Home Burial Themes
Language and Communication
Although "Home Burial" takes place mostly in dialogue, this couple sure doesn't do a whole lot of communicating. At first, the woman will hardly speak to the man at all. Then, when she finally open...
Power
As this couple battles through this painful conversation about the "Home Burial," the power in the relationship shifts between the two. Sometimes, one person has all the power, and sometimes, it's...
Sadness
The communication problems in "Home Burial" stem partly from the different ways that the characters address their grief. The man seems to have no problem carrying on with his everyday life, while t...
Gender
"Home Burial," published in 1914, shows a household scene from its time, an era when women were still not even allowed to vote. The different gender roles in this poem complicate the power relation...
Death
In a poem called "Home Burial," death has to play a big part. It just has to. But in this poem, it's pretty much the elephant in the room. It colors every line of dialogue in this couple's conversa...