Out, Out

This poem remarks on the cold indifference the world displays toward the meaningful events of men’s lives. The underlying message of Out, Out states that, however great an impact an event may have on a man’s life, individual human affairs are insignificant to the rest of the world. Looking at the big picture, nature and the remainder of mankind are unaffected by the happenings of a single life.

The setting of the poem is Vermont, or somewhere near, in a yard where people are working and a boy is chopping stove wood with a buzz-saw. The speaker describes the buzz-saw as one would describe an angry dog in a metal box: snarling and rattling. Then the scenery is described—from the “sweet-scented breeze” to the five mountain ranges under the setting sun in Vermont, great serenity and majesty is portrayed. Then the focus is reverted to the buzz-saw, which is continuing to emit harsh, animal-like noises. The speaker points out that the day is merely spending itself; nothing...