'Out, Out' By Thomas And Frost: Poetry Analysis

Thomas and Frost have both written poems about the harshness of life. Compare and contrast two poems, one by each poet, taking account of the situation and tones of the speakers, and the form, structure and language including imagery, which each poet uses to present the theme of the harshness of life in two poems you have studied.

Frost and Thomas both write about the harshness of life in their poetry. I believe the poems "Out, Out" by Frost and "The Owl" by Thomas best illustrate this. Frost choosing to show this through the impact of a hard days work on a little boy whereas Thomas uses an owl's cry to connect the lifes of a solider and the poor/homeless to show the similarity in their lives. Both poets emphasise the same theme but their techniques differ to present this.
The title "Out,Out" has an ominous tone to it, the title is a quote that Frost has used from Macbeth, "Out, damned spot, out", this is in reference to the scene where Lady Macbeth dies. From the very beginning of the poem, Frost has set a menacing, almost tormenting tone eminently refering to the harsness of life. In comparision, we look
Within the same lines we are given the inevitability of the boys death, this line is almost a plea for mercy automatically concentrating on the foreboding tragedy. Similarily Thomas uses simplistic language in a narrative tone to show the reflections of the speaker. Thomas's "The Owl" has casual ryhtm to it, the use of abcb lines keeps the flow of the poem conversational and effectively keeps the reader interested through the ease of reading. While both poets differ in methods, Thomas using four lined stanza's in contrast to the blank verse of Frost, each depicts the theme