Conflict In Home Burial

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Is there a power struggle between Amy and her husband?
In Robert Frost’s “Home Burial,” a couple has recently lost a child, which in return causes conflict. From the beginning of the poem, tension is present. “He” is discussed before his wife, along with existing as the first word in the poem, Frost reinforces a man’s authority. In contrast, his wife stays silent; but as the poem progressives, Amy begins showing authority over her husband, causing a power shift. Robert Frost definitely expresses the two characters by having a constant power struggle throughout the poem, while grieving differently over the death of their child.
Frost uses free indirect discourse throughout the poem by taking Amy’s side of dealing with the death. He also writes
This is insisting the man does not have the power to stop her, from, what I assume, is another man. The death of her child has destroyed her, and Robert Sweenes argues that, “[s]he can relate to no one,” so she seeks this mysterious person instead of her husband (367). Taking into consideration that Amy is seeking another man could bring up the question of if the child was really his. “Not only has her domestic personality collapsed, but her psychological identity as well” (Sweenes 367). Ultimately, what is at stake here is their marriage and the fact that Amy does not feel like his wife. Although, the man tries to reason with Amy by apologizing.
The husband states that, “[a] man must partly give up being a man with womenfolk” CiteFeminists would certainly oppose this statement because it indicates a characteristic of a man is power. Robert Sweenes describes the man’s language as revealing “his own deep-seated sense of male superiority” (366). The dominant man goes on to plead with his wife, asking for another chance. Nevertheless, Robert Frost portrays the man (insert something). The man states, “I do think, though, you overdo it a little” Cite From a woman’s perspective, it is predicable that Amy would react negatively to this and want to

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