Morbid Poem By Robert Frost example essay topic

The poem "Out, Out -- ", by Robert Frost shows the poets views on rural living as well as his views on the worth of life. The poem shows the reality, not the romantic view that most people have about pastoral living. A close analysis of this poem shows that Frost relies on such devises as onomatopoeia, and hard, mournful sounds. "Out, Out -- ", by Robert Frost is comprised of only one long stanza of thirty-four long lines. There is no apparent rhyme scheme. I believe the lack of a rhyme scheme is a little symbolic of the message that the poet is trying to get across; that contrary to popular and romantic ideals about pastoral living, there is nothing grand about getting up with the dawn and working very hard until the sun goes down.

The one and only stanza answers the question, "How do the romanticized views of rural life compare to the actuality of the situation". The use of onomatopoeia with the buzzing of the buzz saw is really the only poetic devise that I could find, but in my opinion, and I could be wrong, the poem does not rely on such poetic devises to get its meaning across. The poet relies on the reader fully understanding the truth behind the meaning. Without understanding this, the reader would be lost and just say that "Out, Out -- ", is just another morbid poem by Robert Frost. In "Out, Out -- ", Frost places the action in what might be called "a picture postcard setting worthy of Vermont Life", but suggests that the people who live on this farm may be just too busy with the day-to-day business of survival to admire the view. The visual brilliance of the sunset and the five mountain ranges contrasts with the drab, common dust and sticks of the boy's chore of cutting wood for the stove.

The pleasing odor of the newly sawn wood as it is borne by the breeze clashes with the onomatopoeia of the buzz saw's snarling and rattling. The work of the day, uneventful as it is, has intruded on the ideal rural scene. But, even here, the day's labor is coming to an end; the boy's sister calls "them" (suggesting others besides the boy is doing necessary chores) to the evening meal. It looks as though the next scene will be the large family gathered around the sturdy table sharing a meal of simple yet hearty food.

Frost is unwilling to continue this pastoral scene, and uses one of his more confusing transitional lines: .".. the saw /... / Leaped out at the boy's hand, or seemed to leap -- " This contrast between the postcard views of the opening six lines outlines the tension the romantic notion of living in the country at the beginning of the twentieth century and the harsh realities of farm life before rural electrification, radio, paved roads, telephone, and other modern conveniences. Frost turns his attention to those who remain, even as the boy's blood spills onto the rocky New England soil. Frost notes the sister, the doctor, the "watcher at (the boy's) pulse", and they who "were not the one dead". Frost is criticized for this seeming indifference on the part of the survivors, but the idea fits squarely with the way of life on the farm.

Cows have to be milked; animals have to be fed and watered; wood still has to be cut for the stove. "Out, Out -- ", shows the human watcher experiencing normal griefs and yet convinced that life's more important task is to keep living. It is the boy's immediate reaction to the accident that catches the reader's interest. Everything -- the boy's life, the family unit, as well as the boy's hand -- is ruined ("spoiled"). There is little room for a boy who cannot "pull his weight" in the subsistence economy of a rural farming.

What appears beautiful on the surface has a center filled with ugliness. The boy inhabits a world where the natural beauty of the New England Mountains and the hazards of farm work exist side by side. One has a reality that is carefully hidden and concealed; the other exhibits a painful reality with sweet-scented breezes and a mountain sunset. Some might say that the poetry of Robert Frost is overall morbid and melancholic, but if the reader were to go into more depth then he or she would be amazed at the astounding personality of his poems. Each one of his poems seem morose on the surface, but further reading and pondering would reveal a deepness that can only shed light on the poets views of certain everyday thoughts that everyone has, Robert Frost just chose to express himself in this way.