Home Burial

“Now Close the Windows” by Robert Frost (1913)

Composed in 1892, this poem was published in Frost’s first collection, A Boy’s Will. The speaker is observing life outside the interior of their house from a window. They desire to “close the windows” (Line 1) to create a “hush” (Line 1) that equates with some personal “loss” (Line 4). The speaker’s action is similar to Amy’s dismay after the loss of her son in “Home Burial.” The speaker here feels a despondency that they know will last a long time. Although the source of the loss isn’t disclosed, the feelings of being trapped inside grief and the symbolism of the window are echoed in the latter poem. Frost did note that most of the work in A Boy’s Will was autobiographical in nature.

“The Telephone” by Robert Frost (1916)

“The Telephone” appears in Frost’s third book, Mountain Interval (1916), and combined the natural subject matter seen in A Boy’s Will (1913) with the dramatic narratives relying on dialogue from North of Boston (1914). Told strictly in dialogue form, the poem centers on how one partner hears the other in a moment of telepathy after venturing “as far as I could walk” (Line 1). Bending to observe a flower, they think they hear their beloved calling to them through it. Upon return, the lover admits they did so but not “aloud” (Line 18). This poem, written in a similar style as “Home Burial,” also deals with communication and the unsaid, only here, it is positive as the speaker returns to the beloved.

“Out! Out—” by Robert Frost (1916)

Also appearing in Mountain Interval (1916), “Out, Out—,” like “Home Burial” earlier, deals with the tragic death of a child. Here, the boy bleeds out after an accident with a buzz saw cuts off his hand. As in “Home Burial” there’s a sense of drama and urgency until the boy’s heartbeat is “[l]ittle—less—nothing!—and that ended it” (Line 32). Echoing Amy’s feelings about the husband, family, and doctor, “since they / Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs” (Lines 33-34), moving with practicality onto the next step. This poem, like its predecessor, talks of the random ill luck that can befall a family and how even it cannot stop the passage of time or daily life.