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.
And from there those that lifted eyes could count
Five mountain ranges one behind the other
Under the sunset far into Vermont.
And the saw snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled,
As it ran light, or had to bear a load.
And nothing happened: day was all but done.
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.
His sister stood beside them in her apron
To tell them "Supper." 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—
He must have given the hand. However it was,
Neither refused the meeting. But the hand!
The boy's first outcry was a rueful laugh,
As he swung toward them holding up the hand
Half in appeal, but half as if to keep
The life from spilling. Then the boy saw all—
Since he was old enough to know, big boy
Doing a man's work, though a child at heart—
He saw all spoiled. "Don't let him cut my hand off—
The doctor, when he comes. Don't let him, sister!"
So. But the hand was gone already.
The doctor put him in the dark of ether.
He lay and puffed his lips out with his breath.
And then—the watcher at his pulse took fright.
No one believed. They listened at his heart.
Little—less—nothing!—and that ended it.
No more to build on there. And they, since they
Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs.
Notes
This is based on a true event which is believed to have occured in April 1915, Raymond Fitzgerald, the son of Frost’s friend and neighbour, lost his hand to a buzz saw and bled so profusely that he went into shock, dying of heart failure in spite of his doctor’s efforts. Frost’s title invites us to compare the poem’s shocking story with Macbeth’s speech on learning of his wife’s death:
A detailed analysis can be found here http://193.95.165.75/skoool/examcentre_sc.asp?id=1250
The lyrical form of this poem is unrhyming.
1.The title is from Shakespeare's Macbeth, V.v.15-28. Macbeth
says, on learning of the death of Lady Macbeth, his wife:
She should have died hereafter ;
There would have been a time for such a word.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time ;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. 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.
See The Riverside Shakespeare, ed. G. Blakemore Evans (Boston:
Houghton Mifflin, 1974), p. 1337.
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Comments
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From guest Norma (contact)
Is it possible that this poem is connected to child labor too? And how children were treated maybe? Also, the five mountains-do they represent the five senses or something else? Very interesting poem though... -
Categories?
From guest Der Ivitives. (contact)
I think this poem is representing death(Obviously) but on the side it says the categories is only love? Am i reading this wrong or is it a typo? -
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For guest Der Ivitives
The tenderness in the human actions described here and the innocence of those involved would seem to indicate love anmd though Death was the outcome I, personally, don't feel that death is the central element here.
Granted the saw is an instrument for cutting and death but that seems strangely underplayed to me.
Jim
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From guest Mr. Christopher (contact)
This poem is sublime. No matter how many times I read it, or study it with students. It awakens your senses with it's cold New England setting. Then it breaks your heart by showing how life goes on when we leave this earth. This poem is like a sad slow song, or a brilliant novel. Brilliant. -
Good job, Robert.
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Another Robert Frost fan here, and I am pleased to say this is one I had not seen yet,
(which is few and far between) But I do enjoy reading all his works! Thanks for sharing this one today!
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From guest Phillipa (contact)
“Out Out” tells you that they had a not so good time in the war but were fighting for there families protection and ecen the worlds protection. -
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Out, out ...
From guest Rick Stevens (contact)
I believe that this is one of three poems that define Frost. (The others being "At Last, Then Something" and "The Silken Tent".) There is so much to say about this poem, but I'll keep it brief. The poem begins with a leasurely twilight and references the "Five mountain ranges ..." that are visible to "those who lifted [their] eyes..." The reader must define those ranges within the context of his/her life. Alas, if we could stop there (although I don't believe Frost would have wanted to - see "Birches") then perhaps all would be eternally well. We could all take off a "half hour" early and have some supper. But we must go forward; we must continue to work to an inevitable end. One of the key phases in the poem is: "Then the boy saw all- ... He saw all spoiled." His worth and his value was gone. Without the hand he could no longer contribute. The boy continues his plea to his sister to not let the doctor take the hand even though it's gone and he's already seen all. This is what, I believe, Frost saw in life and death. We rue the day when we cannot contribute. This, and the fact that there must be the acceptance of the end (depicted in the last two lines of the poem), no matter how tragic, reflects an important insight into Frost. -
senel_123@hotmail.com
From guest Senel Wanniarachchi (contact)
Senel Wanniarachchi Impressions on “Out Out” “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” Mentioned above are words from William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth uttered by Macbeth himself at the hearing of the death of his wife, Lady Macbeth. Robert Frosts Title “Out Out ” too must have been surely inspired by this. Macbeth has come to regard life as brief and meaningless, “signifying nothing,” and easily taken away. The life of the young boy in the poem too is certainly short, and snatched away from him in a split second. The poem brings out a several important issues such as the uncertainty of life, the inevitable acceptance of death and the unpredictability of the future. Frost epitomizes the uncertainty and the brevity of life through the boy, the “big boy” who “did a man’s work” showing how age does not matter to death and how life can taken away harshly from the youngest of persons. He shows how fragile one’s life is that within a split-second there could be “nothing to build on”. At the end of the poem Frost says that the people “turned to their affairs as “they were not the one dead” refers to the subsequent return to their daily routines. Though one might call this callousness, indifference or mere selfishness it is really the inevitable need to accept death and the fact that life goes on and you have to move with it that Frost bring out. The persons in the poem were taking a pragmatic approach to the situation by persevering in the inevitability of a harsh reality as death is something that cannot be altered. The poem also shows how things can change within a moment. At the beginning everything happens as expected, “nothing happened” and the “day was all but done” but very unexpectedly the tragic incident occurred. Therefore It can be concluded that Frost’s poem is not merely a narrator of a story but also bring out many important issues into the limelight. senel_123@hotmail.com -
A stark but beautiful warning in these words from a day before "health and safety" legislation took the sting out of many tales.
Note the calm acceptance depicted in the poem of what was just another fact of life nad of death by the different characters in the poem. -
for Sally Guneiss
Don't let him, sister!"
So. But the hand was gone already.
The hand had already been severed by the saw unfortunately. The boy was in shock and didn't realise what a terrible thing had happened. In shock to the point where he had a heart attack and died.
Based on a factual accident. Read the notes and other comments for a good outline.
Regards,
Von
Oldpoetry -
So.
From guest Sally Guneiss (contact)
What is the significance of the word "So." :"DOn't let him, sister!"/So. But the hand was goe already" I've been trying to figure it out. -
Original newspaper article
From guest Alfred Gullo (contact)
I am trying to locate the newspaper article that prompted the writing of this poem. I would like to show some students the different impact stlyes of writing can have . Can you guide me to this article. -
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opinion differs on the date April 1915 seems to be a favourite though from one source we get the following:--
This poem was based on an incident that occurred in 1901. Raymond Fitzgerald, the son of Frost’s friend and neighbour, lost his hand to a buzz saw and bled so profusely that he went into shock, dying of heart failure in spite of his doctor’s efforts. Frost’s title invites us to compare the poem’s shocking story with Macbeth’s speech on learning of his wife’s death:
[ http://www.flatrock.org.nz/topics/older_and_under/death_of_a_child.htm ]
A more detailed analysis can be found here http://193.95.165.75/skoool/examcentre_sc.asp?id=1250
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the emotions portrayed through the personifiction of the saw... made the narration ... a vivid imagery...
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I am drawn to this poem again and again. It is hauntingly realistic in it's simplistic teling. I realy identify with the last few lines:
"No more to build on there. And they, since they
Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs"
This is so true. So sad.
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this poem has lots of alliteration and assonance to express his attitude and theme of this poem. it is extrememly melancholic and bitter. if you look into it more you'll find out that frost was very resentful of the industrial revolution and also child labor laws but i could be wrong on that...still trying to find it myself. the poem is set up to the eye as well. if you look at it, you'll notice how it goes back and forth like a saw and it emphasizes the poignant expressions and emotions felt and this is frost's attitude that he was trying to convey to his audiences. the meter and rhyme scheme have significant changes to enhance the emphasis on emotions at the time and to interact with the reader. a sudden change in his predominate meter (iamb pentrameter) is significant for some reason or another. the title is connected to MacBeth play in the soliliqui (can't spell that word sorry). well i have to finish typing up (or start it really) my essay on prosody (which sucks) and i have no idea how to start so i'll keep searching for a good wuote or handy piece of info online somewhere. good luck fellow procrastinators!
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excellent i really enjoyed it
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Pretty sad but interesting story! I am very pleased to have read this poem. GREAT JOB!
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good poem!
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