Sunday, February 13, 2011

Sign Inventory 1, Week 5

"Out, Out" By Robert Frost
The buzz saw snarled and rattled in the yard And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood, Sweet-scented stuff when the breeze drew across it. And from there those that lifted eyes could count Five mountain ranges one behind the other Under the sunset far into Vermont. And the saw snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled, As it ran light, or had to bear a load. And nothing happened: day was all but done. Call it a day, I wish they might have said To please the boy by giving him the half hour That a boy counts so much when saved from work. His sister stood beside him in her apron To tell them "Supper." At the word, the saw, As if it meant to prove saws know what supper meant, Leaped out at the boy's hand, or seemed to leap - He must have given the hand. However it was, Neither refused the meeting. But the hand! Half in appeal, but half as if to keep The life from spilling. Then the boy saw all - Since he was old enough to know, big boy Doing a man's work, though a child at heart - He saw all was spoiled. "Don't let him cut my hand off - The doctor, when he comes. Don't let him, sister!" So. The hand was gone already. The doctor put him in the dark of ether. He lay and puffed his lips out with his breath. And then - the watcher at his pulse took a fright. No one believed. They listened to his heart. Little - less - nothing! - and that ended it. No more to build on there. And they, since they Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs.

-Title allusion to Macbeth
-Title reinforces theme of poem which is brevity of life.
-Snarled and rattled repeated, personifying the saw.
-Alteration with S sounds, IE: "sweet-scented stuff" and "saw snarled"
-Synecdoche; "to keep the life from spilling"
-Dark of ether= sedation. interesting word choice.
-Poem presented unbroken, paragraph form.
-Omnipresent speaker.
-"Little - less - nothing" creates rhythmic effect of a dying heart beat.
-Title also reinforced by the reaction of the people, knowing that life is short and can be taken the away at anytime, they continue there "affairs"
-Uses dialogue between characters to express emotions, telling over showing.
-no one is given a name, distancing the speaker from the action.
-Imagery is gray and dark, like it is about to snow.

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