Q. How is the theme of loss presented in any two poems by Robert Frost?
Robert Frost is one of those people who had witnessed death first hand, numerous times. He is able to express his sorrow through i poems by presenting personas and settings with gloomy moods that emphasis on the theme of loss. It can be seen that in his poems Frost has realised death in inescapable and unpredictable. It can also be seen that he comes to terms with the fact that loss is a part of life and it is important to be able to move on from it along with the rest of the world. The two poems that represent this theme are 'Out,Out-' and 'The Death of a Hired Man'.
Frost emphasises that a loss such as death is unpredictable and inevitable. It can happen to anyone regardless of their wealth, age and gender. This can be seen in the contrast between the personas in 'Out, Out-' and 'the Death..' one is a child, while the other is an old man. One has had his life cut short by death, hasn't fulfilled his dreams and hasn't been able to spend his childhood like an ordinary boy instead he is forced to do a grown man's job. The old man, Silas, maybe hasn't lived a dream either but at least he lived a complete life full of experiences and new challenges. Both these personas are labourers, the boy in 'Out,Out-' dies doing his job while the man in 'The Death..' dies of perhaps old age or illness, with the regret of not being bale to do his joke. One of the most prominent contrasts is how the child in 'Out, Out-' dies surrounded by his loved ones and Silas dies in a rough edged chair all alone. A pitiful similarity Frost shows between these two personas is how their death does not affect the world. In 'Out,Out-' Frost shows us how once no-one else is dead, they retired to their affairs. In 'The Death..' Frost presents this indifference through Warren simple saying 'Dead' when he sees Silas's stationary body. Thus Frost is able to illustrate how death and loss are indifferent to whether one is young or old, has lived a whole life or not. Death happens when it must, accompanied by loss and mourning. It is a natural inescapable process.
Frost has contrasted loss by contrasting it with beautiful imagery. In 'Out,Out-' we realise the title can be a terence to Lady Macbeth's sudden death but we are allowed to be led away from that thought when Frost illustrates the beautiful mountain ranges and sunset; readers fail to connect the ending day with ending life. Frost then presents the image of the saw personified as a wild predator. This and the alliterations and repetitions such as 'snarled and rattled' create a haunting effect allowing the readers to further contemplate on what is about to happen. Frost depicted sound of sense by showing the readers how sweet the dust coming from the saw smells, how rueful the boy's laugh is when he realises his hand has been cut off. We see the blood spill and we hear his heartbeat getting fainter which makes the loss all the more tragic and unforgettable. In 'The Death..' the scenery is that of a night sky with stars and the moon shedding light upon the personas, here as well readers fail to connect the ended day with and ended life. One of the most important symbols presented in this poem is that of the moon, that can be a representation of Mary's kind, loving heart and affection towards Silas, but can also be representing Silas's loneliness. This makes the readers contemplate if perhaps he was lonely in life and then alone in death as well. Readers are allowed to pity him and contemplate over his loss of companions, is death really the one doing them apart or was there already a rift between them?
Frost has also contradicted himself by showing loss in a brighter light. In his poem 'Apple Picking' it can be said that he contemplates the afterlife to be better than the present life. Perhaps he is trying to convey that the loss of life can lead to something more blissful. Perhaps the boy in 'Out,Out-' is free of the society that wronged him by putting him in labour rather than taking care of him. Perhaps the old man in 'The Death..' is free of the struggles he had to go through just in order to survive. Thus Frost creates a sense of hope amongst his readers and shows that loss is not the end.
Robert Frost is teaching his readers through these poems how important life is, whether it is that of a child or an old man. Frost has shown that it is wrong of society to turn its back on someone who is struggling like Silas was in 'The Death..' and it is unfair to strip someone of their rights such as being able to have a childhood, education, and rest. Frost has introduced the idea to care for labourers and know that their loss in not as insignificant as one the society deems it to be.
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English Literature 9695
Non-FictionThis is a compilation of all the essays and notes I wrote while I was in ALevels. It must be noted that not all of of these are A* material (though none goes lower than a grade B) so they aren't meant to be copy pasted for your school assignments. U...
