How Does Robert Frost Use Imagery In

890 Words2 Pages

The words and phrases that a poet uses in their work can create the scene and emotionally connect you to the poem. In the poem “ Out, Out−” , written by Robert Frost, the use of imagery completely affects how you perceive what is happening throughout the piece. The two main types of imagery that the author had used are sight and sound. The use of imagery in this poem allows the reader to create pictures in their head. From this they can become emotionally attached to what is happening and feel the suspense or shock of the boy’s death. The first line of the poem, “The buzz-saw snarled and rattled in the yard”(Frost 371), has imagery that relates to the sound of the saw. The specific words that give the reader an image are “snarled and “rattled”. Even though this is sound imagery it lets the reader know that it is a chainsaw and creates a picture in their head. The saw that is …show more content…

Without a second guess, now the reader knows exactly how bad the boy’s hand has been cut. Frost gets straight to the point with the image of blood pouring from the boy’s hand. This can also tell the reader of the time period or perhaps the location that the poem takes place. If this happened nowadays the boy would be rushed to the hospital. Instead a single doctor will be coming to the boy’s home. Finally after the doctor has arrived and given the boy medicine to relax, the author hits us with what we didn't want to hear: “They listened to his heart, little-less-nothing!”(Frost 372). The imagery here is based on sound, but also the reader can picture the scene around the boy. The doctor and family surrounding him realize that he has just passed on. The boy is now dead all because of his clumsy mistake with the saw. This use of imagery can affect the reader emotionally and leave them shocked at what just

Open Document