Out, Out. by Robert Frost Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Out, Out. by Robert Frost - Essay ExampleThe title of the poem, Out, Out, is derived from a line in William Shakespeares play Macbeth Out, out, brief candle (Shakespeare, 1993, 5.5.23), intercommunicate by Macbeth upon hearing the news of his wifes death. Frosts use of the phrase as his title seems to be ironic. In the play, Macbeth laments his wifes passing and reflects that sustenance is ultimately meaningless it is a tale/Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,/Signifying nothing (Shakespeare, 1993, 5.5.26-28). But Frost does not agree that life has no meaning. He uses the poem as a way to record the boys existence, to show that even though his candle has been snuffed way withal soon, his life was still significant. The poem begins just before the tragedy occurs, and sets the tone from the first line. Frost uses personification to describe the chainsaw as it snarled and rattle in the yard (1). This line foreshadows the upcoming accident, but it is important to note that Frost does not depict the tragedy as an accidenthe alternatively frames it as a deliberate act of malice on the part of the saw.