We Are Seven Poetry Analysis

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TABLE OF CONTENT

TABLE OF CONTENT........................................................................................... 2

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

I. 1 Background of The Study .............................................................................. 3

I. 2 Purpose of The Study .................................................................................... 3

I. 3 Scope of The Study........................................................................................ 3

CHAPTER II: BIOGRAPHY OF THE POET, THE POEM,

AND TRANSLATION OF THE POEM

II. 1 Biography of the Poet.................................................................................. 4

II. 2 The Poem .................................................................................................... 5 - 6

II. 3 Translation of the Poem .............................................................................. 7 - 8

CHAPTER III: LITERARY REVIEW

III. 1. Imagery .................................................................................................... 9

III. 2 Figurative Language................................................................................... 9

III. 3 Extrinsic.......................... ........................................................................... 10

CHAPTER IV: DISCUSSION

IV. 1 Imagery ..................................................................................................... 11

IV. 2 Furative Language.......................................................................................12

IV. 3 Extrinsic ..................................................................................................... 13 - 15

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION............................................................................... 16

CHAPTER VI: BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................... 17

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

I.1. Background of the Study

Poetry is an art of human expression and experience which is made of words.


Poetry expresses the sense and sound that contain the feeling of the author.

“Poetry might be defined as a kind of languages that says more and says it
more intensely than does ordinary language. In order to understand this fully,
we need to understand what poetry says. For language is employed o different
occasions to say quite different kinds of things; in other words, language has
different uses.” (Perrine, Sound and Sense, 1988:509)
According to those definitions, a poem can be analyzed what is the meaning of
that poem. Poem analyzing is an activity that we are concerned with explaining the
methods and techniques of taking poem apart in order to arrive at a greater
understanding of both its construction and each meaning. The author uses the poem
We Are Seven to be analyzed.

I.2. Purpose of the Study

The purpose on this study is:


1. To appreciate the poem of William Wordsworth, We Are Seven.
2. To analyze the using of imagery in the poem.
3. To analyze the using of symbol aspect in the poem.
4. To analyze the using of metaphor in the poem.

I.3. Scope of The Study

The scope of this study is to identifying the using of imagery, figurative language
in the poem. The imagery analysis in this study is about the using of seven kinds of
imagery (Kinesthetic, Auditory, Olfactory, Tactile, Gustatory, Organic, and Visual) in
the poem. The using of figurative languages analysis in the poem is about the using
symbol and metaphor aspect in the poem. The study is about extrinsic method in the
poem such as Biographical method, the family, and childhood meaning.

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CHAPTER II

BIOGRAPHY OF THE POET, THE POEM, AND TRANSLATION OF

THE POEM

II.1 Biography of the Poet

William Wordsworth was born on 7 April 1770 in Cockermouth, Cumberland, in


the Lake District. His father is John Wordsworth. The magnificent landscape deeply
affected Wordsworth's imagination and gave him a love of nature. He lost his mother
when he was eight and five years later his father. The domestic problems separated
Wordsworth from his beloved sister Dorothy, who was a very important person in his
life.

With the help of his two uncles, Wordsworth entered a local school and continued
his studies at Cambridge University. Wordsworth made his debut as a writer in 1787,
when he published a sonnet in The European Magazine . In that same year he entered
St. John's College, Cambridge, from where he took his B.A. in 1791.

During a summer vacation in 1790 Wordsworth went on a walking tour


through revolutionary France and also traveled in Switzerland. On his second journey
in France, Wordsworth had an affair with a French girl, Annette Vallon, a daughter of
a barber-surgeon, by whom he had a illegitimate daughter Anne Caroline. The affair
was basis of the poem "Vaudracour and Julia", but otherwise Wordsworth did his best
to hide the affair from posterity.

In 1795 he met Coleridge. Wordsworth's financial situation became better in


1795 when he received a legacy and he was able to settle at Racedown, Dorset, with
his sister Dorothy. Encouraged by Coleridge and stimulated by the close contact with
nature, Wordsworth composed his first masterwork, Lyrical Ballads, which opened
with Coleridge's "Ancient Mariner." About 1798 he started to write a large and
philosophical autobiographical poem, completed in 1805, and published
posthumously in 1850 under the title The Prelude.

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II.2 The Poem

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: 10
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. 20

"Two of us in the church-yard lie,


My sister and my brother;
And, in the church-yard 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; 30
Two of us in the church-yard lie,
Beneath the church-yard tree."

"You run about, my little Maid,


Your limbs they are alive;
If two are in the church-yard laid,
Then ye are only five."

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"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. 40

"My stockings there I often knit,


My kerchief there I hem;
And there upon the ground I sit,
And sing a song to them.

"And often after sunset, Sir,


When it is light and fair,
I take my little porringer,
And eat my supper there.

"The first that died was sister Jane;


In bed she moaning lay, 50
Till God released her of her pain;
And then she went away.

"So in the church-yard she was laid;


And, when the grass was dry,
Together round her grave we played,
My brother John and I.

"And when the ground was white with snow,


And I could run and slide,
My brother John was forced to go,
And he lies by her side." 60

"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 said, "Nay, we are seven!"

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II.3 Translation of The Poem

KITA TUJUH BERSAUDARA

Gadis kecil mungil,


Yang menghela nafas dengan ringan,
Dan merasakan kehidupan di setiap tubuhnya
Haruskah ia tahu tentang kematian?

Aku bertemu dengan seorang gadis kampung kecil.


Umurnya delapan tahun, katanya,
Rambutnya tebal dan keriting
Yang terkucir di kepalanya.

Dia kasar dan kekampung-kampungan,


Pakaiannya begitu aneh:
Matanya biru, begitu birunya,
--Kecantikannya membuatku gembira.

“Saudara laki-laki dan perempuan, gadis kecil,


Berapa banyak saudaramu?"
“Berapa banyak? Tujuh bersaudara,” katanya
Dengan memandang heran kepadaku

“Lalu di mana mereka? Aku berharap kau menjawab


Gadis kecil itu menjawab: “kita tujuh bersaudara;
Dua dari kami tinggal di Conway,
Dan dua lagi pergi ke laut”

“Dua terbaring di pemakaman gereja,


Saudara perempuan dan laki-lakiku,
Dan, di dalam rumah pemakaman gereja, aku
Tinggal dekat mereka dengan ibuku”

“Kamu mengatakan bahwa dua di Conway,


Dan dua di pergi ke laut, tetapi
Kamu tujuh bersaudara! --Aku berharap kamu jujur,
Gadis kecil yang manis, bagaimana itu mungkin.”

Kemudian gadis kecil itu menjawab,


“Kita tujuh bersaudara, anak laki-laki dan anak perempuan
Dua dari kita terbaring di pemakaman gereja,
Di bawah pohon pemakaman gereja.”

“Kamu berbohong, gadis kecilku,


Kamu bersiteguh mereka masih hidup,
Jika dua di pemakaman gereja,
Maka kamu hanya lima bersaudara.”

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“Kuburan mereka hijau, mereka dapat terlihat,"
Jawab gadis kecil itu,
Dua belas langkah atau lebih dari liang kubur ibuku,
Dan mereka bersebelahan.

“Aku sering merajut kaos kaki disana,


Aku sering menjahit sarung tangan disana,
Dan di tanah itu aku duduk,
Lalu menyanyikan lagu untuk mereka.”

“Dan sering selepas matahari terbenam, Tuan,


Ketika malam terang dan indah,
Aku mengambil mangkuk bubur kecilku,
dan makan malam disana.”

“Yang meninggal pertama kali adalah saudara perempuanku Jane;


Di tempat tidurnya dia terbaring mengerang,
Sampai Tuhan membebaskannya dari kesakitan,
Dan kemudian dia pergi.”

“Jadi di pemakaman gereja Jane terbaring;


Dan, ketika rumput menjadi kering,
Bersama-sama, di sekitar kuburannya kami bermain,
Saudara laki-lakiku John dan aku.

“Dan ketika tanah menjadi seputih salju,


Dan aku dapat berlari dan meluncur,
Saudaraku John dipaksa untuk pergi
Dan dia terbaring di sebelah Jane.”

“Jadi, Berapa bersaudarakah kamu,” kataku,


“Jika mereka berdua ada di sorga?”
Gadis kecil itu menjawab dengan segera
“Tuan! Kita tujuh bersaudara.”

“Tetapi mereka sudah mati, kedua-duanya sudah mati!


Roh mereka ada di sorga."
Meyakinkannya seperti membuang kata-katanya
Gadis kecil itu akan teguh pada kehendaknya
Dan berkata, “TIDAK, kita tujuh bersaudara!”

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CHAPTER III
LITERARY REVIEW

III.1 Intrinsic
III.1.1 Imagery
In a literary text, is an author's use of vivid and descriptive language to add
depth to their work. It appeals to human senses to deepen the reader's
understanding of the work.
“Imagery may be defined as the representation through language of
sense experience. Poetry appeals directly to our senses, of course,
through its music and rhythm, which we actually hear when it is read
aloud.” (Perrine, Sound and Sense, 1988:54)

III.1.1.1 Visual Imagery

Visual Imagery clarifies the description which is caught by sense of


sight. Example: "[t]o watch his woods fill up with snow"
III.1.1.2 Auditory Imagery
Auditory Imagery clarifies the description which is caught by sense of
hearing. Example:"the falcon cannot hear the falconer"

III.1.1.3 Organic Imagery


Organic Imagery clarifies the description which is caught by sense of
feeling. Example:"My instep arch not only keeps the ache”
III.1.1.4 Kinesthetic Imagery
Kinesthetic Imagery clarifies the description which that is movement or
action. Example: "The sullen wind was soon awake”

III.2 Figurative Language

Figurative language is language which has various figures of speech. Some


examples are metaphor, personification, paradox, symbol, etc. Using figurative
is making imaginative descriptions in fresh ways. Figurative language is the
way to figuring something with others terms in order to get clear image and
more interesting.

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III.2.1 Symbol

Symbol is something that stands or suggests something else by reason


of relationship, association, convention, or accidental resemblance. In
literature, however, symbols is in the form of words, images, objects,
settings, events and characters that are often used to suggest and
reinforce meaning. In another meaning, symbol means “a symbol may
be roughly as something that means more than what it is” (Laurence
Perrine, Sound and Sense: 83). For example, the poem “the road not
taken” by Robert Frost concerns about a person who makes a choice to
cross two roads.

III.2.2 Metaphor

Metaphor is a direct comparison between two unlike things, stating that


one is the other or does the action of the other. Example: Her fingers
danced across the keyboard

III.2.3 Irony

Irony is a condition that is the opposite of what we wanted or what


have told. And the verbal irony is a figure of speech when an
expression used is the opposite of the thought in the speaker’s mind,
thus conveying a meaning that contradicts the literal definition. It
means that what speaker told is against his idea.

III.2 Extrinsic

Extrinsic concerns with the setting, environment and external cause of literature. All
history, all environmental factors can be argued to shape a work of art.

III.2.1 Romantic Age

When Wordsworth wrote this poem (We Are Seven), it was in romantic age.
Romantic age was an era in 1800 to 1850. In this period, it was an artistic,
literary, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe. The main
characteristic in this romantic period is the free expression of the feelings of
the artist. To William Wordsworth, poetry should be "the spontaneous

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overflow of powerful feelings". Not essential to Romanticism, but so
widespread as to be normative, was a strong belief and interest in the
importance of nature. However this is particularly in the effect of nature upon
the artist when he is surrounded by it, preferably alone. In contrast to the
usually very social art of the Enlightenment, Romantics were distrustful of the
human world, and tended to believe that a close connection with nature was
mentally and morally healthy. Romantic art addressed its audiences directly
and personally with what was intended to be felt as the personal voice of the
artist. So, in literature, "much of romantic poetry invited the reader to identify
the protagonists with the poets themselves".

III.2.2 Family

Family is a place or condition where there is a smallest unit of cognation or


affiliation. “Family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity,
or co-residence/shared consumption,” (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia about
the meaning of family). This poem is rally related with family. First, this poem
is related with William Wordsworth family life. His parents died when he was
boy, just like the girl in the poem her mom was died when she was eight years.

We can divide family into two, good relationship family and bad relationship
family. The example of good relationship family is full of love, caring each
other, and together through happiness and sadness, while the bad relationship
family is may be the one who were divorced, or when the parents were so busy
with their work and forgot their children. In the end it makes a condition where
the child is lack of affection.

III.2.3 Imagination

Imagination, also called the faculty of imagining, is the ability to form new
images and sensations that are not perceived through sight, hearing, or other
senses.

III.2.3.1 Imagination and Memory

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Memory and imagination have been shown to be affected by one
another. "Images made by functional magnetic resonance imaging
technology show that remembering and imagining sends blood to
identical parts of the brain.” According to Wikipedia about relation
between imagination and memory, since imagination involves many
different brain functions, such as emotions, memory, thoughts etc.,
portions of the brain where multiple functions occur-- such as the
Thalamus and Neocortex-- are the main regions where imaginative
processing has been documented. The understanding of how memory
and imagination are linked in the brain, paves the way to better
understand one's ability to link significant past experiences with their
imagination. Based on the “We Are Seven” poem, the little maid
imagines her dead siblings that they can play, eat, and sing with her.
The imagination happens because of the little maid’s memory about
her siblings when they were still alive.

III.2.4 Losing Innocence

According to Wikipedia in the meaning of innocence that innocence is a term


used to indicate a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, or
wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence refers to the lack of legal guilt of an
individual, with respect to a crime. From the poem we can see that the girl
actually life alone after she was left by her brother John, but because her
innocent and childhood, she always imagined that they were still alive and
played with her.

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CHAPTER IV

DISCUSSION

IV.1 Imagery

IV.1.1 Visual Imagery

A simple girl, I met a little cottage girl: (show the little maid’s appearance)

Her hair was thick with many a curl (show the little maid’s hair)

She has a rustic woodland air, (show the little maid’s body appearance)

And she was wildly clad: (show the little maid’s clothes)

Her eyes were fair and very fair; (show the little maid’s eyes)

“Their graves are green, they may be seen,” (show the little maid’s sibling location)

And they are side by a side. (show the condition of the little maid’s sibling location)

When it is light and fair, (show the condition of something)

And, when the grass was dry, (show the condition of the grass)

“And when the ground was white with snow (show the condition of the ground)

IV.1.2 Kinesthetic imagery

That lightly draws its breath, (show the action that the little maid takes a breath)

I take my little porringer, (show the action that the little maid takes her porringer)

And eat my supper there. (show the action that she eats her supper)

Together round her grave we played, (show the action that she plays)

And I could run and slide, (show the action that she runs and slides)

IV.1.3 Organic imagery

And feels its life in every limb, (show the little maid’s feeling)

Her beauty made me glad (show the little maid’s feeling)

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IV.1.4 Auditory imagery

And sing a song to them. (show that there is a sound of singing)

In bed she moaning lay, (show that there is a sound of moaning)

IV.2 Figurative Language

VI.2.1 Symbol

Symbol of Childhood and Innocence

The poem shows that the child (the little maid) is an innocent girl. The words
“simple child, little cottage girl, little maid, and sweet maid” are the symbol of
innocence. She doesn’t know about death (death of her siblings) because her 2
siblings are death in the church-yard, but she always says that she has 7
siblings. She can’t handle the meaning of the death. The little maid innocence
is only the refusal of her sibling death. Actually, she knows that her siblings
are death because she also mentions about where the death are buried.
She answered, "Seven are we;
And two of us at Conway dwell,
And two are gone to sea.
"Two of us in the church-yard lied,
My sister and my brother;
This childhood also shows the optimism. The little maid more understand
about life and continues her life as good as she can do. She also has positive
thinking in understanding the death. She knows that her sibling bodies are
buried in there, but she still has memories with them and she imagines it to
play and live with them (they are death physically but life in her imagination).

And there upon the ground I sit,


And sing a song to them.

I take my little porringer,


And eat my supper there.

Together round her grave we played,


My brother John and I.

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"And when the ground was white with snow,
And I could run and slide,

Symbol of Adulthood and Losing Innocence

The poem shows that the man is critical man. He has already known about
death actually the meaning of death (death of the maid siblings). He know to
feel sad when his family is gone because of his experience. For the man, he
thinks that the maid doesn’t know the meaning of death. He tries to correct the
maid perception that her siblings are still life and live with her.
"You run about, my little Maid,
Your limbs they are alive;
If two are in the church-yard laid,
Then ye are only five."

This adulthood also show the pessimism. The man stays in his opinion that the
maid must understand the death of her siblings. He also has negative thinking
because he thinks that the maid is too optimistic. Finally, the man gives up in
changing the maid’s mind.

"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 said, "Nay, we are seven!"

Symbol of Rural and Urban Perspective

The little maid here represents a rural girl because in the poem she is described
as a cottage girl, wildly clad and has a rustic. She represents rural perspective
maybe because of her innocence and she more understands about religion and
God. The little maid actually can move on from her sorrow when she is left by
her siblings. It is different with the man who represents urban perspective in

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understanding death. The man is growing adult that can lose his innocent and
thinks that when your siblings or family died, you must feel sad and count it as
the death.

IV.3 Verbal Irony

In the beginning of the poem, the little maid says that she lives with her
siblings, but she also says that her sibling is church-yard.
She answered, "Seven are we;
And two of us at Conway dwell,
And two are gone to sea.
"Two of us in the church-yard lie,
My sister and my brother;

When the man argues the maid’s mind that she just has only five live siblings,
the maid still stands in her mind that her siblings is still live. She also says that
he often sings and plays with them. It can be said as a verbal irony that the
maid’s siblings are died but the maid still imagines that they are live.

IV.4 Situation Irony

The real situation is the little maid siblings were dead. She just imagined that
they are still alive. She played with them in the graveyard. This condition is
caused because she is still a child who has innocence in his mind.

IV.5 Metaphor

1. That lightly draws its breath,


This line shows the vitality of the little maid.
2. "Their graves are green, they may be seen,"
This line shows the vivid presence in the graves that represent the death.
3. My brother John was forced to go,
This line shows that the maid’s brother died.
4. 'Twas throwing words away; for still.
This line means that the man surrenders to change the maid’s mind about her
dead siblings and feels that he is wasting his word.

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5. Till God released her of her pain;
In this line, the meaning is the maid’s sister died because of illness.

IV.6 Extrinsic Method

VI.6.1 Sadness Representation in Childhood Imagination

In the poem “We Are Seven” by William Wordsworth, the little maid is an
innocent girl who has a family. She has mother, but her father is unknown (no
information in the poem), and she has 7 siblings. The little was happy when
she still lived with their family. Based on the poem, when her siblings was still
alive, they were often eating their supper, knitting and hemming, playing and
singing together. The little maid was very happy when her sibling was still
alive. Unfortunately, her siblings were gone one by one. She began to feel
lonely and sad. To cover her sadness, she was imagining her siblings to be
alive.

In those lines, she imagines that she still can knit or hem with them even sings
to them. She also imagines that they are still eating their supper together in the
graveyard. For her brother John, she imagines that she often plays with him
when the grass was dry. Her sister Jane was also often running and sliding
with her when the ground was white with snow In fact, her siblings were dead
so all those thing that she is doing is the representation of her sadness.

"My stockings there I often knit,


My kerchief there I hem;
And sing a song to them.
And eat my supper there.
Together round her grave we played,
And I could run and slide,

People who lack the mental capacity to understand the nature of their acts may
be regarded as innocent regardless of their behavior. From this meaning comes
the term innocent to refer to a child under the age of reason. Because the little
maid still has innocence in her childhood, she still imagines that her siblings
are alive and living near her.

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CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION

From the analysis, the conclusion of the poem of William Wordsworth “We are
seven” is very touching and absolutely great. We can learn about life (Family, Childhood and
Dead) from the girl. Her innocence teaches us, that the death is not all about losing
something. After the death we have to continue the live as better as possible. Family is
always in our heart.

Although her siblings are dead, she still imagines that they are alive, and she plays
with them in around their graves. The man who has got his knowledge about death tries to
change the little maid’s mind, but it’s like wasting his word. Unlike the little maid, the man
hasn’t his innocence anymore. The little maid is optimistic about her life, and she actually
doesn’t deny that her siblings are dead. She just uses her innocence and imagination to make
her happy and not to sad.

In this poem, there are imagery and figurative language. In imagery, there are visual,
kinesthetic, auditory, and organic imagery. Then, in figurative language, there are symbol,
irony, and metaphor aspect. The using of these elements made the poem more beautiful and
amazing to read.

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CHAPTER VI

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Perrine, Laurence. 1988. Literature, Structure, Sound and Sense. Florida: Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich.

Abrams, M. H. 1988. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. England. W. W. Norton


& Company.

Rene’Wellek and Austin Warren. 1900. Theory of Literature. England. Penguin Books.

Pradopo, Djoko. 1993. Author of “Pengkajian Puisi”. Yogyakarta: Gadjah Mada University
Press.

Drs. Atmazaki. 1993. Author of “Analisis Sajak”. Bandung: ANGKASA.

Minderop, Albertine. 2005. Author of Metode Karakteristik Telaah Puisi. Jakarta: Yayasan
Obor Indonesia.

Oxford. 2006. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 7th Edition. Oxford.

Keraf, Gorys. 1984. Author of “Diksi dan Gaya Bahasa”. Jakarta: PT Gramedia Pustaka
Utama.

http://www.ehow.com/info_10073998_types-imagery-poems.html

http://id.wikipedia.org

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