An Analysis Of Robert Frost's 'Home Burial'

Robert Frost's "Home Burial" is a masterfully written example of such works, conceived from his and his wife's anguish at the loss of their first-born son as well as from the estrangement between his sister-in-law and her husband due to the death of their child. In Donald J. Greiner's commentary on Frost's works, "The Indespensible Robert Frost," it is revealed that "Mrs. Frost could not ease her grief following Elliot's death, and Frost later reported that she knew then that the world was evil. Amy in "Home Burial" makes the same observation". "Home Burial" illustrates the cause of the failing marriage as a breakdown of communication, both verbally and physically, between two people who adopt totally different views in the midst of crisis.

In “Home Burial,” Robert Frost uses language and imagery to show how differently a man and a women deal with grief. The poem not only describes the grief the two feel for the loss of their child but also the impending death of a marriage. Frost shows this by using a dramatic style set in New England. In his narrative poem, Frost starts a tense conversation between the man and the wife whose first child had died recently. Not only is there dissonance between the couple,but also a major communication conflict between the husband and the wife.

One theme of the book is weakness of character; this is shown by Ethan’s marraige, his inability to stand up to his wife, and his involvement concerning the "accident." The first way weakness of charcter is shown in the book is through the marriage of Ethan and his wife. He married her because she had tried to help his mother recover from an illness, and once his mother died he could not bear the thought of living in the house alone. His wife was seven years his senior and always seemed to have some kind of illness. It seemed all she ever did was complain, and he resented this because it stifled his growing soul.

The Selfish Misery of  Home Burial Robert Frost's poem "Home Burial" is an intriguing portrait of a marital relationship that has gone wrong. Though at first glance it may seem that the cause for the couple's trouble is the death of their child, closer reading allows the reader to see that there are other serious, deeper-rooted problems at work. The couples differences in their approach to grieving is only the beginning of their problems. Many of the real problems lie in the wife's self-absorbed attitude of consuming unhappiness and anger. Her outlook on her life and marriage is so narrow that she winds up making both her husband and herself victims of her issues.

She denies the event and would prefer not to talk about it with anyone, even her husband. This starts to distance Abigail from her husband, marking the beginning of her alienation, which has resulted from Freud’s defence mechanism of avoidance and denial. This situation proves that “denial can temporarily be useful in helpin... ... middle of paper ... ... and deal with their unhappiness. Over the course of the novel, Abigail grieves several things: the loss of her daughter, the collapse of her family, and the loss of the life she never had the opportunity to live. She turns to Freud’s defence mechanisms as methods of enduring the agony that she faces, which subsequently lead to her alienation.

She has designated herself the sufferer and him the tormentor, a designation which becomes clear immediately: She, in her place, refused him any help, With the least sti... ... middle of paper ... ...y and gender expectation. The husband subscribes to a patriarchal view of the relationship of husband and wife, while Amy's view is distorted by an innate inability to empathize with any "other," particularly a male. She is unbalanced by grief, but one may suspect that her lack of understanding of her husband is a pre-existing condition, a condition which has already motivated a breakdown in marital understanding. The child's death, then, is simply a trigger for a stronger reaction than any previous ones. Amy seems very young, with a lack of insight peculiar to the immature.

The poem, "Home Burial", is a clear example of how the couple could not recover from the loss of their child due to the lack of communication. In spite of the fact that the characters in the poem are imaginary people, Robert Frost portrayed his personal life events in those character's lives. The unexpected death of a child can lead to a brake up in the family, especially if there is miscommunication between the couple. "Home Burial" illustrates a husband and wife who are unable to talk to each other. It shows details about men's and women's points of view.

Gilman proves this when the narrator misses her baby and she says, “…I cannot be with him, it makes me so nervous” (Gilman 78). This proves that John makes his wife feels worried and sad. These feelings add to her depression, and her depression gets worse. This also demonstrates that John’s desire to do all the works by himself has a negative effect on his wife health. In addition, women have the responsibility to maintain a happy and peaceful atmosphere in their family.

/ You don’t, she challenged. /Tell me what it is."(18-19). The death of child, which should bind husband and wife closer in their common grief, pries them apart instead (Gerber 128). In the husband’s first two lines as wells his last one, his attitude toward his wife is domineering and seems insensitive. First he tells her " he wants to know" what she keeps looking at ... ... middle of paper ... ...n the mind’s eye one could see the gravel sliding back into the hole.

Home Burial Robert Frost’s “Home Burial” is a very well written poem about a husband’s and a wife’s loss. Their first born child has died recently. Amy and her husband deal with their loss in two very different ways, which cause problems. Amy seems like she confines their child to the grave. She never seems to le go of the fact she has lost her first child.