Death in Frostian Poems

A detailed Summary of Death in Frostian Poems

The Issue of Death in poems by Robert Frost

While studying Frostian poems, a topic which tends to arise frequently, is the theme of death. In most poems, Robert Frost deals with this theme is different ways, however, the underlining direction of his thoughts usually point in the same direction.

To fully comprehend the way Frost deals with the topic of death, I have chosen three poems which directly deal with this subject. We shall explore these three poems to gain a better understanding of Frost's view of our ongoing theme : Death.

The first poem, "Out, Out-", deals with the death of a boy, working with a buzz saw. After having an accident with this heavy piece of equipment, the boy's hand is chopped off, resulting in his death.

In this poem, the reader is introduced to the theme of death from the very beginning. The title, "Out, Out-", was taken from the Shakespearian play, "Macbeth". The line, "Out, out brief candle" was spoken by Macbeth, after the discovery of the death of his wife.

So one can see that Frost prepares the reader for the theme of death as early on as the title of the poem. This creates a certain anticipation of death, thus emphasising it's power when it comes later on in the poem. Other preparations unde

By doing this, Frost conveys to the reader the opinion that life is mysterious and it must go on, even if death is needed. This can be linked to the "unimportance" of the death of the boy in the poem "Out,Out-"

After Frost has sufficiently prepared the reader for the accident, he plunges into it. He does this by personifying the saw, suggesting that at the word "Supper", the saw, trying to prove it's comprehension, leapt out of the boys hand, cutting it off. Immediately, Frost brings the reader back to reality, blaming the accident on the boys hand. This is characteristic of Frost. It is frequent to see Frost suggest fantasies only to bring us back to a harsh reality.

Another poem to be considered is "Mowing". Although the theme of death is not dealt with directly, it is still a major part of the poem. In "Mowing", Frost unravels the images of a man mowing grass. This grass eventually dies and forms new life.

Much like in most of his other poems, Frost prepares the reader for upcoming events. In mowing, the swinging "whispering" motion of his scythe can be linked to the image of the "Grim Reaper". This personification of death is vital to the poem because it emphasises the importance and the power of death. It also adds on a certain mysterious side to it, which is compelling to the reader. This mysterious side complements the lack of knowledge man has about death.

The use of these

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 943
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English