In a Disused Graveyard
By Robert Lee Frost
The living come with grassy tread
To read the gravestones on the hill;
The graveyard draws the living still,
But never any more the dead.
The verses in it say and say:
"The ones who living come today
To read the stones and go away
Tomorrow dead will come to stay."
So sure of death the marbles rhyme,
Yet can’t help marking all the time
How no one dead will seem to come.
What is it men are shrinking from?
It would be easy to be clever
And tell the stones: Men hate to die
And have stopped dying now forever.
I think they would believe the lie.
Poem Analysis:
Robert Frost’s poem "In a Disused Graveyard" explores themes of mortality, memory, and human denial of death. Through a contemplative and ironic tone, Frost examines the paradoxical relationship between the living and the dead in the context of a neglected graveyard. The poem invites readers to reflect on how we perceive and cope with the inevitability of death.
The Attraction of the Graveyard
The poem begins by noting how the living are drawn to the graveyard:
The living come with grassy treadTo read the gravestones on the hill;The graveyard draws the living still,But never any more the dead.
This opening stanza sets the scene and introduces a key paradox: while the graveyard continues to attract the living, it no longer serves its original purpose of receiving the dead. The phrase "grassy tread" evokes a sense of reverence and tranquility, suggesting that the living visit the graveyard to connect with the past and reflect on those who have passed away.
Reflection on Mortality
In the second stanza, Frost highlights the cyclical nature of life and death:
The verses in it say and say:"The ones who living come todayTo read the stones and go awayTomorrow dead will come to stay."
The gravestones speak to the inevitable fate awaiting the visitors: those who come to read the inscriptions will themselves become part of the graveyard one day. This stanza underscores the certainty of death and the transient nature of life. The repetitive structure of "say and say" emphasizes the unchanging message of the gravestones, a perpetual reminder of mortality.
Irony and Denial
Frost introduces irony in the third stanza, questioning why no new dead seem to come:
So sure of death the marbles rhyme,Yet can’t help marking all the timeHow no one dead will seem to come.What is it men are shrinking from?
Here, the gravestones are personified as being aware of the passage of time and the absence of new burials. The irony lies in the fact that while the gravestones constantly remind us of death, the living tend to avoid confronting their mortality. The question "What is it men are shrinking from?" suggests a deep-seated fear and denial of death, highlighting a common human tendency to avoid thinking about the end of life.
Confronting Denial
In the final stanza, Frost proposes a sardonic solution to this denial:
It would be easy to be cleverAnd tell the stones: Men hate to dieAnd have stopped dying now forever.I think they would believe the lie.
Frost’s suggestion of telling the gravestones that people have stopped dying forever is a bitterly ironic comment on human nature. The idea that the gravestones might "believe the lie" underscores the absurdity of denying death. This closing thought serves as a poignant reminder that despite our attempts to ignore or defy it, death remains an inescapable reality.
"In a Disused Graveyard" by Robert Lee Frost uses irony, personification, and a contemplative tone to explore the themes of mortality and human denial of death. The poem’s depiction of a graveyard that continues to attract the living while no longer receiving the dead serves as a metaphor for the way people often engage with the concept of death from a distance. Through its reflection on the inevitability of death and the human tendency to avoid confronting it, Frost’s poem encourages readers to acknowledge and accept the transient nature of life.
