Mateos 1

Cynthia Mateos

Mr. Thompson

ENGL 1302.4

May 6, 2025

‘Out, Out—’ Explication

In Robert Frost’s poem “‘Out, Out—’” Frost shows the harsh reality of the indifference

of death and the dangers of labor on children. The poem is about the tragic death of a young boy

who dies at work from an accident with a saw. Geer Lu says that Frost uses “technique is more

like deliberately ignoring life and stimulating readers’ moral instincts” (Lu 262). which causes

certain feelings to arise in someone. Through the use of personification, imagery, and the poem’s

indifferent tone one is able to see how these elements work together to bring life to the story.

In the poem Robert Frost uses personification to emphasize how dangerous the saw is.

The poem starts off by saying “The buzz saw snarled and rattled in the yard” (1). It personifies

the saw like it is something that is dangerous saying that it “snarled and rattled.” Using theses

descriptive words help emphasize how the saw is a threat. Later in the poem it says that the saw

“Leaped out at the boy’s hand, or seemed to leap—” (16). This shows how the machine being

used is uncontrollable like it has a mind of its own by using the word “leaped” (16). This shows

how a machine can be uncontrollable at times and can cause unsafe labor environments that can

lead to fatalities especially on children of young age like the boy in the poem. As expressed by

Lu, Robert Frost is “condemning some social regulations at the time, such as child labor, and the

tragic consequences it brings” (Lu 262). By using personification as an element it helps the

readers understand just how dangerous the saw is and allows for better interpretation of the

overall story.
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An element used greatly throughout the poem is the use of imagery, it is used to further

emphasize the difference between the beautiful scenery and the tragedy that occurred. It talks

about the beautiful scenery in Vermont “Five mountain ranges one behind the other / Under the

sunset far into Vermont” (5-6). And how the “Sweet-scented stuff when the breeze drew across

it” (3). This creates a serene atmosphere of the location in the story. This creates a sharp contrast

against what happens to the boy. As expressed by Lu “Frost does

not focus on the boy in the first nine lines of the poem, but instead describes the saw who is

about to kill the boy” (Lu 261). In the poem it says “Half in appeal, but half as if to keep / The

life from spilling” (21-22). Showing how in a matter of seconds the boy had lost his hand and

there was nothing that could be done to save the hand. By not focusing on the boy it shows the

contrast difference and how quickly life can change from one moment to another.

The use of both imagery and personification in the poem allows Robert Frost’s use of a

detached tone helps accentuate the indifference faced with death. It shows the boy telling his

sister “‘Don’t let him cut my hand off—” (25). Showing the boys pain in comparison to a few

lines earlier where it had a calmer ambiance. After it says “Little—less—nothing!—and that

ended it” (32). Showing how the life was slowly taken from the boy as he took one of his last

breaths and his heart slowly stopped beating. Which showed how the people just stood around

him and watch how his life drained out of him and after that incident it says that since they

“Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs” (34). Showing how many if not all the people

became indifferent to death in that place. But showing that there is nothing that could be done,

fate was sealed, which leads both the boy and the people surrounding him to accept that death is

the only viable option left and decide to not fight it.
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In “Out, Out—”, Robert Frost’s use of personification, imagery and an indifferent tone

help emphasize the reality that is of child labor and how there is a certain emotional detachment

with the concept of death. By giving the saw life like characteristics it allows one to be able to

see how dangerous the saw truly is and how under unsafe conditions things could go wrong and

change in just a matter of minutes that can cost the life of someone. It also pointed at the use of

the contrast between the beautiful scenery and the tragedy that occurred makes one remember the

fragility of life. The use of an indifferent tone used to describe the boys death and how quickly

everyone just returned to their normal life highlights a societal numbness to suffering and how

life must go one even after loss.

Cited Works

Frost, Robert. “‘Out, Out-.’” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation,

www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/53087/out-out. Accessed 3 May 2025.

Lu, Geer. “The Tranquil Narration of Death: Robert Frost’s ‘Out, Out--.’” Communications in

Humanities Research, vol. 21, no. 1, 7 Dec. 2023, pp. 260–264,

https://doi.org/10.54254/2753-7064/21/20231489.