Frost Commentary: Out, Out Evidence Commentary

Alicia Wei

9. What are the allusions & how do they contribute to the overall theme of the poem? Within the poem, there is an allusion to the Last Supper. It is said that after the Last Supper, Jesus Christ was betrayed and crucified. Similarly, the young boy within the poem is betrayed by the saw. One tends to think of the saw, or any material object, as an object under human control. However within the poem, the saw seems to gain a life of its own, and cuts the young boy on his hand, similar to how Jesus was crucified with a nail through each of his palms and feet. The allusion to the Last Supper foreshadows that the injury the saw inflicts on the young boy will be fatal, and that when his sister called him in for supper, it was indeed his last supper. This also adds to the theme of futility and the brevity of life through the idea that everything will come to an end eventually, so whatever one achieves in life, or whatever one surmounts to as a person, will all be lost once one dies. The second allusion with the poem is to Shakespeares Macbeth. Out, out, brief candle!/ Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player/ That struts and frets his hour upon the stage/ And then is heard no more./It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing" (Macbeth V, v, 26-28). Macbeth utters these famous lines when he discovers that his wife committed suicide. He laments on the brevity of human life that is filled with seemingly meaningful events that mean nothing at the end. In alluding to Shakespeares Macbeth through the title, Frost is suggesting the theme of the poem early on, that life is short and futile. The theme of the futility and brevity of life are furthered when Frost uses the death of the young boy. The third allusion within the poem, is the allusion to World War I. During the war, many young boys were literally doing a mans work even though they were still children (24). This is because the war was dramatized as something glorious, so many young boys unaware of the dangers and horrors of war lied about their age to join the army. In alluding to World War I, Frost emphasizes the futility and briefness of life through the unnecessary death of a young boy.

His sister stood beside them in her apron/ To tell them Supper (13-14).

Out, Out (title).

Since he was old enough to know, big boy/ Doing a mans work, though a child at heart (23-24).

8. In what ways does the final line/stanza change your understanding of the poem as a whole?

Frost Commentary: Out, Out

Alicia Wei

And they, since they/ were not the one dead, turned to their affairs (33-34).

The final sentence of the poem clears up any misconceptions on the theme of the futility and brevity of life throughout the poem. Throughout the poem, Frost hints that life is pointless through the death of the young boy. However, with the last sentence, it is immediately obvious that Frost is referring to the fruitlessness of life because once the young boy dies, the father, sister, and doctor all seem to continue on with their lives without being affected by the death very much because they themselves are not the ones injured. Through the final sentence, Frost emphasizes the fact that once an individual is gone, the world moves on without skipping a beat in its everyday affairs.

The final sentence of the poem is built upon the untimely injury of the young boy. When the young boy realizes that the saw has literally cut The boys first outcry his life short, the young boy utters a cry, as if he is asking, Why was a rueful me? This is the first incident in which the futility and briefness of laugh (19). life within the poem is introduced. The final sentence of the poem clarifies that as a young boy facing death, it is reasonable for him to feel fear. Fear of death, and fear of being forgotten. Lastly, the final sentence of the poem also ties into the moments right before the young boy dies. The last sentence of the poem states that after a tragic event such as the death of the young boy, society continues without much care to the deceased. This allows for further The doctor put him understanding of why the doctor put the young boy in what is in the dark ether (28). essentially a dark room or corner. This sentence within the poem is the last scene before the young boy wastes away after breathing his last breath. This quote is the perquisite, suggesting the theme of futility of life prior to the direct statement in the final sentence. 4. What kinds of imagery & figurative language are used & to what effect? Frost uses personification to create an emphasis on the deadliness of The buzz saw snarled the saw. Through the personification of the saw, Frost is also and rattled in the yard/ foreshadowing that an unfortunate event will occur because the saw And made dust and with animalistic qualities seems like it is an insane creature. Through dropped stove-length the personification of the saw, a sense of dread is instilled upon the sticks of wood (1-2). reader that something terrible might happen to the young boy.

Frost Commentary: Out, Out

Alicia Wei

The use of imagery within the poem creates a mastic backdrop against which the industrial technology is paired against. Frost uses this paired imagery to convey his opinion that industrial technology is Five mountain ranges causing the younger generation to wither away before their time. one behind the other/ Furthermore, Frost uses imagery with the poem to foreshadow the Under the sunset far downfall of the young boy. Sunsets archetypically represent the into Vermont (5-6). fading of hope, or the death of one. When Frost allows the reader to visualize the sunset behind five mountains, he allows the reader to visualize the fading of light and hope. The use of monotony is significant in implementing a double meaning to tis quote. Frost uses monotony to literally refer to the boy attempting to retain the reason as to which he is alive, blood flowing Half in appeal, but through his body, but also to indirectly refer to blood within the half as if to keep/ The poem. Notice how within the poem, Frost never actually mentions life from blood and avoids creating a horribly grotesque imagery. Instead, Frost spilling (21-22). allows the reader to visualize the entire occurrence of the young boy losing his blood out the cut the saw gave his hand through his use of monotony throughout the poem to represent blood. 6. How would you describe the tone of the poem? Are there any shifts in tone as the poem develops? And from there those There are three shifts in tone within the poem. The first tone that the that lifted eyes could is conveyed is one of majesty. Frost incorporates imagery to create a count/ Five mountain sense of awe at the mountain ranges as the sun sets. The early tone of ranges one behind the the poem ties the reader into the account of an accident told within the other/ Under the poem, making the death of the young boy even more dramatic and sunset far into remorseful. Vermont (4-6). As if to prove saws knew what supper meant,/ Leaped out at the boys hand (15-16). The tone Frost incorporates into the poem here is almost one of defiance. This scene where the saw seems to take on a life of its own and take the boys life. This serves more as a transition between the majestic tone of the beginning and the tone of dread and hopelessness towards the end of the poem. Frost now transitions into the tone of hopelessness within the poem. This tone of hopelessness remains constant for the remaining period of the poem. Frost transitions into the final tone of hopelessness by referring to the child within the young boy while contrasting it to the harsh realities of life that shows the boy he has no hope left of surviving.

Though a child at heart-/ He saw all spoiled (24-25).

Frost Commentary: Out, Out

Alicia Wei

They listened at his heart./ Littleless nothing!and that ended it./ No more to build on there (31-33).

The tone of hopelessness remains until the end of the poem whereby even the adults within the poem (the father and the doctor) do nothing to help the boy staunch his bleeding because there is nothing helpful that they can do. Helplessly, the father and the doctor only listen and watch the very livelihood of the boy (the blood) drain out of him, as the boy lays there taking his last raggedy breaths before dying. Overall, the most predominant tone of the poem, is that of the the hopelessness of life, which then ties into the theme of the futility and brevity of life.