“OUT OUT” by Robert Frost - Analysis
"Out, Out" is a poem by American poet Robert Frost, published in Frost's 1916 collection
Mountain Interval and based on a true incident that happened to Frost's friend's son. The
poem is set in rural Vermont, where a young boy cutting wood with a buzz saw is called in for
"supper" by his sister. But just as he turns to come in, the saw suddenly makes contact with
his hand, causing an outpouring of blood that ultimately proves fatal. This tragedy, a young
boy losing his life in such a wasteful and shocking way, implicitly questions the value of life
itself. Indeed, the narrator's matter-of-fact presentation of the boy's final moments, and the
way in which everyone soon goes back to their daily business, suggests that death is a
mundane fact of daily life.
“Out, Out ” As a Representative of Death: The poem narrates the tragic death of a boy, who
accidentally severed his hand while working on the farm. The young boy later dies in a shock. At
the outset, the speaker presents a graphic description of a dangerous saw, which was the main
cause of death. The speaker also provides the description of eye-catching sights and soothing
sounds of the farm, which were interrupted by the unpleasant noise of the saw. The day was
about to end, but the laborers were still working on the farm. When the young boy’s sister
called him for supper, out of excitement, he is distracted. The accident severs his hand. Out of
fear, he begged his sister not to allow the doctor to amputate his wounded hand. The doctor
anesthetized him for treatment, but he dies. Surprisingly, everyone moves on with their lives as
if the tragedy was an ordinary event. The cold response of the people about the young boy
reveals the hardships of working people.
Major Themes in “Out, Out”: Death, child labor and fragility of life are the major themes of
this poem. Robert Frost has highlighted the issue of child labor in this short poem. Although the
boy performs man’s tasks, he is still an innocent child at heart. The ending of the poem is
callous, shocking, and cruel. People behave indifferently to the death of that boy. There are no
signs of mourning or sadness on their faces. They return to their work as if nothing has
happened.
POETIC TECHNIQUES
1. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line. For example, the
sound of /o/ in “And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood” and the sound of /i/
in “He lay and puffed his lips out with his breath.”
[Link]: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick
succession such as the sound of /s/ in “Sweet-scented stuff when the breeze drew across it.”
3. Personification: Personification is to give human qualities to inanimate objects. For example,
the saw, which is compared to a buzzing sound is personified, “The buzz saw snarled and rattled
in the yard; And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood.”
4. Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For
example, “The buzz saw snarled and rattled in the yard”; “And made dust and dropped stove-
length sticks of wood” and “The doctor put him in the dark of ether.”
5. Symbolism: Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities, by giving them
symbolic meanings that are different from their literal meanings. Here sunset symbolizes the
end of the young boy’s life.
6. Onomatopoeia: It refers to the words related to the natural sounds of animals or objects. The
poet has used the words buzz, snarled, and rattled are examples of onomatopoeia.
7. Enjambment: It is defined as a thought or clause that does not come to an end at a line
break; instead, it moves over the next line. For example,
“The buzz saw snarled and rattled in the yard
And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood,
Sweet-scented stuff when the breeze drew across it.”
8. Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of lines and verses. The poem is a long narrative poem of
thirty-four lines with no stanza break.
9. Free Verse: Free verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of rhyme or meter.
This is a free-verse poem without a strict rhyme or meter.
10. Repetition: There is a repetition of the verse, “The buzz saw snarled and rattled” has
created a musical quality in the poem
11. Refrain: The lines that are repeated at some distance in the poem are called refrain. The
verse, “The buzz saw snarled and rattled” is repeated with the same words, it has become a
refrain as it has been repeated in the first and seventh lines of the poem.