It is evident that the central topic of the conversation between the unnamed husband and his wife, Amy, is the passing of their young child. To better understand the couple, one must establish the root of their conflict, and that is their different approach on grief. Amy tells her husband, “I saw you from that very window there,/ Making the gravel leap and leap in air,/ Leap up, like that, like that, and land so lightly” (78-80). Here, Amy gives the readers a clear image of the scene she witnessed outside their window. This kind of imagery is important because it is Frost’s way of illustrating when exactly the wife reached her breaking point. Amy is filled with shock and disbelief upon watching her husband dig his own child’s grave. After all,
…show more content…
Frost utilizes the title itself, “Home Burial,” to symbolize not only to the child’s death but also the couple’s strained relationship due to lack of communication. Thus, leading to misunderstanding and ultimately the death of their marriage. The husband admits, “My words are nearly always an offense./ I don’t know how to speak of anything/ So as to please you” (48-50). These lines may be one of the most important lines in the poem, for it establishes the husband’s character as a man of a little to no words. When he does speak, it is in the wrong. He cannot find the right words to express himself, so he turns to physical work to show his grief. This explains why he dug his own child’s grave, as some sort of self-punishment and to help convince himself that death is inevitable. Nevertheless, it becomes obvious that the husband has no understanding of how to communicate, which Amy later easily agrees to by saying, “…You don’t know how to speak” (75). His wife directly addresses his flaw. With this, one can assume that communication has been a problem in their marriage for quite some time. The death of the couple’s son as well as their differentiating attitude on grief only escalated their trouble communicating. It seems like both individuals recognize that communication is an aspect they have to work
Frost utilizes the title itself, “Home Burial,” to symbolize not only to the child’s death but also the couple’s strained relationship due to lack of communication. Thus, leading to misunderstanding and ultimately the death of their marriage. The husband admits, “My words are nearly always an offense./ I don’t know how to speak of anything/ So as to please you” (48-50). These lines may be one of the most important lines in the poem, for it establishes the husband’s character as a man of a little to no words. When he does speak, it is in the wrong. He cannot find the right words to express himself, so he turns to physical work to show his grief. This explains why he dug his own child’s grave, as some sort of self-punishment and to help convince himself that death is inevitable. Nevertheless, it becomes obvious that the husband has no understanding of how to communicate, which Amy later easily agrees to by saying, “…You don’t know how to speak” (75). His wife directly addresses his flaw. With this, one can assume that communication has been a problem in their marriage for quite some time. The death of the couple’s son as well as their differentiating attitude on grief only escalated their trouble communicating. It seems like both individuals recognize that communication is an aspect they have to work