“Out,Out-“ and Bredon Hill are two very different poems which both deal with the theme of unexpected death.
“Out,Out-“, by Robert Frost, is the story of the death of a boy caused by a buzz-saw. The title, “Out,Out-“, was taken by Frost from Shakespeare’s Macbeth – these words were used to express Macbeth’s grief at the death of his wife, Lady Macbeth, saying “out,out brief candle”, which enforces the idea that a life has prematurely ended, which echoes the theme and narrative of the poem.However, in Bredon Hill the title does not have any particular significance to the theme of unexpected death; rather it is the name of a place where the persona and his girlfriend liked to spend their time together. “Out,Out-“ is written in blank verse which is a narrative form: telling a story. The simple lexicology such as, “Five mountain ranges one behind the other” intensifies the feeling of shock in the reader when the buzz-saw “Leaped out at the boy’s hand,” as it is quite unexpected.
Similarly, Bredon Hill tells a story, but it is written in seven five-line stanzas, each telling a different part of the lovers’ story. However, Bredon Hill is a lyric, which was most likely chosen by Housman due to its mournful characteristics which would suit the poem due to the mournful nature of the last three stanzas, when the persona’s girlfriend “rose up so early. ” The poem also seems to become a lament towards then end, when the speaker says that he “will come [to church],” which is almost like a cry of defeat due to the unexpected death of his lover.Personally, I feel that the structure of both poems helps reinforce the theme of unexpected death, as well as the speakers’ reactions to it. The structure of “Out, Out-“ really conveys the unpredictability of an unexpected death with its narrative form which doesn’t really change at all-making the death more shocking, which also shows the speaker’s indifferent attitude to the boy’s death. However, in Bredon Hill the sudden change at the start of the fifth stanza with the word, “But,” also reinforces the theme of death as unexpected due to the abrupt nature of the word.
The death of the persona’s lover in Bredon Hill seems to be more important to the persona than the death of the boy in “Out, Out-“ due to the mournful nature of Bredon Hill. The rhyme schemes for the two poems are very different. “Out, Out-“ has no rhyming pattern present and is written in blank verse, whereas Bredon Hill has an ABCBB scheme with ‘feminine’ endings in line one and three of each stanza.The lack of rhyme scheme in “Out, Out-“ adds a reporting style to the poem which reinforces the idea of the characters’ and speaker’s indifference to the boy’s unexpected death since they “turned to their affairs” since they “were not the one dead. ” However, in Bredon Hill the fact that the last two lines of each stanza rhyme adds tension to each stanza, such as “near/…hear” and “high/…sky” which almost add an aura of mystery or suspense to the poem, which coincidentally ends with the death of the persona’s lover when “to church went she.
”Additionally, the repetition of the word “And” at the start of many lines in “Out, Out-“ seems to infer that it was very much a ‘normal’ day in Vermont (where the poem takes place) until the saw “seemed to leap” at the boy’s hand. The lack of rhyme scheme in “Out, Out-“ is used to show the reader the speaker and the characters’ indifference to the unexpected death of the boy at the hands of the buzz-saw, whereas the ABCBB rhyme scheme in Bredon Hill is seemingly used to create an air of tension and suspense as a result of the death of the speaker’s lover.The mood and tone of “Out, Out-“ is very different to that of Bredon Hill. “Out, Out-“ has a controversial and shocking tone due to the pleasant start to the poem with nature imagery such as the “sunset” and sensual imagery such as “sweet-scented”, which abruptly changes when the buzz-saw “snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled,” and proceeds to “leap out” at the boy and “ended [his life].”Bredon Hill, on the other hand, has an optimistic and positive tone for the first four stanzas since the couple are quite at ease as they “would lie/And see the coloured counties” and “stay” instead of going to church like all the “good people”; however, the mood abruptly changes and becomes quite melancholic and mournful at the start of the fifth stanza with the word, “But.
” This signals the death of the speaker’s lover and the change in tone from optimistic and carefree to miserable and sombre, with the fact that this happened “at Christmas” brings in quite a cold atmosphere which is in line with the theme of death in the poem.The mournful tone is further accentuated with the mention of “mourners,” furthering the theme of death; and the fact that “Groom there was none to see,” implying a sense of hopelessness and futility in the persona. This sense of futility is increased when the speaker seems to give in to the “noisy bells” and decides he “will come” to church. The shocking tone of “Out, Out-“ shows the reader that the speaker is quite sympathetic with the boy’s unexpected death as he remarked how the boy was “Doing a man’s work, though a child at heart.
”However in Bredon Hill, there is a sense that the speaker feels quite useless and empty inside due to the unexpected death of his lover, as he decided to go to church, after vowing only to come when the bells “peal upon [their] wedding. ” It ironically seems that the speaker needs God now, even though he basically rejected him earlier in the poem.Whilst both speakers seem to be affected by the death in each poem, the speaker in Bredon Hill seems to be a lot more affected than the speaker in “Out, Out-“Imagery is used in each poem to emphasise the unexpected nature of the respective deaths. In “Out, Out-“ the reader is lulled into a false sense of security at the start of the poem with Frost’s use of frightening onomatopoeia with the buzz-saw that “snarled and rattled,” which is quickly juxtaposed with and almost overcome bynatural imagery such as “Five mountain ranges” and sensual imagery like “sweet-scented,” which really draws the reader into the poem.
However, further into the poem the imagery abruptly changes to violent, blood-soaked imagery caused by the devastation of the “saw” which is a metaphor for the destruction technology can have, and is also personified as it “seemed to leap,” further emphasising the speaker’s (and Frost’s) belief that technology was a great evil. The description of the boy’s life as “spilling” creates a vivid image in the reader’s mind due to the image of blood created. Also, the fact the boy was put in “the dark” of ether shows that there was really no salvation for the boy.However, in Bredon Hill, less imagery is used than in “Out, Out-“ In Bredon Hill, there is continuous personification of the bells, with direct speech used as if they were telling all “good people” to “come all to church.
” Also, at the start of the poem (a happy time in the speaker’s life) it is “summertime,” a time associated with warmth, optimism and happiness with many; whereas it is “Christmas” at the end of the poem (when the speaker’s lover dies), a time of coldness and depression, matching the speaker’s mood.Lonely imagery is used to further emphasise the persona’s angst and loneliness in the wake of his lover’s death as he “went to church alone. ” Imagery is used in “Out, Out-“ mainly to emphasise the boy’s lonely and painful fate, as well as the poet’s negative views in relation to technology; whereas imagery is mainly used in Bredon Hill to reiterate the speaker’s pain at the death of his lover, showing her unexpected death has very much affected him. The context surrounding the poets’ lives plays a part in each of the poems.
“Out, Out-“ was based on the death of 16 year old Raymond Fitzgerald in New Hampshire, and the negative presentation of technology in the poem is a direct critique on behalf of Frost, the author, on the advances of technology caused by the Industrial Revolution. Bredon Hill, too, was influenced by several factors. The fact that the persona and his lover vow not to go to church until “[their] wedding,” would have been viewed as very shocking by conservative, religious Victorian society, since this was published in the nineteenth century.Also, it should be noted that Bredon Hill is an actual place in Worcestershire, England, even though it is included in a poetry anthology entitled The Shropshire Lad.
Whilst both poems were influenced by the context surrounding the respective poets and eras, they do not have much to do with the theme of unexpected death, but certainly do influence some other aspects of the poems. Personally, I felt “Out, Out-“ was the most engaging of the two poems due to the great use of imagery and the controversial storyline. I did enjoy Bredon Hill; however I felt the ending too melancholy due to the woe and loneliness expressed by the speaker.
