met a little cottage girl: She was eight years old, she said Her hair was thick with many a curl That clustered round her head.

She had a rustic, woodland air And she was wildly clad; Her eyes were fair, and very fair; -Her beauty made me glad.

"Sisters and brothers, little maid How many may you be?" "How many? Seven in all," she said, And wondering looked at me.

"And where are they? I pray you tell." She answered, “Seven are we And two of us at Conway dwell And two are gone to sea.

Two of us in the churchyard lie, My sister and my brother; And in the churchyard cottage I Dwell near them with my mother."

"You say that two at Conway dwell, And two are gone to sea, Yet ye are seven! - I pray you tell, Sweet maid, how this may be?"

Then did the little maid reply, "Seven boys and girls are we; Two of us in the churchyard lie, Beneath the churchyard tree."

"You run about, my little maid, Your limbs they are alive; If two are in the churchyard laid, Then ye are only five."

"Their graves are green, they may be seen," The little maid replied, "Twelve steps or more from my mother's door And they are side by side."

"How many are you then,” said I, If they two are in heaven?" Quick was the little maid's reply, "O master! We are seven."

"But they are dead; those two are dead! Their spirits are in heaven!" 'Twas throwing words away; for still The little maid would have her will, And say, "Nay, we are seven!"

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Word Nest 📌

clustered: grouped; rustic: rural; clad: dressed; maid: girl; Conway: a fort city in Wales; graves: tombs; dwell: live; spirits: souls; nay: no

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Let's do: ✅

Activity 1

Choose the correct answer from the given alternatives:

(a) The little girl whom the poet met was- (i) seven (ii) eight (iii) nine years old.

(b) The girl lost- (i) two brothers (ii) two sisters (iii) a brother and a sister.

(c) The distance between her house and the burial ground was only- (i) twelve steps (ii) ten steps (iii) six steps.

Activity 2

Identify which of the following statements are True and which are False. Give a supporting statement for each of your answers :

(a) The little girl was good-looking. ( ) (b) Five of her brothers and sisters were dead. ( ) (c) The graves were covered with green grass. ( )

Activity 3

Look at the first four lines :

A simple child That lightly draws its breath And feels its life in every limb, What should it know of death?

Where is the similarity? The word breath rhymes with death. Find words from the poem that rhyme with the given words:

curl: _______; head _______; air _______; clad _______; be _______; tell _______ laid _______; heaven: _______

Activity 4

Answer the following questions :

(a) Pick out the expressions that describe the appearance of the girl. (b) With whom did the girl live? (c) What does the girl say about her living brothers and sisters? (d) Why does the girl say, "We are seven"?

Activity 5

Make sentences with the following words :

dwell, clustered, rustic, grave, maid

Let's learn : 💡

Look at the coloured words :

• The little maid would have her will.
• Her beauty made me glad.

Note that the two words have the same pronunciation but their meanings are different. These words are called homophones. Here are some more instances of homophones from the poem: met- mate; hair-hare; wonder- wander; two-to; there-their.

Let's do: ✅

Activity 6

Make sentences with the following pairs of homophones:

met- mate; hair-hare; wonder- wander; two-to; there-their.

Let's work together : 🤝

Collect a few words and their homophones. Write down their meanings.