Out, Out- Flashcards
“Out, Out-“ (title)
- Allusion to Macbeth
- Signifies the fragility of life
- Calls the point of life into question
“The buzz saw snarled” (line 1)
Sibilance - sinister
“snarled and rattled” (line 1)
Onomatopoeia & zoomorphism - draws attention / foreshadowing
“made”, “dropped” (line 2)
Active verbs - control
“Sweet-scented stuff” (line 3)
Sibilance - slows pace
“Five mountain ranges one behind the other Under the sunset far into Vermont” (line 5-6)
Tranquil setting juxtaposes with aggressive buzz saw
“And the saw snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled” (line 7)
Repetition - death is always lurking
“And nothing happened: day was all but done (line 9)
Mundane life - false sense of security - link to repeated “and”
“I wish they might have said” (line 10)
A break from detached narrator - tragedy compels him to comment
“boy” (line 11), “boy” (line 12), “boy’s” (line 16)
Repetition emphasises innocence
“Leaped” (line 16)
Zoomorphism / Active verb - murderous intent
“He must have given the hand” (line 17)
Voice of reason
“But the hand!” (line 18)
Euphemism / exclamation highlights the horror
“rueful laugh” (line 19)
Oxymoron - outlines confusion
“spilling” (line 22)
Diction - no control / speed of losing life
“Then the boy saw all-“ (line 22)
Monosyllabic - blunt truth - loss of innocence
“boy” (line 23), “man’s” (line 23), “child” (line 23)
Contrast - creates sympathy for the reader
“Don’t let him cut my hand off - The doctor, when he comes. Don’t let him sister” (lines 25-26)
Dialogue - boy’s experience is important
”.” (lines 27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34)
Caesuras and end-stopped lines - creates a sense of finality
“Little-less-nothing!-“ (line 32)
Diction and dashes mirror the quickness of life leaving
“and that ended it.[…]turned to their affairs” (lines 32-34)
Simple language and monosyllables = blunt tone = sense of heartlessness
Free verse poem
Highlights the unpredictability of life
