“How does Frost tell the story in “Out, Out”?

“Out, Out” tells the story of a boy who dies in a farmyard accident. The narrator personifies the saw that the boy is using to a wild animal when it cuts his hand off. The narrator gives a detached perspective and through this Frost shows that life can be brutal and short so people treat human life as insignificant; Frost uses a lot of poetic techniques in order to describe the tragic story.

Firstly, Frost uses the voice behind the poem as a way of conveying how people reacted to the tragic accident. The only voice that is heard in the poem is from a 3rd perspective narrative from someone who witnessed the events of that day. Frost uses a very unemotional and detached perspective in describing the events. After the accident happens the narrative tone becomes very matter-of-fact when Frost writes ‘and they, since they were not the one dead, turned to their affairs.’ The tone is indifferent and unconcerned and Frost shows that life still goes on even if something tragic happens. However, there are absent voices in the poem from the boy, the sister, the doctor and the workers. This shows just how indifferent the sister, the doctor and the workers are to the boy’s accident and how they are unable to provide any emotion when the boy dies as they just carry on as if nothing significant has happened.

In addition, the structure helps to tell the story. The poem is written in the form of blank verse which enables Frost to write in iambic pentameter. However, Frost doesn’t follow this form all the way