The Darkness of Modern Society in Robert Frost’s “The Death of the Hired Man”

Abstract

Along with the rapid development brought by the territorial expansion, waves of new immigrants and the second industrial revolution, the United States witnessed many problems in the late nineteenth-century, such as widening class divides and interpersonal isolation. As one of the most influential American poet in the 20^th century, Robert Frost is best known for his depictions of the countryside life and his philosophical ideas in simple language, which generates a large body of research exploring his ecological consciousness and his unique skills in depicting the rural area. However, as a poet living in the transitional period, Frost is in fact fully aware of the problems in modern society caused by industrialization. In “The Death of the Hired Man”, he reveals the darkness of modern society through symbolic images and the predicament of modern people, and expresses his deep concerns about the influence of urbanization on the rural areas and the alieantion of people. Through the analysis of the symbolic images and the delineation of the characters, this paper employs the method of close reading to delve into his revelation of the darkness of modern society in “The Death of the Hired Man”, such as his exposure of social alienation and the moral ambiguities of progress, thereby contributing to the understanding of his literary response to modernity.

Keywords: Robert Frost, “The Death of the Hired Man”, darkness, modern society

DOI: 10.7176/JLLL/108-08

Publication date:December 31^st 2025