Robert Frost’s poem ‘Out, Out’ tells of the tragic death of a boy. Wilfred Owen’s poem, “Disabled,” portrays the story of a man who is left with a scar from battle. Both poems express ideas about fragility and brevity, as well as the idea that life will continue.
“Out, short candle!” “Life is a walking shade, a poor performer who frets about his time on stage before disappearing”. Shakespeare’s Macbeth is undoubtedly a reference to the fragile, brief candlelight. This also evokes the spirit, which is short and can be easily taken away. “Out, Out” is not a disability.
The reader is left in despair by the unexpected death of the child and by the soldier’s incorrect assumption that war will be glorious. The mistake he made has changed both his life view and his perspective on war. The young man had been swept up by an elaborate fantasy with ‘jeweled blades’ in plaid socks and’smart bows’, but he now realizes it was all a trick he used to convince himself. His childhood war fantasy is quickly shattered and his hopes are shattered by the harsh reality of ‘a few sickly years in Institutes and doing what the rules deem wise’. The audience is empathetic to him when his hopes are dashed and he ends up disappointed. The reader is also shocked to learn that his childhood beliefs that he liked a smear of blood on his leg and that he should join the army were proven to be false.
Similarly, the reader of ‘Out, out, feels pain as they imagine the death of a child. The boy is suffering along with the child as we can feel what’s happening and experience the sensory overload. It is clear that the repeated phrase’snarled’ and ‘rattled’ is a warning of the impending pain and death of the child. This causes the reader to feel a greater sense of empathy, as they are aware of what is coming. He makes the reader feel more empathy for his situation by using his panicky, angry voice. The reader feels his terror and is unable organize thoughts. He’ll lose his loved ones and also miss all the wonderful things in life, which he still hasn’t experienced and understood. Under the Vermont sunset’. The character’s compassion and strength, that they wished that they had ‘called a day…to satisfy the boy’ intensifies and deepens the regret and wretchedness in the scene. Because it implies that the boy would not have died brutally if only the day was over sooner. The death is made more poignant by the sadness and regret of what could have happened.
