In the “The Groundhog,” Richard Eberhart explores death and decay as the poem’s primary theme. The speaker in “The Groundhog” is a man who experiences a loss of innocence by observing the metamorphosis of a dead groundhog for three years. Before he saw the dead groundhog, the speaker was afraid of his own mortality. But as time passes by, he comes to realize that death is inevitable. His encounter with the dead groundhog shapes his perceptions and emotions surrounding death and decay.
The speaker first meets a dead ground hog in June. In vigorous daylight, the speaker sees the “maggots’ might” on a dead groundhog. Soon after, he feels his mind outshoot “naked frailty” and his senses wavering “dim.” Due to his “naked frailty,” the speaker is reminded of his own mortality. So he pokes the groundhog with “loathing” and an “angry stick.” His frailty is “naked” because he is sincerely afraid of dying and his sense becomes “dim” because he is overwhelmed by anguish and despair. He becomes indignant as nature shows no remorse for the groundhog’s death. He believes nature to be “ferocious. “ This indignation is seen as he notices the “maggots’ might” on the groundhog while the sun shines with “Vigour“ and “immense energy.” He capitalizes vigour to state that the nature is cruel to those who die. As he leaves the groundhog, the speaker prays on his knees to find “joy in the sight of decay.” This shows that the speaker views decay and nature as cruel and merciless.
In autumn, the speaker returns to the groundhog. He notices the groundhog’s sap has “gone out” and its “bony sodden hulk” remains. However, his emotions and perceptions towards death have changed since June. As the weather in autumn is benign, he does not despise nature for being “ferocious” towards death. Everything the speaker has felt in June “had lost its meaning.” The speaker says the groundhog’s sap has “gone out” because the speaker’s anguish and despair have also “gone out.” Thus, the speaker loses his “loathing” for death as he has become “Mured up in the wall of wisdom.” The speaker is beginning to mature emotionally.
During the next summer, the speaker returns to the groundhog. He sees “only a little hair” and “bones bleaching in the sunlight.” By now he has changed completely since his first visit. He does not experience anguish, melancholy, or despair at the sight of the groundhog. Watching the groundhog’s bones as if it was “architecture” or a “geometer,” the speaker finally begins to see the beauty in nature and decay. The speaker visits the groundhog the following summer. He sees “no sign of the groundhog” in the “whirling summer.” As he is indifferent to the annihilation of the groundhog‘s existence, nature is not merciless or cruel to suffering, but it is just indifferent. Then he feels his “withered heart” and think of Ancient China, Ancient Greece, Alexander the Great, Michel de Montaigne, and Saint Theresa. He realizes that no amount of money, power, faith, or fame can stop one’s fate to die and decay.
The speaker in “The Groundhog” is a man who experience extraordinary change. His “senses shook” and could only think about his mortality as he first saw the decaying groundhog. But as time passes by, he matures emotionally and his views on decay changes dramatically. He is fully able to understand the inevitability of decay. He realizes that everything one lives for will eventually die and decay.