The speaker is someone close to the returning soldier. The poem reflects the emotions and thoughts of someone who receives a letter informing them of the soldier’s return, expressing a sense of relief and the complexities tied to that reunion.
Not to Keep
by Robert Frost 1917
They sent him back to her. The letter came
Saying... and she could have him. And before
She could be sure there was no hidden ill
Under the formal writing, he was in her sight —
Living. — They gave him back to her alive —
How else? They are not known to send the dead —
And not disfigured visibly. His face? —
His hands? She had to look — to ask,
“What was it, dear?” And she had given all
And still she had all — they had — they the lucky!
The speaker is…
preparing to go to war.
delivering news from the war.
someone close to the returning soldier.
organizing supplies for the war effort.
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