Literary Essay of Robert Frosts "Out, Out"
Literary Essay of “Out, Out –“
A Poem by Robert Frost
Katrina Good
South University Online
Literary Essay of “Out, Out –“a Poem by Robert Frost
The poem, “Out, Out –“ by Robert Frost (1916) uses many narrative elements, a few of them being the setting and characters along with climax and resolution to tell this sad story. Frost references William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” (5.5.23-28) as the title of this poem as a way to portray to the reader that there is a feeling of sadness or even death approaching in the words to follow. This analysis will convey how the narrative elements express the poems main theme of a young boy’s life being extinguished while doing the work of a man.
As one reads “Five mountain ranges one behind the other Under the sunset far into Vermont” (Frost, 1916, para. 5), the sense of being out in the wilderness becomes placed within one’s mind. The reader can visualize how far from civilization the characters seem to be. Knowing how far the characters would have to travel in case of an emergency seems to become planted in the back of the readers mind.
Equally as important are the characters of Frosts’ poem. The first character playing a main “role” is the buzz saw. Frost uses words to describe the saw like “snarled”, “rattled” and “leapt” to give life to the inanimate object, thus making it one of the main characters of the poem.
Identically important would be the role of the boy. By writing, “Call it a day, I wish they might have said To please the boy by giving him the half hour That a boys counts so much when saved from work” (Frost, 1916, para. 15), Frost shows the age or at least the mindset of the boy. He [the boy] would like to be off work half an hour early to enjoy being his self, a boy. Instead he is denied his early release from his work and continues sawing, eventually falling victim to the buzz saw.
Additionally there is the character of the boys’ sister. Frost seems to imply that the sister, telling the workers that it was
A Poem by Robert Frost
Katrina Good
South University Online
Literary Essay of “Out, Out –“a Poem by Robert Frost
The poem, “Out, Out –“ by Robert Frost (1916) uses many narrative elements, a few of them being the setting and characters along with climax and resolution to tell this sad story. Frost references William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” (5.5.23-28) as the title of this poem as a way to portray to the reader that there is a feeling of sadness or even death approaching in the words to follow. This analysis will convey how the narrative elements express the poems main theme of a young boy’s life being extinguished while doing the work of a man.
As one reads “Five mountain ranges one behind the other Under the sunset far into Vermont” (Frost, 1916, para. 5), the sense of being out in the wilderness becomes placed within one’s mind. The reader can visualize how far from civilization the characters seem to be. Knowing how far the characters would have to travel in case of an emergency seems to become planted in the back of the readers mind.
Equally as important are the characters of Frosts’ poem. The first character playing a main “role” is the buzz saw. Frost uses words to describe the saw like “snarled”, “rattled” and “leapt” to give life to the inanimate object, thus making it one of the main characters of the poem.
Identically important would be the role of the boy. By writing, “Call it a day, I wish they might have said To please the boy by giving him the half hour That a boys counts so much when saved from work” (Frost, 1916, para. 15), Frost shows the age or at least the mindset of the boy. He [the boy] would like to be off work half an hour early to enjoy being his self, a boy. Instead he is denied his early release from his work and continues sawing, eventually falling victim to the buzz saw.
Additionally there is the character of the boys’ sister. Frost seems to imply that the sister, telling the workers that it was
References: Frost, R, “Out, Out - -“ (1916), Nadell, Judith, Langan, John, Comodromos, and Eliza A. (). Longman Writer, The: Rhetoric, Reader, Research Guide, and Handbook for Education Management Corporation [8] (VitalSource Bookshelf), Retrieved from http://digitalbookshelf.southuniversity.edu/books/9780558950774/id/ch21box4