POEM ESSAY

The poem I choose to write about is "Out, Out" by Robert Frost. The prompt I selected was

 

1989 Poem: “The Great Scarf of Birds” (John Updike)

Prompt: Write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how the poem's organization, diction, and figurative language prepare the reader for the speaker's concluding response.

I believe this poem could be used for this prompt because it also uses a  complex and defined structure to lead into the death of the boy at the end of the poem.

Throughout the poem "Out, Out" by Robert Frost, there are several instances where the structure and syntax of the piece foreshadow and illuminate the overall ending. Frost uses strong literary methods such as allusions, personification and restatement to bring notice to strong points in his piece. 

He alludes to the way the boy was left alone doing work that was more for a man than a boy relates to the need by the family for him to work. He shows that through the way even the sister is the one who announces dinner. Most early eastern societies require all members of the family to pitch in to keep the family afloat. Even the death of one member may not be as significant as it is today because there is always more work to do than to mope. This allusion to the early culture helps signify to the reader why all who were not dead returned to their chores or tasks after the boy was dead.

Frost gave human attributes to the chain saw so that the readers may understand the situation at hand. There was a young boy working to help his family and a "hungry" saw waiting to feast on him as soon as was given the chance. Frost even timed the decapitation of the hand with the moment the sister yells supper to give the saw another human characteristic. By creating a person with the saw, readers are able to connect the dots that the saw represents mistakes made by humans that cause pain, suffering and death of other humans. 

By repeatedly saying phrases like snarled and rattled, Frost brought attention to the saw and how it was the focal point of the poem. The saw represented the snarling dangerous nature that lurks around every corner. The saw not only took the life of a little boy it represented death. Death like the saw picks a person and at a point where it seemed most fitting it takes what it wants.  Death is a mysterious force that may take several minutes, hours, days or even years to take a person which often leads to hope. What the saw did was take the little hope that was left from that family and in turn made them as unfeeling as the force of death itself.

Frost used many literary techniques to bring about a stronger meaning in his poem and to show different aspects like death, hope, early cultures and human mistakes. His poem shows how the death of a young boy can be perceived in many ways and each way can lead to different meanings. The techniques he used helps the readers understand the death and how the family must continue on with life even after they lost one of their own.