Dead Wife (Symbol)
The speaker acknowledges the fondness he has developed for the hireling due to his reliability and company. A comparison of the hireling to the dead wife reveals pent-up resentments and unresolved feelings. The late wife symbolizes the guilt the farmer has for developing a connection with the hireling. Therefore proves their companionship entails sexual feelings that the farmer is unable to resolve.
Hare (Symbol)
Through folklores about magic and superstitions on warlocks, the speaker justifies his violent actions against the hireling. He describes his transformation into a hare which perhaps alludes to the impression he harbors of the hireling. In that, the sexual feelings that the hireling elicited in the farmer foster resentment on his part. He is incapable to accept his desires, and therefore to cope vilifies the hireling as a warlock.
Doubled Yield (Symbol)
The poem juxtaposes the yields from the farm in the presence of the hirelings and later in his absence. The speaker admits that the hireling has brought prosperity to his farm by doubling his yield. The doubled yield symbolizes the beginning of the attachment the farmer develops towards him. His fondness for the worker was inevitable because he offered him something he never experienced before. As such the mention of elf-shot, later on, shows the misfortune and loss that befalls the farmer in the hireling’s absence.
Absolution (Motif)
All through the poem, the farmer justifies the act of violence against the helpful hireling. However, his guilt is evident at the end as he frequently seeks absolution through confessions to the priest. As such, the entirety of the poem is a display of guilt rather than validation of his actions. He rationalizes killing the hireling in order to absolve himself of the remorse that is causing him suffering.
Taboo (Motif)
The poem portrays a traditional society that has strict boundaries regarding practices out of the norm. The superstition on witches and warlocks attests to the intolerance towards unconventionality in this community. Therefore, the sexual feelings the farmer harbors for the hireling would be considered taboo and immoral. Rather than accept his feelings, he denies them and the resulting response is to avoid public scrutiny.
