# The Kitchen Chimney explained — New Hampshire

> Chapter companion for New Hampshire by Robert Frost.

## What happens

The speaker instructs the builder on constructing a kitchen chimney, insisting it must be built from the ground up rather than on a shelf, citing practical concerns about fire safety, structural integrity, and the ominous signs of a false chimney, while contrasting the functional purpose of a shelf with the impracticality of a chimney that evokes airy castles.

## Themes in this chapter

### Work and Labor

The poem focuses on the labor of building a chimney, emphasizing the importance of doing the work correctly from the ground up.

### Perception and Truth

The speaker contrasts the false appearance of a shelf chimney with the true, grounded construction, warning against deceptive signs like tar stains and smoke smell.

## Character check-ins

### Mother

The speaker addresses the builder, but the voice is reminiscent of a domestic authority, possibly a mother figure, insisting on proper construction.

## Key lines

> Don’t build me a chimney upon a shelf.

Do not construct a chimney that is supported by a shelf rather than the ground.

_The speaker insists on a chimney built from the foundation, rejecting any superficial or elevated placement._

> But I never heard of a house that throve (And I know of one that didn’t thrive) Where the chimney started above the stove.

I have never known a house to prosper where the chimney begins above the stove, and I can name one that failed.

_The speaker argues from experience that a chimney starting above the stove is a sign of poor fortune or structural failure._

> A shelf’s for a clock or vase or picture, But I don’t see why it should have to bear A chimney that only would serve to remind me Of castles I used to build in air.

A shelf is meant for decorative items, not to support a chimney that would merely remind me of my youthful, impractical dreams.

_The speaker distinguishes between the proper use of a shelf and the folly of using it to support a chimney, which symbolizes unrealistic aspirations._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/new_hampshire_se/chapters/the-kitchen-chimney
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/new_hampshire_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/new_hampshire_se/chapters