Interpreation Of Robert Frost's Home Burial A++

Interpretation of Robert Frost’s Home Burial

Robert Frost’s Home Burial is a tragic poem which presents an empathetic scenario dealing with the lack of communication between a husband and wife on the loss of their first child. This in turn leads to a breakdown of their marriage. The poem is written in conversational language and includes a variety of emotions from isolation to anger and bitterness.

In the poem, the staircase provides a backdrop to the scene of emotional frustration. The poem begins with the wife, Amy, at the top of the stairs and the husband at the bottom which indicates an emotional gap. “He saw her from the bottom of the stairs, before she saw him. She was starting down, Looking back over her shoulder at some fear. She took a doubtful step and then undid it To raise herself and look again.” It was the husband who took the first step towards her, indicating his attempt to communicate with her as he asked what it was she would always look at from the window. On realizing he was there, her face changed from terrified to dull because she was sure he wouldn’t see. He pleaded with her to tell him as he was determined to find out. But, she remained stubborn and resisted him, “With the least stiffening of her neck and silence.”

When the husband went up to the window, for a while he didn’t see what she saw, but he finally realized. She of course didn’t believe he saw what she did and challenged him to tell her. But, he claimed it never struck him as he had never noticed it from there before. “I must be wonted to itвЂ"that’s the reason.” The window looked out to the family graveyard where his ancestors were buried. But, the other graves there didn’t matter. It was the child’s mound that she was staring at all this time. Here is the first indication that the couple has lost a child recently, as the child’s grave wasn’t properly prepared and was still fresh.

At the very mention of the child, she cried in agony pleading with him not to go on. This demonstrated that she had not come to terms with the death of their child. Frost describes her reaction with such great imagery and detail right down to the expression on her face. “Turned on him with such a daunting look,” gives the reader the impression of being in the middle of the conflict. The intimidating look was to warn him not to continue, but he persisted asking, “Can’t a man speak of his own child he’s lost?” She pushed him away saying, “Not you!вЂ"Oh, where’s my hat? Oh, I don’t need it! I must get out of here. I must get airвЂ"I don’t know rightly whether any man can.” He pleaded with her not to leave and not to go to someone else this time. In a gentle tone, he told her there was something he wished to ask her. She snapped at him, telling him he did not know how to ask it. In an attempt to reach out to her once again, he replied, “Help me, then.”

Just as she was about to leave, he expressed his feelings of inability. “My words are nearly always an offense. I don’t know how to speak of anything So as to please you.” As each time he had made an attempt to talk to her, she had brushed him off, and he in turn felt helpless. He humbled himself and asked her to teach him, admitting that he needs to set aside his manly manner and attitude when dealing with a woman, “A man must partly give up being a man with women folk.” He reasoned with her and tried to compromise by staying away from topics that she felt were too sensitive to talk about, despite the fact that he felt, “such things shouldn’t come `twixt those that love.”