The Green Grave

The green grave of Jane and John referenced in the tenth stanza symbolizes the young girl’s inability to comprehend her siblings’ deaths. While Jane and John are dead, the young girl still considers them to be spiritually alive and current members of the family. This is because she is not yet old enough to comprehend the concept of mortality. The description of their grave as green reflects this inability to understand death, as it pairs the image of the gravestone, commonly associated with death, with the vibrancy of the color green, often associated with verdancy and life. Thus, in describing the grave as green, the girl makes clear that she does not view it as a symbol of her siblings’ deaths, but rather of their continued existence.

The Number Seven

The number seven symbolizes wholeness or completeness. In the Old Testament, it takes...