Home

The poem is written in a strong, country-style dialect, making each line feel more powerfully delivered and meaningful. The speaker can be stereotyped in a number of different ways, but its likely that Guest chose this dialect because most readers would relate the sound of the words to someone who lives a simple, fulfilling, and good life and would have insight into what it takes for someone else to do the same. 

Home
Edgar Guest

It takes a heap o’ livin’ in a house t’ make it home,A heap o’ sun an’ shadder, an’ ye sometimes have t’ roamAfore ye really ’preciate the things ye lef’ behind,An’ hunger fer ’em somehow, with ’em allus on yer mind.It don’t make any differunce how rich ye get t’ be,How much yer chairs an’ tables cost, how great yer luxury;It ain’t home t’ ye, though it be the palace of a king,Until somehow yer soul is sort o’ wrapped round everything.

Home ain’t a place that gold can buy or get up in a minute;Afore it’s home there’s got t’ be a heap o’ livin’ in it;Within the walls there’s got t’ be some babies born, and thenRight there ye’ve got t’ bring ‘em up t’ women good, an’ men;And gradjerly, as time goes on, ye find ye wouldn’t partWith anything they ever used—they’ve grown into yer heart:The old high chairs, the playthings, too, the little shoes they woreYe hoard; an’ if ye could ye’d keep the thumbmarks on the door.

Ye’ve got t’ weep t’ make it home, ye’ve got t’ sit an’ sighAn’ watch beside a loved one’s bed, an’ know that Death is nigh;An’ in the stillness o’ the night t’ see Death’s angel come,An’ close the eyes o’ her that smiled, an’ leave her sweet voice dumb.Fer these are scenes that grip the heart, an’ when yer tears are dried,Ye find the home is dearer than it was, an’ sanctified;An’ tuggin’ at ye always are the pleasant memoriesO’ her that was an’ is no more—ye can’t escape from these.

Ye’ve got t’ sing an’ dance fer years, ye’ve got t’ romp an’ play,An’ learn t’ love the things ye have by usin’ ’em each day;Even the roses ’round the porch must blossom year by yearAfore they ’come a part o’ ye, suggestin’ someone dearWho used t’ love ’em long ago, an’ trained ’em jes’ t’ runThe way they do, so’s they would get the early mornin’ sun;Ye’ve got t’ love each brick an’ stone from cellar up t’ dome:It takes a heap o’ livin’ in a house t’ make it home.

Summary 

‘Home’ by Edgar Guest is a powerful and simple-delivered poem about what it takes to turn a house into a home. 

The poem’s four stanzas take readers through the experiences that turn a house into a home. It doesn’t matter how richly adorned the house is or where it is. It only matters the experiences one has within it. The poet includes positive and negative experiences in this equation, describing the loss of a loved one and the happy days of raising children as key parts of it. 

Structure and Form 

‘Home’ by Edgar Guest is a four-stanza poem that uses eight-line in each stanza, also known as octaves. These eight-line stanzas follow a simple rhyme scheme of AABBCCDD with different end sounds in each stanza. The poet’s simple rhyme scheme is furthered by his use of a country-style dialect. The speaker shares simple but profound wisdom regarding the importance of home. 

Literary Devices 

In this poem, the poet makes use of a few literary devices. For example: 

• Dialect: the poet’s use of a dialect is likely the first thing readers will notice when starting this poem. The poet uses slang terms and partial words in order to convey a particular sound he wants the speaker to have. It also suggests that the speaker might be someone from the country who is less well-educated than others who do not use the same dialect. 
• Adage: the use of a statement that conveys a simple, widely-held truth. For example, it takes being away from something to “really ‘preciate the things ye lef’ behind.” 
• Allusion: the poet seems to be alluding to a specific life and death in this poem when his speaker discusses a woman passing away and the speaker being left with memories.

Detailed Analysis 

Stanza One

It takes a heap o’ livin’ in a house t’ make it home,

A heap o’ sun an’ shadder, an’ ye sometimes have t’ roam

Afore ye really ’’preciate the things ye lef’ behind,

An’ hunger fer ’em somehow, with ’em allus on yer mind.

It don’t make any differunce how rich ye get t’ be,

How much yer chairs an’ tables cost, how great yer luxury;

It ain’t home t’ ye, though it be the palace of a king,

Until somehow yer soul is sort o’ wrapped round everything.

In the first lines of this Edgar Guest poem, the speaker begins by noting what it takes to make a house a home. He notes that it takes “a heap” of living, or a number of different experiences, to make one’s house feel like a real part of their life. Often, these experiences include not appreciating what one has until one spends some time away from it. 

The speaker concludes this stanza by equating poor and wealthy homes, saying that the same principle applies to both. One needs to have their “soul…wrapped round everything” before it feels like home. It doesn’t matter, in the end, how much one’s home costs or how much the furniture within it is worth. These things do not make a home. 

Stanza Two 

Home ain’t a place that gold can buy or get up in a minute;

Afore it’s home there’s got t’ be a heap o’ livin’ in it;

Within the walls there’s got t’ be some babies born, and then

Right there ye’ve got t’ bring ‘em up t’ women good, an’ men;

And gradjerly, as time goes on, ye find ye wouldn’t part

With anything they ever used—they’ve grown into yer heart:

The old high chairs, the playthings, too, the little shoes they wore

Ye hoard; an’ if ye could ye’d keep the thumbmarks on the door.

The poet picks up the same train of thought in the second stanza, bringing in more images of wealth and contrasting them with the truth of feeling “at home.” The speaker says that there is no “home” that can be bought with gold, it has to be made by experience instead. The poet uses the refrain “heap o’ livin’ in it” again in the second line of this stanza, reminding readers (in the speaker’s characteristic style) of the importance of loving the place one calls home and appreciating it. 

Some of the life events that might bond one to their house are babies being born in it and raising those children into good men and women. A long lifetime of taking care of one’s children would certainly, the speaker says, make a house into a home. 

The word “gradjerly,” or “gradually” is used in the next line to imply that turning a house into a home is a gradual process that can’t be rushed. As time goes by, one will find that there is nothing in their home that they want to part with, even if it isn’t worth a great deal. This will likely include chairs, one’s children’s old playthings, and more. 

It’s a “hoard” that represents one’s life experiences. If possible, the poet adds, one would “keep the thumb marks on the door.” This refers to smudges one’s hands might leave behind from time to time that should, in theory, be cleaned off but, because of the way one values their home, take on a value of their own. Each item in the home represents a part of one’s life. 

Stanza Three 

Ye’ve got t’ weep t’ make it home, ye’ve got t’ sit an’ sigh

An’ watch beside a loved one’s bed, an’ know that Death is nigh;

An’ in the stillness o’ the night t’ see Death’s angel come,

An’ close the eyes o’ her that smiled, an’ leave her sweet voice dumb.

Fer these are scenes that grip the heart, an’ when yer tears are dried,

Ye find the home is dearer than it was, an’ sanctified;

An’ tuggin’ at ye always are the pleasant memories

O’ her that was an’ is no more—ye can’t escape from these.

In the third stanza, the speaker says that to make a house a home, one has to sit in it and weep over losses and sign at a loved one’s bedside. One has to suffer, experience the deaths of those they love, and see “Death’s angel come.” The poet refers to a woman’s death in these lines, romanticizing it and alluding to the power that birth and death have on turning something meaningless into something very meaningful. 

These losses bind one to the place they occur in, and when the tears dry, the poet writes, one will feel more at home than ever. The home is filled with memories of anyone who has passed away, and more than anything, these can’t be left behind. 

Stanza Four 

Ye’ve got t’ sing an’ dance fer years, ye’ve got t’ romp an’ play,

An’ learn t’ love the things ye have by usin’ ’em each day;

Even the roses ’round the porch must blossom year by year

Afore they ’come a part o’ ye, suggestin’ someone dear

Who used t’ love ’em long ago, an’ trained ’em jes’ t’ run

The way they do, so’s they would get the early mornin’ sun;

Ye’ve got t’ love each brick an’ stone from cellar up t’ dome:

It takes a heap o’ livin’ in a house t’ make it home.

The final stanza notes that years of singing, dancing, romping, and playing will make a house a home. One has to love, be loved, and enjoy life in a place first. It takes years, the speaker continues, saying that the metaphorical roses in front of the house will bloom and die several times over before one’s fully at home. The poet connects the images of the roses to “someone dear / Who used t’ love ‘em long ago” (likely a reference to the woman whose death was described in the previous stanza). 

These deeply sad lines are lightened by the beautiful image of the roses growing in exactly the way “she” taught them to (or arranged them to) and the love one would have for “each brick an’ stone from cellar up t’ dome.” The home is filled with images of loss and death, but far more than that, it’s a place to connect with those one has lost and relive happy memories of the past. 

The last line is a perfect repetition of the first line of the poem, bringing the reader back to the poem’s main message, that it takes “a heap o’ livin’ in a house t’ make it home.”

FAQs 

Similar Poetry 

Readers who enjoyed this poem should also consider reading some other Edgar Guest poems. For example: 

• ‘A Child of Mine’ – is an interesting poem that is told from the perspective of God.
•  ‘A Friend’s Greeting’ – is a heart-touching poem about a speaker’s gratitude for his dearest friend. This poem is written in the form of a greeting in verse.
• ‘Have You Earned Your Tomorrow’ – presents a number of probing questions to a reader about how they spend their days.