The Death of the Hired Man

“The Death of the Hired Man” tells a story—as such, the unfolding narrative follows the traditional sections of any story: the exposition (Lines 1-32) that provides the background to Warren’s relationship with Silas; the conflict (Lines 33-105) in which husband and wife discuss the difference between obligation and responsibility; the resolution (Lines 106-161) in which Mary convinces Warren to soften his objections to treating Silas with some compassion; and the denouement (Lines 162-175) in which Warren discovers that Silas is dead, and Frost exposes the irony of compassion in a darkling world where death is forever imminent.

Lines 1-32—in which Mary confronts Warren to warn him that Silas has returned unannounced—provide critical background to the problems between Warren and Silas that in turn establish the emerging tension between husband and wife. Warren dominates this section and is immediately confrontational. Warren dismisses the former farmhand with a self-righteous code of duty and fairness: “I’ll not have the fellow back” (Line 12). In reminding Mary about Silas’s past failings, his unwillingness to stick to a job, and his casual indifference to the expectations of a contract, Warren defines himself as unyielding, unwilling to forgive, and certain only that he owes this vagrant nothing. Mary’s presence is spare—she pleads with Warren to keep his voice down. Mary knows what Warren does not, that Silas is dying and that he needs compassion, not judgment.

The poem’s conflict over the husband and wife’s definitions of obligation centers the poem’s lengthy middle section, Lines 33-105. Mary dominates this section and, in turn, softens the tone. Mary introduces the reality of Silas’s failing health. The snarky Warren suggests that Silas is only here to find work in the late autumn, no doubt, he implies, to rip him off again. Mary assures him that, yes, Silas mentioned working, but it was the desperate wish of a man who knows that his health will never allow him to work again. Mary argues for compassion, for treating the dying man not as a risk-commodity or a delinquent employee but as a human being who is doing the most terrifying thing any person can do—die alone. In sharing Silas’s confused recollection of his summer with the college student, Harold Wilson, Mary understands that Silas, trying to make up for his prior shortcomings, wants to work with Harold again as a team. Silas has fond memories of working with Harold despite their ongoing arguments, seemingly about practical knowledge (“He said he couldn’t make the boy believe / He could find water with a hazel prong—” [Lines 85-86]) versus formal education (“[Silas] hates to see a boy the fool of books” [Line 101]). Mary understands Silas’s preoccupation with thinking of new arguments to offer Harold because she knows “just how it feels / To think of the right thing to say too late” (Line 79-80). The conflict is set: Warren’s perception of an unforgiving, financially-oriented world of right and wrong and Mary’s generous perception of a world of forgiveness, empathy, and caring.

In the next section (Lines 106-161), the debate over the definition of a home and the obligation of a family, the poem’s narrative reaches its resolution. The conflict between fairness and charity is resolved in Warren’s change of heart. The resolution hinges on the debate about whether Silas belongs with them or with his kin, his brother who lives 13 miles away. When Warren scoffs at the idea that Silas has returned to their farm as his home, Mary argues that, yes, Silas is nothing to them, but this is his home if this is where Silas feels welcome. Typically, for Warren, it comes down to money—Silas’s brother is a successful banker, so Warren doesn’t understand why Silas didn’t go to him for help instead. Mary thinks the brother “ought to help, of course” (Line 137). Mary understands that most likely Silas’s brother, wealthy and settled, regards his vagrant brother as a nuisance, an embarrassment. “Have some pity,” she implores her husband (Line 141), suggesting that Silas may not have mentioned his brother or wanted anything from him because “He won’t be made ashamed to please his brother” (Line 152). Mary recognizes that Silas deserves dignity regardless of his poverty, current needs, or prior mistakes in abandoning Warren. Given that Mary is talking about a man she barely knows, the argument reveals her expansive humanity. Love makes a people into a family; that family in turn makes a house, a home. His wife’s depiction of Silas’s sorry appearance and his grizzled dignity seals the argument—Warren changes his mind and agrees to talk with the dying Silas.

The poem’s six-line denouement is spare and haunting. Mary urges Warren not to laugh at Silas but instead to remember that he has come with a plan to work. Lines 162-175 show the depths of Mary’s compassion and Warren’s shift in attitude as he returns to Mary too quickly, sits beside her, and takes her hand. Though they discussed Silas’s predicament and how to help Silas not die alone, Silas, in fact, died quite alone; despite the nobility of their compassion, death has won. Warren’s proximity to Mary and the gesture of holding her hand indicate that he is aware the news will affect Mary. His physical touch is an attempt to soften the blow of his single-word reply, “Dead.”