New Hampshire · Chapter
Not to Keep explained
A soldier returns home to his wife after being wounded in war.
What happens
A soldier returns home to his wife after being wounded in war. The letter announcing his return arrives, and she is relieved to find him alive and not visibly disfigured. However, he reveals that his wound, though not fatal, will heal only enough for him to be sent back to fight again. The poem captures the painful cycle of war and the temporary nature of his return.
Themes in this chapter
Mortality and Loss
The soldier's wound and the inevitability of his return to danger highlight the constant presence of death and loss.
Work and Labor
The grim duty of war is portrayed as a repetitive, laborious task that both the soldier and his wife must endure.
Characters to notice
- Soldier Returned from War
The unnamed soldier who returns home wounded, only to be sent back to war.
- Eliza
The wife who receives her husband back but must face the reality that he will leave again.
Key passages
“They sent him back to her. The letter came Saying … And she could have him.”
The military returned the soldier to his wife, and a letter informed her that he was coming home.
The opening lines establish the premise of the soldier's return.
“A bullet through and through, High in the breast. Nothing but what good care And medicine and rest, and you a week, Can cure me of to go again.”
The soldier explains that his wound, though serious, will heal with treatment and rest, allowing him to be sent back to combat.
The soldier reveals the temporary nature of his recovery and the inevitability of his return to war.
“They had given him back to her, but not to keep.”
Although he was returned to her, it was only temporary; he would have to leave again.
The final line encapsulates the poem's central theme of loss and the futility of holding onto what is destined to be taken away.