Through time period, the setting has an important effect on the way we see the husband and wife react to the death of their child. The poem takes place in the early 1900’s in the home of the husband and wife. During this time period society dictated that men did not show their true feelings. Therefore, men tended to have dealt with conflicts by working hard and being domineering. The poem states that he “mounted until she co

Through setting and symbols in the poem, we see how Frost characterizes both Amy and her husband differently. They have conflicting attitudes regarding the death of their child. He failed to sympathize with her, and she failed to recognize his feelings towards their child’s death. Hence, following the burial of the child, the marriage and the home were buried as well.

Symbolism in this poem also strengthens the theme of misunderstanding between a husband and wife. The staircase, the place where most of the action of the poem occurs, is symbolic of the ability of the husband and wife to join together, yet it also shows their ability to become very distant. While on the stairwell, we see them move together and apart many times. Each time they come together, we think that they may have understood each other’s feelings, but they both continue dwelling on the death of their child from different perspectives. When the poem opens, they are standing at opposite ends of the stairwell. He then moves close to her to see what is bothering her. While they are standing at the window, we get a feeling that she wants him to see

Some topics in this essay:
Robert Frost, husband wife, death child, child’s death, Conflicting Minds, conflicting attitudes regarding, misunderstanding husband wife, attitudes regarding death, regarding death child, wife’s misunderstanding, wife feels, regarding death, marriage home, move apart, true feelings, apart times,