Rock-it Poetry “Out, Out-” by Robert Frost

1. Rock-it Poetry“Out, Out-” by Robert Frost Jordan Thompson AP English Literature K. Saunders 23 February 2014

2. Title • “Out, out-” is from Shakespeare's “Macbeth” • “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.” • This quote is conveying the idea that everyone will die eventually and life is really just a “walking shadow” and it signifies nothing. • Frost’s choice of “Out, out-” as the title is significant because he embodies the same idea as Shakespeare in Macbeth.

3. Paraphrase • Buzz saw heard from the yard • “Sweet-scented” gives the illusion of happiness and sweets • People who were stopped by the sweet smell and drawn to look saw beauty in the mountain ranges and sunset • The saw snarled and rattled as it came to the end of a days work • Half an hour left that they wouldn’t give the boy • That half an hour could have saved him • Half an hour can mean so much to a young boy

4. Paraphrase Continued • Sister calls the boy for supper and the saw almost seems mad at the idea • The boys hand gets caught in the saw and the boy cries out • The “life spills” from his hand • The boys hand had to be taken off even though he pleaded not to let them cut it off • The boys falls into darkness and eventually his heart stops • No one made a fuss, no one cared. Everyone when on with their affairs

5. Connotation • This poem discusses issues like child labor, and a child being forced to grow up and a loss of their innocence • Juxtaposition- • Beauty vs. Violence • Innocence of a child vs. reality of manhood • Play vs. work

6. Attitude • The attitude of this poem is sad. The author shows regret when he uses words like “I wish” and “might” and the author also uses violent and dark words such as “leaped” and “keep the life from spilling” • The speakers attitude is sad and sympathetic towards the boy who was forced to become a man and do a mans work but in the end he wasn’t rewarded or thanked for his labor, he was forgotten.

7. Shifts • There is a shift in language between lines 5 and 6. In the lines leading up to 5 the words that are used show beauty and serenity. “Sweet-scented” “mountain ranges” “sunset” but in line 6 a major shift in language occurs when the author describes the saw as “snarling and rattling” making it sound very aggressive • There is another shift seen when the boy is dying. The language before the boys death conveys chaos- “leaped” “swung” “spilling”- Then leading to the death the tone shifts to dark and cool- “dark of ether” “little, less, nothing” “ended”

8. Title • The theme of Shakespeare’s soliloquy in “Macbeth” is seen throughout this poem • Death is a part of life and everything is just leading to death • Life actually “signifies nothing” • Frost conveys in this poem that people saw children as “signifying nothing” and not important as shown through the young boys death when the people just “turned to their affairs”

9. Theme • Child Labor • Sadness • Loss of Innocence • Life and Death • Youthfulness • Societal views and impact