‘Out, Out’ by Robert Frost
Task: Show how Robert Frost effectively reveals the fragility of life in the poem, ‘Out,
Out’. You may wish to consider setting, imagery, tone and the ending.
In his poem, ‘Out, Out’, Robert Frost effectively reveals the fragility of life. The themes of
sudden death and child labour help to make this a very sad and shocking narrative poem.
The title alludes to Macbeth’s poignant speech on hearing of the unexpected passing of his
wife, with the metaphor, ‘Out, out, brief candle’. This reflects the tragedy of the accidental
death of a child doing a man’s job. Frost’s use of setting, imagery, and tone create a moving
poem with a shocking ending.
The peaceful setting of the farmyard is deceptive as it is situated within view of the scenic
‘Five mountain ranges one behind the other/Under the sunset far into Vermont’. This calm
tone conveys the impression of a safe, quiet, rural spot away from the noise and bustle of
the city. Here the senses of sight, smell and touch are evoked as the ‘dust’ from the cut
wood was ‘Sweet-scented ...when the breeze drew across’ the yard. However, the workers,
including a boy whose age and name remain unknown to the reader, are too engrossed in
their chores to appreciate the surrounding natural beauty.
In contrast the tone of the opening line is ominous as the imagery of the buzz-saw is very
menacing. Frost’s word choice compares it to a predatory animal while the poet develops
the metaphor to personify this powerful tool:
‘The buzz-saw snarled and rattled in the yard….
And the saw snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled,
As it ran light , or had to bear a load.’
The onomatopoeic sounds of ‘snarled’ and ‘rattled’ plus the repetition and rhythm give it a
mechanical effect making it appear that this saw has a mind of its own. I thought this was
very realistic and had a chilling effect as it was juxtaposed with the setting, a place where
ironically , the boy should be safe.
Suddenly the tone becomes reflective and complacent as Frost reassures the reader with
the gentleness of ‘And nothing happened: day was all but done.’ His use of the first person
shows sympathy for the boy and wishes others had listened to the child’s need to finish his
chores:
‘Call it a day, I wish they might have said
To please the boy by giving him the half hour
That a boy counts so much when saved from work.’
The word ‘saved’ is ironic whilst we have an image of a powerless little boy, under the
heartless control of adults. There follows a domestic, homely image of his sister ‘in her
apron to tell them “Supper” and this is a turning point in the middle of the poem.
The theme of the fragility of life emerges as the tone becomes frightening with the
transformation from the image of the saw as a working tool, to a monstrous, calculating,
predatory beast in search of its food:
‘At the word, the saw,
As if to prove saws knew what supper meant,
Leaped out at the boy’s hand, or seemed to leap –
Here the saw is personified as a well-trained animal responding to its master’s signal. This is
a very aggressive tone and effective animal image which becomes even more shocking as
the poet adds in a matter of fact way, ‘He must have given the hand…Neither refused the
meeting.’ Perhaps the boy lost concentration due to fatigue. However, his reaction, a
‘rueful laugh’ is painful to read and reflects his state of shock. Furthermore we sense his fear
in his dialogue, “Don’t let him cut my hand off - Don’t let him, sister!”
Powerful images of death follow such as the metaphor,‘The doctor put him in the dark of
ether’ and the sinister use of ‘ the watcher at his pulse took fright.’ A sense of helplessness
pervades the setting now as negative words describe the boy’s dying moments:
‘No one believed.
Little –less--nothing!’
The structure here is effective as the brevity reflects the boy’s life and alludes back to
Macbeth’s speech about life as a candle burning out, just as the boy’s life has so sadly
ended.
Despite this poignant tone, the poet leaves us feeling shocked and amazed at the reaction of
the people around him:
‘And they, since they
Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs.’
The tone here is very detached and surprising given the lack of grief expressed at this fatal
accident. In contrast, I believe the poet’s sympathy lies with the victim and his critical tone
shows this: ‘’big boy/ Doing a man’s work, though a child at heart – he saw all spoiled.’
Robert Frost’s poem ‘Out, Out –‘ is very moving and effectively reveals the fragility of life.
His use of setting, changes in tone and images of animals and death help me to empathise
with the boy’s situation. The ending startled me as I realised the workers around the boy
were hardened in the face of death, even in the case of that of a child. Indeed a memorable
poem.