Out, Out Analysis

By and large, in "Out, Out" Frost employs a form called blank verse. This allows the poet to use iambic pentameter when he or she wants to, but the poet is also not wedded to a specific format like...

Biographically, it seems that Robert Frost had an event like this occur in his life—his neighbor was a young man who sliced his hand on a saw and later died. Remember, though, readers, Frost is n...

New England: this is a classic Frost setting. We're in rural New Hampshire, close to the Vermont border. What does this mean for you, dear reader?Well, first of all, we're in an old school place. T...

How does this poem sound when you read it aloud? Go ahead, we'll wait.OK, now that you've read the entire poem aloud to yourself (or at least the first few lines), notice how good Frost is at meldi...

Frost's title is a reference to Shakespeare's Macbeth. It alludes to Macbeth's speech after the death of his wife, where he comments on the frailty and pointlessness of life. The full text is:Out,...

Robert Frost always set his poems in the country, and they're rarely about how epic that flower over there looks in the sunlight. He tackles hefty issues. Life, unexpected death, roads not traveled...

We're not dealing with any complex phrases here, and the poem is pretty short. But given its content and message, it's a trek above sea level. This ascent may be a depressing one, but it's not like...

True facts—the poem was based on an actual event that occurred in Frost's life; his neighbor died after lacerating his hand on a saw. (Source)Need a new sole? Robert Frost once worked as a cobble...

Not much steaminess to count on here, but we do have a lot of blood and a whole lot of hefty commentary about the indifference of humanity to death.

Shakespeare, Macbeth, 5:1:26-40, 5:5:19-28 (title): Head over to our "What's Up With The Title?" section to see more about this shout-out.