The Struggle of the Modern Individual: Analyzing the Poetry of Frost and Komunyakaa Ashley Mary Michalski College

We all experience hardship. No matter who you are or where you’re from, you’re bound to face some sort of struggle. Whether it’s something as small and inconvenient as your car breaking down or as big and monumental as the death of someone close to you, struggle is inevitable. Not everyone deals with their struggles the same way. What may serve as a great outlet for one may not work as well for others. Nonetheless, art and writing in particular tend to be a very useful way of expressing one’s emotions and dealing with the hardship they face. The issue of struggle faced by the modern individual is seen in poems “Home Burial” and “Out, Out” by Robert Frost as well as in “My Father’s Love Letters” and “Facing It” by Yusef Komunyakaa.

Throughout life, experiencing struggle in any form is inevitable. There are not many poets that understand this as well as Robert Frost. His poem “Home Burial” speaks of a couple who have lost a child. As the child’s mother makes her way down the staircase, she sees her child’s grave outside the window in the yard. This is the first time she noticed it from this viewpoint. The couple has had a hard time dealing with this loss. Catching sight of the grave leaves the woman distraught, and at first her...