Most obviously, Frost's poem "Out, out-" employs
techniques to make the buzz saw appear alive. Onomatopoetic words such as "snarled" and
"rattled" allow the reader to hear the noises of this beast that seeks human flesh.
Thus the saw becomes, for the reader, a horrible beast.
The
effect of this horrifying beast is made clear through imagery. First, the original
scene is one of an idyllic farm set against the majesty of the mountains. The "beast"
intrudes, attacking without warning. This reality makes everyone a little more nervous
and afraid. Freak accidents DO happen; we just don't think they will happen to
us!
Next, the speaker of the poem becomes more and more
intense as he describes the scene. What begins as an objective comment on the farm life
of a family, ends up with the description of a severed hand and the young boy's slow
transition from disbelief to fear. Ironically, he pleads for a hand that is already
gone:
Don't
let him cut my hand off—
The doctor, when he comes. Don't let him,
sister!
The scene is one of
gruesome finality, with the blood reminiscent of Lady Macbeth when she continually
attempts to wash unseen blood from her hands.
As the poem
ends, the reader is stunned to see that the family spends little time mourning. Life
goes on. While not gruesome, the idea that one's life can be so easily ended and then
forgotten is, in itself, horrifying.
No comments:
Post a Comment