In the poems "Home Burial"" and "Death of a Hired Man"," Robert Frost wrote of family, friends, betrayal and death. In both poems, there's an obvious conflict between husband and wife, creating a sense of upheaval in their households. In addition, the spouse's arguments revolve around the mortality of a loved one. However, although both poems have many similarities, they're also very different. The first difference between the poems is the element of communication between the spouses. In "Home Burial," the wife is grieving over the death of her child, and feels that if her husband truly cared about their late son, he would not have been able to bury him. For example, the wife says to her husband, "If you had any feelings, you that dug with your hands - how could you? - his little grave" (Line 71-72). Yet, the husband does grieve for his child, but does so in his own way. The lack of communication between them causes tension in their home. .
In "Death of a Hired Man," Warren and his wife Mary have a discussion about their former worker, Silas. Warren has resentful feelings toward Silas, yet Mary has compassion towards him. Even though they have different opinions toward him, Mary convinces Warren to help Silas. In brief, Mary and Warren have better communication in their relationship then the husband and wife in "Home Burial." The second difference between the poems is the person who represents death. In "Home Burial," the husband and wife's recently deceased child is the subject of the story. The child's death has put a strain on the spouse's relationship causing an argument between the couple. Furthermore the death of their child has possibly ruined their marriage. In "Death of a Hired Man," Warren and Mary's former farmhand Silas is very ill, and he is on the verge of dying, but he does not want to die alone or with anyone having harsh feelings towards him. To sum up, the representation of death in Home Burial is the husband and wife's young child, and Silas is the representation of death in Death of a Hired Man.
