Out Out – analysis
Title referencing Macbeth
→ brevity of boy’s life, cut short before his time
Themes
Humankind & technology
- Symbolises dangers of technology if not handled properly
- the natural softness of the landscape is contrasted with the saw’s harshness and man-made
quality
Value of life
- "turned to their affairs'' other people do not have time to grief the loss of the boy, simply
moving on with their lives → cold, indifferent
→ sadness of boy’s death; subtly questioning the purpose of life
Rhyme scheme
Blank verse - unrhymed iambic pentameter
→ remains unpredictable, as are life and death
Imagery & poetic devices
- Sensory imagery
“Sweet-scented stuff’’ “five mountain ranges’’
→ idyllic, rural setting, false sense of security; beauty of landscape contrasted with the danger
of the saw
“Sunset” → symbolic: end of day / life
Use of enjambment
- Personification & onomatopoeia of saw
“Snarled and rattled” → threat, predatory, sense of tension
“Leaped out of the boy’s hand’’ - out of control
- Narrative interjection
“I wish they might have said’’ foreshadowing the incident
- Juxtaposition
“First outcry was a rueful laugh” happiness & pain; so shocked that he’s confused as to how
to react
- Metaphor
“Dark of ether” foreshadowing darkness of death
- Tricolon, exclamatory
“Little-less-nothing” → visual representation of the ebbing away of the boy’s life
[ @twilightxcafee notes – Reserved for customers only ]
Title referencing Macbeth
→ brevity of boy’s life, cut short before his time
Themes
Humankind & technology
- Symbolises dangers of technology if not handled properly
- the natural softness of the landscape is contrasted with the saw’s harshness and man-made
quality
Value of life
- "turned to their affairs'' other people do not have time to grief the loss of the boy, simply
moving on with their lives → cold, indifferent
→ sadness of boy’s death; subtly questioning the purpose of life
Rhyme scheme
Blank verse - unrhymed iambic pentameter
→ remains unpredictable, as are life and death
Imagery & poetic devices
- Sensory imagery
“Sweet-scented stuff’’ “five mountain ranges’’
→ idyllic, rural setting, false sense of security; beauty of landscape contrasted with the danger
of the saw
“Sunset” → symbolic: end of day / life
Use of enjambment
- Personification & onomatopoeia of saw
“Snarled and rattled” → threat, predatory, sense of tension
“Leaped out of the boy’s hand’’ - out of control
- Narrative interjection
“I wish they might have said’’ foreshadowing the incident
- Juxtaposition
“First outcry was a rueful laugh” happiness & pain; so shocked that he’s confused as to how
to react
- Metaphor
“Dark of ether” foreshadowing darkness of death
- Tricolon, exclamatory
“Little-less-nothing” → visual representation of the ebbing away of the boy’s life
[ @twilightxcafee notes – Reserved for customers only ]
