Summary
The mother bravely walks with her son to the front door, where he excitedly exits, seemingly in a single second. After he leaves, the mother returns to his bedroom and releases a songbird from a cage there. Later, the mother sees a dove flying from a pear tree and decides to follow it. She walks around the walls of a churchyard, her stomach flipping from the anxiety and cold air, as she did not wear a coat, scarf, hat, or gloves.
Analysis
Contrasting with the subtlety and vivid imagery characteristic of the poem, Lines 18-19 expressly state: “I was brave, as I walked / with you, to the front door.” This line is critical to the poem’s thematic argument, as it leads the reader to see that even those who are not directly fighting in a war or conflict are affected by it and must show bravery. The reader would typically associate the quality of bravery with the son, who is apparently going into the outside world to fight in battle. Line 18 reminds the reader that the mother is also being brave by wishing her son goodbye. This demonstrates the broader, systematic effects of war on entire societies, as well as the contributions of women to British war efforts even in historical conflicts where women were not permitted to participate as soldiers.
The third stanza also marks the poem’s climax, as it is the moment at which the son leaves the home, bringing to a head the mother’s anxieties and fears caused by their separation. The son departs in a “split second” and is described as “intoxicated” by the wonders of the outside world. This signals the son’s eagerness and excitement to exit the home, in contrast to the mother’s sadness. These lines create a dichotomy in perspectives between the first-person speaker and the son, who is addressed with the second-person “you.” Coupled with the word “treasure chest,” the word "intoxicated" expands the poem by introducing an entirely new tone—one of excitement and anticipation. In juxtaposition to the mother’s somber reflections and restrained sorrow in the first and second stanzas, the third stanza focuses on the younger son’s excitement. While this may refer to the son leaving the home for any reason, such as attending school or moving away, these lines likely allude to the literary trope of a young, optimistic soldier who is exposed to the horrors of war and battle and ultimately becomes more somber, as foreshadowed by the war memorial.
This stanza also utilizes the metaphor of a bird in two ways. First, the mother states that she released a songbird from the son’s room. This is a symbolic reenactment of the son’s literal exit. Like the son (who is “intoxicated” by the outside world) exiting the home and gaining independence, the songbird leaves the cage to enjoy its freedom. At the same time, the mother mourns the release of the songbird just as she mourns her son leaving. The bird represents the divergence between the mother and son. Later, the mother sees a dove in the wind. A dove is a historical symbol of peace, which becomes ironic in the context of the poem: the peaceful dove leads the mother to a graveyard with a war memorial. On the other hand, a mourning dove is also a symbol of mourning, lending ambiguity to the function of the dove.
