A comparison between "Out, Out-" by Robert Frost and "Death on a Live Wire" by Michael Baldwin
G.C.S.E Post 1914 Poetry Coursework A comparison between "Out, Out-" by Robert Frost and "Death on a Live Wire" by Michael Baldwin
Both of these poems that I have chosen to compare are about death, although the circumstances surrounding the death in each poem contrasts greatly. In the poem "Out, Out-" a "big boy doing a mans work" and getting his hand severed by a buzz saw in a dramatic accident. The injuries sustained in this accident then lead to the "boys" tragic death. "Death on a live Wire" similarly involves a death, but unlike the accidental death of the boy in "Out, Out-" the deceased in this poem actually takes his own life by climbing onto an electric pylon.
In these two poems the poet gets across ideas that he may have wanted us to think about very well. In "Out, Out-" and similarly in "Death on a live wire," both Frost and Baldwin put across very well just how fickle life is, and how swiftly it can be taken away. Frost puts this across in "Out, Out-" by showing the dangers faced in every day working life, and the fact that the victim of this accident is a young boy goes on to emphasise his point of how fickle life actually is. Baldwin though uses the effect that electricity on the body to show how life can be taken away at an instant. He shows how powerful the electricity is, by describing the way it acts on the mans body in great detail. He says that the man "danced an incredible dance," and his legs "thrashed and lashed like electric eels." This builds up a picture in our mind of exactly how the electricity was affecting the man. The use of a simile when Baldwin says that the mans legs "thrashed and lashed like electric eels" is extremely affective, as such a simple likening can build a great picture in the readers mind of the desperate, frantic movements in the mans legs, whilst at the same time suggesting the powerful and dangerous nature of the electricity.
Likewise, both poets have decided on a very effective and meaningful title for their poems. Frost has titled his poem "Out, Out-" which is taken from the play Macbeth, where it signifies trouble. Baldwin has titled his poem "Death on a live Wire," which works very well in the way that it shows great contrast between the words "Death" and "Live." This is also very good in the way that it seems to personify the electricity and the pylon, by describing the wire as "Live," which seems to suggest that it is living.
The moods of both ...
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Likewise, both poets have decided on a very effective and meaningful title for their poems. Frost has titled his poem "Out, Out-" which is taken from the play Macbeth, where it signifies trouble. Baldwin has titled his poem "Death on a live Wire," which works very well in the way that it shows great contrast between the words "Death" and "Live." This is also very good in the way that it seems to personify the electricity and the pylon, by describing the wire as "Live," which seems to suggest that it is living.
The moods of both poems are very dissimilar. Frost sets an anxious mood by the way that he portrays a sense of foreboding. He does this by starting off the poem using onomatopoeia to describe the buzz saw. He says that the "buzz saw snarled and rattled," which gives the reader a feeling that the buzz saw is the focus of the poem, and as scene as he is using very violent words to describe the sound made by the buzz saw, it gives the reader the impression that this buzz saw is likely to harm someone. Although the sense of foreboding is the main way that the writer creates mood in this poem, he also uses black humour to great affect when he says that as the boys sister called him for supper, the saw, "as to prove saws knew what supper meant, leaped out at the boys hand." By this the writer is humouring the way in which the saw seemed to leap out at the boys hand as if it were its food. The writer uses this technique very well, and it stops the poem from drifting from a lively mood to start off with, to a depressing mood, as it puts humour into the poem just before the mood starts to seem depressing because of the boys' accident. In contrast to Frosts use of onomatopoeia, Baldwin uses both personification, in the way that he calls the wire a "grinning wire," and run on lines to create the mood of the poem. The mood of this poem is somewhat depressing and sad, as the poem has both a tragic and sad mood to it. The way the poem is written in the form of a helpless onlooker watching the man seal his tragic fate adds to the depressing feel, as the onlooker describes the man as being "alone," which adds to the feeling that he died a sad and lonely death.
Tension is used in both of these poems to great consequence. The writer of "Out, Out-" starts off with a racy, noisy atmosphere, which suggests that a tragedy is on the cards. However, this is in stark contrast to the poem "Death on a live Wire," which starts off slowly and calmly, but uses small tension building words and sentences such as "grinning wire," which subtly suggests to the reader of what's in store. Both of these methods work very well in their own different ways, with Frosts method building tension in the way that it sets the readers mind racing, thinking what might happen, and Baldwins method building tension by describing the movements and feelings of the man, such as when he writes, "no girl gave him courage." This signifies the intense sadness of the man, and also in a way questions whether he is insane, and beyond help. The writer also goes on to show the man with signs of insanity, when he says that the man was "laughing" as he climbed the pylon. The tension in this poem carries on building up until the end, as it increases proportionally with the effect of the electricity on the man.
Both poems also use the layout of its verses, rhyme scheme and rhythm to good consequence. The writer of "Out, Out-" uses rhythm very well to keep the poem flowing; the description of the buzz saw snarling and rattling is a very good example of this. The writer of this poem seems to be writing it more as a story than a poem, with a factual feel, with both direct speech, and no rhyme scheme. All of these are more widely associated as characteristics of a story than a poem. The writer also uses an end stop very well to end a certain part of the poem. An example of this is when he uses an end stop to signify the boys death, before going on to describe how every one carried on with their affairs. The writer of "Death on a live Wire," Michael Baldwin, seems to have put a great amount of thought and effort into the layout, and rhyme scheme of his verses. The verses flow as if telling a story, with each verse looking at a different stage of the mans suicide, as well as building up the effect of the electricity on the mans body. Although at first glance this poem seems to have no rhyme scheme, it does appear to have a somewhat confused, internal, and alternate rhyme scheme. The writer seems to have chosen a seemingly confused alternate rhyme scheme in order to correspond to the mans state of mind, which also seems to be some what confused.
Overall, although both poems were very interesting to read, the one that I preferred most was "Out, Out-." I preferred this most as it had a more upbeat feel to the mood, which was unlike the poem "Death on a live Wire," which seemed both sad and depressing. Another feature that I also enjoyed very in from the poem "Out, Out-" was the use of onomatopoeia to give the poem a flowing, sharp rhythm. The best use of this that is available in the poem is right at the beginning when the writer describes the buzz saw as snarling and rattling, which builds and image, as well as the sound of the buzz saw.
