Line 11 is a little scary. The literary era in which Robert Frost wrote, than Robert Frost. The husband thinks it is all over now that she has opened up her heart. However, they are learning to grieve separately, which causes distress and makes it look like their marriage is failing. That tells us that this is a sore subject for her; she really really doesn't want to talk about it. The woman, of course, knows what she fears, and the man finally does too. Now we're the odd ones out here. Performance & security by Cloudflare, Please complete the security check to access. Robert Frost poetry essay Uncover new sources by reviewing other students' references and bibliographies, Inspire new perspectives and arguments (or counterarguments) to address in your own essay. Whatever this woman is seeing over her shoulder, it's really tripping her up. This preview is partially blurred. It's at this point that she starts to doubt if she really knows the man in front of her anymore. In line 47 she's ready to lift the latch on the door and go seek help or some empathy. Looking back over her shoulder at some fear. Robert Frost’s poem “Home Burial” relates a drama between an estranged man and his wife. We get the sense that he's standing, while she's sitting, which makes for an interesting. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. But for the third time (You don't....don't, don't) she shuns any positive interaction: Is there no way back for this man and wife? That daunting look (daunting - an expression of fear and worry). She wants to know exactly what he thinks she sees. This objective narration continues as the poem progresses, with dialogue in between. We're left to guess whether or not she manages to get out, and what happens to the couple. Now that the woman has exploded in this long rant, we can get this fight over with, right? Learn what works (and what doesn't) from the reader's perspective. I must be wonted to it—that's the reason. American literary critic, Harold Bloom wrote in his Bloom’s Major Poets, “Robert Frost is one of the major American poets…in. We mentioned earlier that this poem is written in, That's actually Frost trying to preserve the. Of more intrigue is the idea that the couple's marriage had cracks in it prior to the child's death. And she doesn't want to hear anymore from him: The tension increases as the wife moves further downstairs, away from her husband. Perhaps if he'd been more tender, less controlling, things might have turned out different. To him, all it is a new addition to the plot. For more information on choosing credible sources for your paper, check out this blog post. The reader is in the middle of this scene, aware of the woman's deep-seated grief and inability to express fully her feelings, whilst the man seems insensitive despite him saying that he wants to learn from his wife. He climbs the stairs, demanding to know just what it is she sees. Andrew has a keen interest in all aspects of poetry and writes extensively on the subject. Check out our Privacy and Content Sharing policies for more information.). He says he sees but the wife is adamant that he does not. She took a doubtful step and then undid it ", © 2020 Shmoop University Inc | All Rights Reserved | Privacy | Legal. His poetic ability and knowledge make him an extraordinary author. 'Let me into your grief'...he pleads. In Line 10, "to gain time" while he walks up the stairs, or maybe to fill up the silence, the man in this poem repeats his question, and asks the woman again what she's looking at. Line 16 ends by telling us that, for at least a little while, the woman was right. The husband then asks, almost rhetorically, if a man can talk about the death of a son - in a woman's presence? Robert Frost is a poet that is well known for his poetic contributions to nature, as well as his award winning poems. It's as if all he sees is the physical - he does not respond to the mound in the way the woman does. It seems that men did not express their feelings well during this time. She pauses to look over her shoulder at something, but won't tell him what. She was starting down, But he wants to learn a different way if he can. The woman asks him what he thinks she sees. Frost's 'sound of sense' (how he ordered the language to bring textured and unusual sounds to the fore) isn't so prevalent. This is the first block of text. She cannot make her husband feel her grief. Lines 32-48. His explanation deepens and widens to take in all relationships between men and women. There's someone coming down the road!" Sign up The 17th line has 'Oh', and again, Oh.' This perhaps is being a little unkind on the husband, but the wife's sudden emotional retort in line 32 certainly suggests that he is a dry, rational kind of person. Then the husband's voice is heard first, halfway through line six. In this poem the emphasis is on the dialogue and the management of tension, how the man and woman articulate their feelings. Let's talk form for a second (or, if you want to talk form for a while longer, you can head over to our ". His poems are published online and in print. So the tone is at times tense, the atmosphere bristling as the wife threatens to leave the house and the husband imploring her not to. She's looking at a "fear," which makes it seem as though the horror here is in her head, and not some external scary monster. You know how looking at a math problem similar to the one you're stuck on can help you get unstuck? So, the reader is brought along on this short intense journey through a sad episode in a couple's life. His past; including schooling, family, and the era in which he wrote influenced nearly all of his poems in some way. Robert Frost is a poet that is well known for his poetic contributions to nature, as well as his award winning poems. The man and woman in this poem has lost their baby to due to death. Basically, he's like, hon' you gotta tell me, because I'm gonna find out anyway. In line 16, the man is called a "blind creature." But at last he murmured, "Oh," and again, "Oh." Reading through this poem, written in blank verse, the reader becomes part of a short, intense scene from a play. 0. Home Burial shows the emotions people feel after such a loss, and how they face those emotions. The way the third line reads, we know it's not a horror poem, even though the woman is afraid and this poem has an eerie title. It reads like a scene from a play, Frost's astute use of blank verse (unrhymed pentameters) perfect for the dialogue of man and wife as they come to terms with the bereavement. I'm not! It's getting a bit confusing and messy. He spoke Save. There follows the wife's account of him digging the grave. Home Burial Lines 112-120. If you are on a personal connection, like at home, you can run an anti-virus scan on your device to make sure it is not infected with malware. Okay, so the woman wasn't totally right. And when the conversation touches on the prickly subject of sex within the marriage, the dilemma seems to deepen. Lines 21-31 Lines 48-69 . The essays in our library are intended to serve as content examples to inspire you as you write your own essay.