The Speaker

The unnamed speaker is the narrator and one of the main characters of the poem. The speaker provides very little information about themselves in terms of physical description. It is implied that they are older than the young girl in the poem, but it is never specified exactly how old they are. Essentially all of the speaker’s characterization comes from their thoughts and words, as well as their conversation with the young girl.

The speaker appreciates both the young girl’s outward beauty and her inner sense of innocence. However, at first this innocence comes as something of a shock to them. They consistently combat the girl’s claim that in spite of the fact that two of her siblings are dead, there are still seven children in her family. As a result, the speaker becomes somewhat of a repetitive voice throughout the poem, insisting that...