“OUT,OUT” ROBERT FROST

Before you begin

“Out,Out brief candle!/ Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage /And then is heard no more. It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing” ( Macbeth V, v 23-28)

Macbeth on receiving news that his queen is dead.

Questions

How does Frost make the buzz-saw appear sinister? How does he make it seem, in another way like a friend?

What do you make of the people who surround the boy—the “they” of the poem?

Q2

Who might “they” be? Do they seem to you concerned and compassionate, cruel, indifferent, or what?

What does Frost’s reference to Macbeth contribute too your understanding of the poem?

How does the poem relate to the theme of home and family?