Out Out

Q1:Frost has used many linguistic devices in the

poem Out Out! Explain them by highlighting the
impression he wanted to create by using these
devices?
Ans)Out Out by Robert Frost is a poem about a
young boy who dies as a result of cutting his hand
using a buzz saw. In order to give the reader an
imagery of the bizarre scenario, Frost utilizes
personification, imagery, tones, repetition, short
sentences and variations in sentences to display
various feelings. There has also been made a
reference to Macbeths speech in the play by
Shakespeare called Macbeth which is somewhat
parallel to the ominous occurrence in the poem
Out Out.
The title alludes to Macbeths speech as a tale
told by an Idiot. To me Out Out can be interpreted
in many ways. However with the allusion in the title
I think Frost wants to show us how unpredictable
life can be and how moments can be changed
within a moment.
Frost poem begins with a vivid imagery sound,
sight and smell. Alliteration in sweet- scented

stuff gives us an impression of a beautiful nature

around the narrator. However the beautiful scene is
just positioned with the imagery of the buzz saw
appearing as a mentoring one. Frost word choice
compares it to a predatory animal. The onomatopic
sound
of snarled and rattled plus the repetition
and rhythm gives it a mechanical effect and
making it appears that this saw has a mind of its
own. Frost uses this method of personification to
create great effect in the poem. The buzz- saw
though technically an inanimate object is described
as a cognizant being. The onomatopoeic on line
one snarled and rattled and repetition in line
seven again is very interesting. The verb here as
suggested above evokes and gives an impression
of animalistic life. Snarled evokes hungry dogs
and ferocious animals of the forest anticipating
their food and Rattled is similar to as the sound of
snake when it is about to strike with its venomous
fangs. As we see a lonely and domestic image of a
young girl in her apron and as she calls out
supper the poet personifies the buzz- saw again
as if to show that the buzz-saw has a mind of its
own. After the terrible accident the boys reaction
is sympathized with an oxymoron. Rueful laugh
give us an insight to the boys mind that he was not
sure of what had just happened to him. Life is the

biggest deceiver just as we see that moments ago

he was going to eat the food and next moment he
was the food himself. The buzz-saw is personified
as a life taker but can also give life if it had given
or spared the boys life, if only for a moment he
would have been able to gain part of his childhood
even though it would be less than he deserved.
The poet add special pathos to the tragedy by the
use if Antithesis as the narrator knows he was
doing a mans work, though a child at heart. Here
the impression wanted to bring into effect is that
Frost satirizes the society, perhaps the adults as
they seem to be mature at the moment for not
intervening in the scene and allowing the boy to
work with ferocious and disastrous buzz-saw, even
it was clear that it would instantiously take away
the boys life. Frost is a deft writer and he has used
short sentences in the poem, so as to create
tension and make the reader conscious about the
upcoming occurrence in the poem.
However all the literary devices used and the
observations made by Frost are all in keeping in
mind the title of the poem Out Out! which
alluded to the famous soliloquy in Shakespeares
play on the poignant speech told by Macbeth on

suddenly hearing the news of his wife who passed

away.
No one could handle the poem better than
Frost, as he successfully uses the figures of speech,
and variations of technique to depict us life as a
tale told by an idiot.