“The Death of the Hired man” is a long poem in form of a conversation happening between two characters, Warren and his wife Mary, talking about possible options on what to do with Silas, a former worker of Warren’s who left after being offered pocket money, but made his way back in the wintertime. Silas decided to come back in poor health but made it his mission to help Warren and Mary with the farm once again. Mary is all for more than second chances, but Warren does not want any parts of Silas because he feels as though he did right by him by all means: “When was I ever anything but kind to him? / But I’ll not have the fellow back.” Mary mentions how Silas talked about making a great team which he then includes another character in the mix by the name of Harold Wilson: “Silas declares you’ll have to get him back. / He says they two will make a team for work: / Between them they will lay this farm as smooth!” She also mentions that Silas says he would teach the boy more about haymaking: “He thinks if he could teach him that, he’d be / Some good perhaps to someone in the world.” This shows that Silas is not much of a worthless person because he has concerns for other folks and not himself. 

Tension is built in the poem not only because he leaves Warren, but he has a brother that is a couple more miles away from them: “Silas has better claim on us you think/ Than his brother? Thirteen little miles / As the road winds would bring him to his door. / Silas has walked that far no doubt today. / What doesn’t he go there? His brother’s rich, / A somebody – director in the bank.” As Warren still feuds over the presence of Silas being inside of his house, Mary states: “Worthless though he is, / He won’t be made ashamed to please his brother.” She urges Warren to sit down and chat with Silas and hash out their differences, but it was too late: Warren returned — too soon, it seemed to her — / Slipped to her side, caught up in her hand and waited. / ‘Warren?’ she questioned. / ‘Dead’ was all he answered.”

The main theme interpreted in this poem is home. Although Silas has a brother who he should have gone to because he was his blood relative, Silas chose Warren and Mary to go home to and die. At the beginning of the poem, Warren was bitter and upset. Sarcastically, Warren states: “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, / They have to take you in.” Silas came back to what he considered his home to get a reaffirmation for the meaning of his life before he dies by helping with the farm for the next season. Towards the end of the poem, Warren lightens up and fights himself to accept his responsibility of providing a home for Silas. Mary warns Warren: “He’s worn out. He’s asleep beside the stove. / When I came up from Rowe’s I found him there, / Huddled against the barn-door fast asleep, / A miserable sight, and frightening, too– / You needn’t smile — I didn’t recognise him — / I wasn’t looking for him — and he’s changed. / Wait till you see.” She later states: “he has come home to die: / You needn’t be afraid he’ll leave you this time.” At that point, Warren tried to make amends, but it was too late.