Aim for the A*: Out, Out-
The title of this poem references Shakespeare (Macbeth) and is a rumination on the brevity of life. The poem is set in New England, in the United States. The poem deals with a workplace accident, whereby a young boy, operating a buzz saw, accidentally cuts off his hand, and bleeds to death. The poem builds up in crescendo, leading to the climax (the boy losing his hand), and then an anti-climax , whereupon the observers resume their daily lives. Frost is criticising society which forces boys to do the work of grown men. This is emphasised through the repeated mention of ‘boy’ in the poem as well as the line ‘big boy… Doing a man’s work’ Frost uses personification expertly through the poem to give human qualities to the buzz saw. Examples include, ‘snarling, rattling’, and ‘leaped out at the boy’s hand’. This emphasizes the gravity of the situation, and causes the saw to take on the personality of a brutal man, or a tyrant . In addition to personifica...
