Home Burial
When the funeral is over, the husband will lay the son in the yard, and the wife will stand beside the grave, speaking of the old family home.
Summary of Home Burial
“Home Burial” is a poem by Robert Frost published in 1930. It portrays a father grieving for his son after the child’s death. Because the family cannot afford a burial plot, the father chooses to bury his son at home in the yard. The poem explores themes of grief, domestic life, and the difficulty of speaking about death within a family.
Major Themes
The poem examines the impact of a child’s death on a household. The father’s decision to bury his son at home highlights poverty and the sense of loss that pervades the family. The narrative reveals the difficulty of speaking about death and the emotional distance that develops when grief is kept inside the home. The poem shows how the domestic setting can both contain and amplify sorrow.
Analysis of Literary Devices in Home Burial
Assonance is evident in lines such as “I am alone, alone” and “the boy is buried at home,” where the long vowel sound creates a mournful rhythm.
Alliteration occurs in the phrase “little graveyard,” where the initial consonant sounds of “little” and “graveyard” emphasize the smallness of the setting.
Enjambment is used throughout the poem, particularly when the speaker’s thoughts move from one line to the next without a pause, such as in “When the funeral is over, when I have buried him, I will bring the coffin to the yard.”
Imagery is strong in descriptions of the yard, the soil, and the simple coffin, conveying the reality of burying a child at home.
Consonance can be seen in the repeated “d” sound in “buried in the yard,” reinforcing the physical act of burial.
Metaphor appears in the line “the son’s mound,” where the grave becomes a tangible symbol of loss within the home.
Analysis of Refrain
The refrain “when the funeral is over” is repeated, emphasizing the transition from mourning to the return to ordinary life.
Quotes
When the funeral is over, the husband will lay the son in the yard, and the wife will speak of the old family home.