Revision Unit ThreeThe Final Countdown

“Contents“Advertising Basics! 3

“Media Studies! 9

2011 Junior Certificate Higher Level Media Studies! 10

“Poetry! 15

“Robert Frost! 18

The Tuft of Flowers! 19

Critical Commentary: The Tuft of Flowers! 22

The Road Not Taken! 24

Critical Commentary: The Road Not Taken.! 26

Out Out! 27

Critical Commentary: Out Out! 28

Poetry Versus Prose! 31

In order to access the enhanced media conta ined in th i s and other

handouts , p lease consu l t the webs i te :

www.c ianhogan .com

“Adver t i s ing Bas ics

1. Emot iona l Appea lThis techn ique makes use of two separ ate s t r ateg ies - (a) i t

appea ls the needs of consumer s and (b) i t employs the fear

factor.

The most common appea ls to consumer need inc lude :

■ the need for someth ing new

■ the need to ga in acceptance

■ the need to be l i s tened to

■ the need for secur i ty

■ the need to become at t r act ive

■ the need to improve your l i fe

The most common appea ls to consumer fear s inc lude :

■ the fear of acc ident

■ the fear of death

■ the fear of soc ia l i so lat ion

■ the fear of get t ing s ick

■ the fear of ag ing .

2. Promot iona l Adver t i s ingThis techn ique invo lves g iv ing away samples of products for f ree to

consumer s . I tems are usua l ly o f fered at the t r ade fa i r s , promot iona l

events , and even on the s t reet to in order to r a i se br and awareness .

3. Bandwagon Adver t i s ingThis type of techn ique a ims to conv ince consumer s to jo in the group

of people who have a l ready bought the product and are happy that

they d id so. For example . The V.H. I i s cur rent ly r unn ing an add that

makes use of th i s techn ique .

4. Facts and Stat i s t i cs (pseudo sc ience)Adver t i ser s of ten use s tat i s t i cs , number s , and rea l - l i fe examples in

order to demonstr ate just how super ior the i r product i s . For e .g .

“Domestos f loor c leans 99 .99% of a l l known germs” .

5. Unfin i shed AdsAdver t i ser s p lay wi th words by c la iming that the i r products wor k

better than the i r compet i tor s . However, they fa i l to say just how much

better the product i s .

6. Wease l WordsIn th i s techn ique , whi le adver t i ser s don ’ t to be better than the i r

compet i tor s , but don ’ t a l so fa i l to deny that they are . Our product

reduces wr ink les .

7. Endor sementsAdver t i ser s use ce lebr i t ies to promote the i r products . Frequent ly,

ce lebr i t ies wi l l descr ibe the i r own pos i t ive exper iences wi th the

product . For example One Direct ion endor ses Pokémon.

8. Complement ing the Consumer s In th i s case , adver t i ser s of ten use used punch l ines that complement

consumer s who have made the choice to buy the i r products . E .g .

Lorea l ’s s logan “Because you are wor th i t ,” i s an obv ious of th i s .

9. Idea l fami ly, idea l re la t ionsh ips scenar io

Adver t i ser s use th i s techn ique to demonstr ate that the fami l ies or

people us ing the i r products are per fect .

10.Quest ion ing Consumer s

Here adver t i ser s pose quest ions to the i r customer s and then answer

them. Insur ance companies f requent ly use th i s techn ique .

11. The Ent icement

Th is techn ique i s used to br ibe the consumer s by reduct ions in pr ice

or enhanced ser v ices .

12. Sur rogate Adver t i s ingThis techn ique i s gener a l ly used by the companies that cannot

adver t i se the i r products d i rect ly.

Break up into groups of four and us ing the above cr i ter ia ana lyse the

fo l lowing te lev i s ion and internet adver t i sements .

______ 6 ______

Add No 1 Add No 2 Add No 3Advertising Techniques Used

Advertising Techniques Used

Advertising Techniques Used

One aspect of the add that appealed or did not appeal to you

One aspect of the add that appealed or did not appeal to you

One aspect of the add that appealed or did not appeal to you

Is the add effective? Support your answer.

Is the add effective? Support your answer.

Is the add effective? Support your answer.

Of the three adds which one would persuade you most to buy the product? Give reasons for your answer. Remember to ground your response in the language of media studies.

Of the three adds which one would persuade you most to buy the product? Give reasons for your answer. Remember to ground your response in the language of media studies.

Of the three adds which one would persuade you most to buy the product? Give reasons for your answer. Remember to ground your response in the language of media studies.

To v iew these at home download Uni t three f rom the webs i te .

www.c ianhogan .com

______ 7 ______

______ 8 ______

“Media Studies

Jun ior cer t i f i cate 2008

2. Look at the poster s on Page 2 and Page 3 of Paper X. (These images

are inc luded in reduced form be low.) Cl ick on the fo l lowing l ink to

see the or ig ina l . ht tp : / /www.examinat ions . ie /arch ive/exampaper s /2008/

JC002ALPC00EV.pdf

(a) Which of the two poster s do you th ink conveys i t s message most

e f fect ive ly ?

Exp la in your answer wi th deta i led re ference to the poster. (20)

(b) Media Stud ies teaches us that the Media can be a powerfu l force for

change . Se lect ONE form of media (e .g . r ad io, te lev i s ion , newspaper s ,

in ternet , etc . ) and expla in how i t cou ld be used to combat r ac i sm. (20)

______ 9 ______

2011 Jun ior Cer t i f i cate Higher Leve l Media Stud ies

______ 10

Answer e i ther Quest ion 1 or Quest ion 2 .

1. Look at the in fo rmat ion about newswor th iness that appear s on Page 3 o f

Paper X wh ich accompan ies th i s examinat ion paper. (The or ig ina l add

c a n b e d o w n l o a d e d a t h t t p : / / w w w . e x a m i n a t i o n s . i e / a r c h i v e /

exampaper s /2011/ JC002ALPC00EV.pdf )

(a) Th ink of a major news s tor y which has captured your at tent ion in

the las t twelve months .

For me , the news s tor y that most captured my at tent ion in the

las t twelve months was the supposed Mayan Apoca lypse . On the 21 s t o f

December 2012 , the end of the Mayan long count ca lendar occur red .

Known in Mayan as b ’ak ’ tun , th i s date mar ked the end of a 144 ,000 day

cyc le which many people feared would br ing about the end of human

c iv i l i zat ion .

(b) Br ie f l y ident i f y the s to r y. Exp la in how th i s s to r y meets any th ree o f the

c r i te r ia fo r newswor th iness set out in the in fo rmat ion on Paper X . (20)

This s tor y met a number of the cr i ter ia for newswor th iness as set

out in the in format ion on Paper X. To beg in wi th , th i s end of the wor ld

s tor y ’s t iming was per fect . End of the wor ld s tor ies are perenn ia l . Each

year br ings wi th i t d i f ferent theor ies on how the wor ld i s go ing to face

i t s doom . The t im i n g o f t h i s s t o r y con t r i bu t ed g r e a t l y t o i t s

newswor th iness . People became fasc inated by the idea of the Mayan

long count ca lendar which encompasses a 26 ,000 year cyc le .

The s ign i f i cance of th i s s tor y was exagger ated because , i f i t were

to prove tr ue , then the ent i re p lanet cou ld have been a f fected .

Fur thermore , thousands of people f locked to Centr a l Amer ica and a

v i l l age in Fr ance which was supposed to conta in a sa fe zone in order to

wi tness the apoca lypse . Th is lent the s tor y a g loba l appea l and

contr ibuted to i t s newswor th iness .

F ina l ly, the s tor y had enormous human in teres t because i t

appea led to our co l lect ive insecur i t ies concern ing the precar iousness of

human ex is tence . Many of the news repor ts center ing on th i s s tor y

focused on qu i r ky ta les of eccentr ic ind iv idua l s prepar ing for the end of

t ime .

(b) Major news s tor ies are gener a l ly covered across a var iety of media .

Out l ine the advantages and d isadvantages of fo l lowing a news s tor y

us ing at least two of the media l i s ted be low:

Technology

newspapers

Major news s tor ies are gener a l ly covered across a var iety of

media . The newspaper i s one of o ldest and most used medium for

convey ing news . The f i r s t newspaper, the Acta Diur na , was publ i shed in

59 B .C . in Rome . S ince then newspaper s have formed a centr a l par t o f

western cu l ture . The advantages of th i s medium are many. F i r s t ly, i t i s

cheap to produce and the inter face i s ver y easy to use . In format ion can

be tr ansmit ted to a wide aud ience of a l l ages and tar get mar kets . One

of the b iggest advantages of th i s medium i s that news i s covered in a

profess iona l and in-depth manner. Th is cer ta in ly the case wi th the

b road shee t newspape r s . The se pape r s a f fo rd t he con sumer t he

poss ib i l i ty o f read ing in formed and cons idered v iews and opin ions about

s tor ies which are newswor thy. However, the b iggest d i sadvantage to th i s

medium i s that i t o f ten lags beh ind the news-cyc le . Newspaper s cannot

react to qu ick ly chang ing s tor ies and as a resu l t o f ten fa i l to prov ide

break ing news .

radio

The r ad io i s another long establ i shed medium for cover ing news s tor ies .

Unl ike newspaper s , r ad io s tat ions can react qu ick ly to break ing news ,

and in th i s sense , can remain on top of the news cyc le . However, in a

v i sua l age th i s medium is unable to prov ide the type of cover age that

many consumer s are seek ing .

television

Lowel l Thomas hosted the f i r s t -ever news broadcast on te lev i s ion in

1930 and the f i r s t regu lar ly scheduled te lev i s ion-news broadcast in

1940 in Amer ica . S ince then , te lev i s ion news has become the main

source of news for most people . Today, ent i re channe ls are devoted to

cover ing the news cyc le . As a resu l t , te lev i s ion news can react qu ick ly to

chang ing s tor ies and prov ide the v iewer wi th the type of v i sua l

exper ience that most people now expect . The b iggest d i sadvantage to

te lev i s ion news i s i t s cost . Progr ammes are expens ive to make and as a

resu l t are heav i ly dependent on adver t i s ing revenue . Th is can somet imes

p lace pressure on te lev i s ion news progr ammes to appea l to a wide

aud ience . Consequent ly, many te lev i s ion news progr ammes such as SKY

NEWS tend to sensat iona l i se s tor ies in an at tempt to win more v iewer s .

internet . (20)

This i s the newest of the four media ment ioned above . The

internet has revolut ion ised how news s tor ies are conveyed . News feeds ,

blogs , soc ia l networ k ing s i tes , v logs and tr ad i t iona l news prov ider s a l l

make use of th i s medium to convey s tor ies . I t s advantages are many. I t s

cheap, v i r tua l ly ub iqu i tous , easy to use and enter ta in ing . Of a l l the

media dedicated to news cover age th i s one can react most qu ick ly to an

ever chang ing news cyc le . One major d i sadvantage of th i s medium i s the

growth of unver i f i able so-ca l led c i t i zen journa l i sm. The recent conf l i c ts

in the ar ab wor ld have demonstr ated just how quick ly the internet can

get news s tor y to mi l l ions o f peop le by by-pass ing government

restr ic t ions . However, i t i s o f ten ver y d i f f i cu l t to ver i fy the accur acy of

some of the news repor ts that appear on the internet . Fur thermore ,

internet s i tes are in such a hur r y to broadcast a news s tor y that they

ver y of ten fa i l to exerc i se due d i l i gence when check ing the provenance

of a s tor y.

Homework:

OR

2. (a) Wr i te the text of an adver t i sement to be broadcast on your loca l

r ad io s tat ion . Your adver t i sement should a im to conv ince more young

people to use the i r loca l l ibr ar y. (20)

(b) In addi t ion to the r ad io commerc ia l you have a l ready wr i t ten , how

e lse cou ld you use var ious media to e f fect ive ly promote the i r loca l

l ibr ar y to young people? You should re fer to at least two other forms

of media in your answer. (20)

“PoetrySome quest ions and sample answer s for “Heid i wi th B lue Hair” .

1 . (a) From your read ing of th i s poem do you th ink the fa ther and

daughter have a good re lat ionsh ip? Exp la in your answer. (10)

From my read ing of th i s poem I th ink that the fa ther and daughter

have a ver y good re lat ionsh ip. I be l ieve th i s to be the case because

throughout the poem there i s ev idence that they speak to and respect

one another. In the th i rd s tanza , the speaker makes i t c lear that Heid i ’s

‘ f reedom- lov ing father ’ phoned the school on her beha l f . In the four th

s tanza , Heid i ’s fa ther in forms the school pr inc ipa l that they had

‘d i scussed ’ dy ing her ha i r w i th h im f i r s t . I t i s c lear f rom these

conver sat ions wi th the school , that Heid i ’s fa ther s tands up for and

suppor ts h i s daughter.

(b) Do you th ink th i s i s a sad or funny poem or both? Exp la in your

answer. (10)

I th ink th i s i s both a funny and a sad poem. I t i s c lear f rom the

nar r at ive that Heid i ’s mother i s dead and that her fa ther i s do ing h i s

best to r a i se h i s daughter on h i s own:

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I t wou ld have been unfa i r to ment ion

your mother ' s death , but that

sh immered beh ind the arguments .

I t makes me fee l sad to th ink of Heid i growing up wi thout her mother.

The poem is a l so qu i te funny. The poet pokes fun at the school r u les .

She makes i t c lear that Heid i ’s eyes are not in ‘a schoo l co lour ’ . Th is

makes the school school r u les regard ing Heid i ’s ha i r co lour appear

somewhat r id icu lous . F ina l ly, the descr ipt ion of Heid i ’s f r iend ’s ha i r dyed

in the school co lour s i s h i l a r ious :

Next day your b lack f r iend had her s done

i n grey, wh i te and f laxen ye l low –

I t made me laugh to th ink of the school ’s react ion to th i s ha i r co lour.

(c) Comment on the use of the under l ined word in one of the

fo l lowing l ines :

– your mother ’s death . . . sh immered beh ind the ar guments

– the teacher s twi t tered and gave in . (10)

I th ink ‘ tw i t tered ’ i s a mar ve lous choice of words to descr ibe how the

teacher s reacted to Heid i ’s blue ha i r. One can imag ine the i r h igh-

p i tched , exc i ted vo ices as they d i scussed th i s cha l lenged to the school

r u les . The poet care fu l ly chooses the word , so as to suggest , that the

school ’s ob ject ion to Heid i ’s ha i r i s fa int ly r id icu lous .

(i) From your read ing of the poem whose s ide do you th ink F leur

Adcock i s on? (20)

______ 16 ______

Give reasons for your answer.

In my opin ion F leur Adcock i s f i rmly on Heid i ’s s ide . F i r s t ly, the school ’s

preoccupat ion wi th obser v ing r u les i s made to seem r id icu lous by the

poet . The teacher s seem to ignore Heid i ’s behav iour twi t ter ing and

concentr ate on the co lour of her ha i r :

‘ She ' s not a punk in her behav iour ;

i t ' s jus t a s ty le .’ (You wiped your eyes ,

a lso not in a schoo l co lour. )

By ment ion ing the fact that Heid i ’s eye co lour was a l so not the same as

the school co lour the poet pokes fun and the r u les . In the f i f th s tanza ,

the poet in forms us that Heid i ’s mother i s dead . I th ink that th i s puts

the school ’s ob ject ion to Heid i ’s ha i r co lour in context . The death of

her mother i s , in my opin ion , far more impor tant . Then in the f ina l

s tanza , the depict ion of Heid i ’s f r iend ’s ha i r in the school co lour s i s

h i l a r ious :

i n grey, wh i te and f laxen ye l low –

the schoo l co lour s prec i se l y :

The poem’s conc lus ion makes i t ver y c lear that the poet i s f i rmly on

Heid i ’s s ide .

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“Robert Frost

Rober t Frost looms as a g iant f i gure in the Amer ican l i ter ar y

l a n d s c a p e . B y c o n c e n t r a t i n g o n t h e l a n d s c a p e s , l a n g u a g e a n d

exper iences of Amer ica , h i s poetr y has done much to establ i sh an

Amer ican poet ic ident i ty. In fact , h i s wr y, countr i f ied , New Eng land

nar r at ive vo ice has of ten been pr a i sed as the qu intessent ia l vo ice of

Amer ican l i ter ature . His determinat ion to weave poetr y out of ever yday

exper ience d is t ingu ishes h im f rom most other poets of h i s age . His

poems are honest , open and autobiogr aph ica l , so much so that Frost

never rea l ly t i red of rete l l ing the s tor y of h i s own l i fe . He was a l so the

undisputed master of poet ic forms . Wr i t ing in a per iod dominated by

f ree ver se , in a t ime when poetr y seemed to have g iven up on

punctuat ion and cap i ta l le t ter s , Frost ins i s ted that poetr y have a def in i te

form, that i t be dr amat ic and that i t re ly on vo ice tones to var y the

e f fect of i t s rhythms . I f you are read ing the poetr y of Rober t Frost for

______ 18 ______

the f i r s t t ime , one of the th ings that should s t r ike you str a ight away i s

that h i s poems are decept ive . What at f i r s t appear s to be a s imple

nature poem wi l l o f ten y ie ld complex and interest ing interpretat ions .

The Tuft Of FlowersI went to turn the gr ass once a f ter one

Who mowed i t in the dew before the sun .

The dew was gone that made h i s blade so keen

Before I came to v iew the leve led scene .

I looked for h im behind an i s le of t rees ; 5

I l i s tened for h i s whetstone on the breeze .

But he had gone h i s way, the gr ass a l l mown,

And I must be , as he had been—alone ,

“As a l l must be ,” I sa id wi th in my hear t ,

“Whether they wor k together or apar t .” 10

But as I sa id i t , swi f t there passed me by

On noise less wing a bewi ldered butter f ly,

Seek ing wi th memor ies grown d im o ’er n ight

Some rest ing f lower of yesterday ’s de l ight .

And once I mar ked h i s f l i ght go round and round, 15

______ 19 ______

As where some f lower lay wi ther ing on the ground.

And then he f lew as far as eye cou ld see ,

And then on tremulous wing came back to me .

I thought of quest ions that have no rep ly,

And would have turned to toss the gr ass to dr y ; 20

But he turned f i r s t , and led my eye to look

At a ta l l tu f t o f f lower s bes ide a brook ,

A leap ing tongue of bloom the scythe had spared

Bes ide a reedy brook the scythe had bared .

The mower in the dew had loved them thus , 25

By leav ing them to f lour i sh , not for us ,

Nor yet to dr aw one thought of our s to h im,

But f rom sheer morn ing g ladness at the br im.

The butter f ly and I had l i t upon,

Never the less , a message f rom the dawn, 30

That made me hear the waken ing b i rds around,

And hear h i s long scythe whisper ing to the ground,

And fee l a sp i r i t k indred to my own;

So that hencefor th I wor ked no more a lone ;

But g lad wi th h im, I wor ked as wi th h i s a id , 35

And wear y, sought at noon with h im the shade ;

And dreaming , as i t were , he ld brother ly speech

With one whose thought I had not hoped to reach .

______ 20 ______

“Men wor k together,” I to ld h im f rom the hear t ,

“Whether they wor k together or apar t .” 40

______ 21 ______

1 to turn the gr ass – to toss gr ass so that

i t wi l l dr y.

2 dew – mois ture that i s depos i ted f rom

the a i r in smal l drops on p lants , espec ia l ly

at n ight .

3 keen – enthus ias t ic , sharp.

6 whetstone – a s tone on which the

gardener would sharpen the blade of h i s

kn i fe or h i s scythe .

12 bew i l de red – con fu sed , d a zed o r

d i sor ientated .

13 grown d im – become fa int or dar k .

18 t remulous – qu iver ing or t rembl ing .

22 brook – a smal l s t ream.

23 A leap ing tongue of bloom – perhaps

the speaker i s echoing the B ible here . In

the B ible , a tongue of f l ames descended

on the Apost les (Chr i s t ’s fo l lower s) . For

t h e s p e a k e r ( a n d , i n d e e d , f o r t h e

butter f ly ) , the tu f t o f f lower s of fer s a

moment of ins ight and insp i r at ion that

br ings h im into c loser harmony wi th the

natur a l wor ld .

24 scythe – a long , cur ved blade used for

mowing long gr ass .

26 to f lour i sh – to grow in abundance or

to thr ive .

29 l i t upon – met or came upon.

33 k indred – ver y c lose or s imi lar to.

33 a sp i r i t k indred to my own – here , the

speaker fee l s so c lose to the absent

gardener that i t i s as i f they are wor k ing

in the f ie ld together.

Glossary _____________________________________________________________________

Critical Commentary: The Tuft of Flowers

1. Content_______________________________________________________________

F i r s t publ i shed in the co l lect ion A Boy ’s Wi l l , ‘The Tuf t o f F lower s ’

rev i s i t s one of Frost ’s favour i te sub jects : the wor k assoc iated wi th

haymak ing . In th i s poem, Frost moves f rom a be l ie f that a l l men are

ind iv idua l s , lead ing separ ate l i ves , to a conv ict ion that we a l l share a

common bond of humani ty. In the opening s tanza , the poet te l l s us that

he went down ‘ to turn the grass ’ , so that i t would dr y. Th is gr ass had

a l ready been ‘mowed […] in the dew before the sun ’ by an unnamed

per son . In the second hero ic couplet , the speaker makes i t c lear that

some hour s have passed s ince th i s per son wor ked in the f ie ld .

Never the less , the speaker looks and l i s tens for s igns of the wor ker :

I looked for h im beh ind an i s le o f t rees ;

I l i s tened for h i s whets tone on the breeze .

I t soon becomes apparent that th i s man ‘had gone h i s way ’ once h i s

wor k was f in i shed . The speaker i s le f t complete ly on h i s own. In the f i f th

couplet , he contemplates the impl icat ions of h i s so l i tude and comes to

the conc lus ion that u l t imate ly a l l men are a lone , ‘Whether they work

together or apar t ’ . At that moment , a ‘bewi ldered but ter f l y ’ s tumbles into

the poet ’s v iew. In the speaker ’s imag inat ion , the butter f ly i s dr awn to

______ 22 ______

th i s p lace by the d im memor y of the f lower i t v i s i ted the prev ious day.

However, in the next couplet , we learn that that f lower has been

mowed and l ies wi ther ing on the ground. Confused and lost , the

creature f l ies ‘ round and round ’ unt i l i t a lmost van ishes f rom the poet ’s

s ight . The butter f ly returns to the speaker ’s l ine of v i s ion . Th is causes

the poet to ponder over ‘quest ions that have no rep ly ’ . Unable to come

up with sat i s factor y answer s to these unspec i f ied quest ions , the speaker

turns to ‘ toss the grass to dr y ’ . Then , suddenly, in the e leventh and

twel f th s tanzas , the poet has a profound moment of ep iphany , or

reve lat ion . As he turns to look in the d i rect ion of the brook , he has an

a lmost re l ig ious , or sp i r i tua l , awakening . The s ight of the f lower s that

have been unharmed by the wor ker who mowed the gr ass on the

prev ious day moves the poet deeply. He now rea l i ses that ‘The mower in

the dew had loved them thus , | By leav ing them to f lour i sh , not for us ’ . The

speaker now fee ls that he i s l inked to the wor ker. The ar r iva l o f the

butter f ly and the s ight of the unharmed f lower s lead h im to be l ieve that

he can see and hear the mower. You wi l l remember that th i s i s

someth ing he in i t ia l ly fe l t unable to do. The intens i ty of the speaker ’s

fee l ings grows unt i l he fee l s :

[…] a sp i r i t k indred to my own;

So that hencefor th I worked no more a lone ;

No longer a lone , the poet now imag ines h imse l f wor k ing wi th the man.

Uni ted by a common bond of f r aterna l love , he addresses h i s fe l low

wor ker d i rect ly :

“Men work together,” I to ld h im f rom the hear t ,

“Whether they work together or apar t .”

The poem’s f ina l hero ic coup le t rever ses the speaker ’s prev ious be l ie f

that we are a l l a lone and separ ate .

______ 23 ______

The Road Not TakenTwo roads d iver ged in a ye l low wood,

And sor r y I cou ld not t r ave l both

And be one tr ave ler, long I s tood

And looked down one as far as I cou ld

To where i t bent in the undergrowth ; 5

Then took the other, as jus t as fa i r,

And hav ing perhaps the better c la im,

Because i t was gr assy and wanted wear ;

Though as for that , the pass ing there

Had worn them rea l ly about the same , 10

And both that morn ing equa l ly lay

In leaves no step had trodden black .

Oh, I kept the f i r s t for another day !

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted i f I should ever come back . 15

I sha l l be te l l ing th i s wi th a s igh

Somewhere ages and ages hence :

Two roads d iver ged in a wood, and I —

I took the one less t r ave led by,

And that has made a l l the d i f ference . 20

______ 24 ______

______ 25 ______

In th i s poem, Frost forces us to

interpret the choice that he faces on

a symbol ic leve l . The fact that the

poet in tends us to react in th i s

manner i s obv ious f rom the degree

of impor tance he at taches to th i s

choice in the las t s tanza . 1 d iver ged

– s e p a r a t e d , w e n t i n d i f f e r e n t

d i rect ions . Th is , o f cour se , adds a

cer ta in degree of ur gency to the

poet ’s choice . 1 ye l low wood – the

t ime of the year i s autumn. Th is t ime

of year has of ten been assoc iated

wi th the approach of o ld age .

5 the undergrowth – the vegetat ion

growing a the base of the t rees .

8 wanted wear – the path had not

been walked on recent ly.

12 t rodden – walked on .

16 I sha l l be te l l ing th i s wi th a s igh –

by us ing the future tense here , the

poet i s imply ing that the journey has

not yet ended.

17 ages hence – in a long t ime to

Glossary _____________________________________________________________________

Critical Commentary: The Road Not Taken.

‘The Road Not Taken ’ , which Frost c la imed was insp i red by h i s

f r iend Edward Thomas , i s perhaps one of the best-known poems in the

Eng l i sh language . I t opens wi th a ver y s t r a ight forward s tatement :

Two roads d iverged in a ye l low wood

I t i s autumn and the speaker, s tand ing at a for k in the road , i s faced wi th

a choice . He can take e i ther road and there i s noth ing prevent ing h im

f rom doing so. He would l i ke to t r ave l both roads but , o f cour se , th i s i s

s imply not poss ible . The speaker f i r s t s tares down one road to ‘where i t

bent in the undergrowth ’ . Unwi l l ing to commit to th i s road , he dec ides to

assess the other road . In the second stanza , he te l l s us that th i s road i s

jus t as fa i r as the prev ious one . However, g iven that i t i s gr assy, the poet

in fer s that i t i s less t r ave l led than the other path . In the f ina l l ine of the

second stanza , he admits that ‘ the pass ing there | Had [ in t ruth] worn

them rea l l y about the same ’ . In the th i rd s tanza , i t becomes c lear that

the poet has committed h imse l f to fo l lowing one of the roads . He

beg ins h i s journey in the morn ing :

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted i f I shou ld ever come back .

The f ina l s tanza looks forward to a t ime ‘ages hence ’ when he ‘sha l l be

te l l ing [h i s s tor y] w i th a s igh ’ . H is choice has been made and he has

taken ‘ the [ road] less t rave led by ’ . Th is l i fe-a l ter ing choice ‘has made a l l

the d i f ference ’ .

______ 26 ______

Out Out _______________________________________________________________

The buzz saw snar led and r at t led in the yard

And made dust and dropped stove- length s t icks of wood,

Sweet-scented s tu f f when the breeze drew across i t .

And f rom there those that l i f ted eyes cou ld count

F ive mounta in r anges one beh ind the other 5

Under the sunset far into Vermont .

And the saw snar led and r at t led , snar led and r at t led ,

As i t r an l i ght , or had to bear a load .

And noth ing happened: day was a l l but done .

Ca l l i t a day, I wish they might have sa id 10

To p lease the boy by g iv ing h im the ha l f hour

That a boy counts so much when saved f rom wor k .

His s i s ter s tood bes ide them in her apron

To te l l them “Supper.” At the word , the saw,

As i f to prove saws knew what supper meant , 15

Leaped out at the boy ’s hand , or seemed to leap—

He must have g iven the hand . However i t was ,

Nei ther re fused the meet ing . But the hand !

The boy ’s f i r s t outcr y was a r uefu l l augh ,

As he swung toward them hold ing up the hand , 20

Hal f in appea l , but ha l f as i f to keep

The l i fe f rom sp i l l ing . Then the boy saw a l l—

Since he was o ld enough to know, b ig boy

Doing a man ’s wor k , though a ch i ld at hear t—

He saw a l l spo i led . “Don’ t le t h im cut my hand of f— 25

The doctor, when he comes . Don’ t le t h im, s i s ter ! ”

So. But the hand was gone a l ready.

______ 27 ______

The doctor put h im in the dar k of ether.

He lay and puf fed h i s l ips out wi th h i s breath .

And then—the watcher at h i s pu lse took f r ight . 30

No one be l ieved . They l i s tened at h i s hear t .

L i t t le—less—noth ing !—and that ended i t .

No more to bu i ld on there . And they, s ince they

Were not the one dead , turned to the i r a f fa i r s .

Critical Commentary: Out Out

1. Content_______________________________________________________________

‘ “Out , Out—”’ dea ls wi th the t r ag ic death of a young boy who d ies as a

resu l t o f cut t ing h i s hand us ing a saw. The poem opens wi th the sound

of the saw as i t ‘snar led and rat t led in the yard | And made dust and

dropped s tove - length s t i c ks o f wood ’ . The dust thrown up by the saw i s

sweet-smel l ing and , in the background, the sun i s set t ing over the ‘F ive

mounta in ranges ’ o f Vermont . The saw sets to i t s task wi th ease . The

day ’s wor k ‘ [ i s ] a l l but done ’ . The nar r ator inter r upts the nar r at ive to

beseech them to g ive the boy a break f rom h is wor k . Th is i s the f i r s t

h int in the poem that someth ing dreadfu l i s about to happen . His s i s ter

then ar r ives to te l l the boy that h i s supper i s ready. As i f to prove that

i t under stood ‘what supper meant ’ , the saw ‘seemed to leap ’ out at the

boy ’s hand . The boy ’s hand i s taken by the saw and h i s on ly react ion i s

to of fer a ‘ ruefu l laugh ’ . However, owing to h i s age , the boy i s fu l ly

aware of the ser iousness of h i s s i tuat ion . He i s , a f ter a l l , a ‘b ig boy |

Do ing a man’s work ’ . The ar r iva l o f the doctor in l ine 28 br ings wi th i t

the f i r s t h int that he may d ie . The doctor p laces the boy in the ‘dark of

e ther ’ . S lowly, the boy ’s hear tbeat becomes fa inter and fa inter unt i l

______ 28 ______

there i s ‘noth ing ’ and the boy i s dead . The other s , ‘s ince they | Were not

the one dead ’ , get on with the bus iness of l i v ing the i r l i ves .

2. Stylistic Features_______________________________________________________________

One of the most impor tant features of ‘ “Out , Out—”’ i s i t s t i t le , which

conta ins an a l lus ion to one of the most famous so l i loqu ies in a l l o f

Eng l i sh l i ter ature . I t a l ludes to a passage in “Macbeth” in which Macbeth

has jus t been to ld of h i s wi fe ’s death . The key moment in th i s speech i s

ar r ived at when Macbeth under scores the t r ag ic brev i ty of human l i fe .

She shou ld have d ied hereaf ter ;

There wou ld have been a t ime for such a word .

To-morrow, and to -morrow, and to -morrow,

Creeps in th i s pet ty pace f rom day to day,

To the las t sy l lab le o f recorded t ime ;

And a l l our yes terdays have l i ghted foo l s

The way to dusty death . Out , out , br ie f cand le !

L i fe ’s but a wa lk ing shadow, a poor p layer,

That s t ruts and f re ts h i s hour upon the s tage ,

______ 29 ______

And then i s heard no more . I t i s a ta le

Told by an id io t , fu l l o f sound and fur y,

S ign i f y ing noth ing .

In th i s sense , the t i t le captures per fect ly the fu l l mean ing of th i s poem.

By means of th i s a l lus ion , Frost not on ly re in forces the emot ions

conta ined in the poem, but a l so he lps to define i t s theme . The theme of

‘ “Out , Out—”’ i s , o f cour se , the uncer ta inty and unpred ictab i l i ty o f l i fe .

The opening of the poem attempts to capture the sound of the buzz

saw. I t r at t les and snar l s and i s made to sound menac ing . In order to

dr aw us into the nar r at ive , Frost appea ls to a l l o f the senses . We can

fee l the breeze as i t dr aws across s t icks of wood and the scent of the

cut wood assa i l s our sense of smel l . Another e f fect ive feature of the

poem is the manner in which the saw i s per son i f ied . By g iv ing the saw

human at t r ibutes , Frost increases the emot iona l impact of the poem. The

boy doesn ’ t drop the saw, i t ‘ l eap[s] out at [h i s ] hand ’ . Th is makes the

saw seem aggress ive and the boy, in turn , i s made to seem an innocent

v ic t im of th i s aggress ion . In a s imi lar fash ion , Frost makes use of

metonymy ( the use of someth ing c lose ly re la ted in p lace of the th ing

actua l ly meant) when he descr ibes the in jured boy hold ing up h i s cut

hand : ‘as i f to keep | The l i fe f rom sp i l l ing ’ . Here , the poet l i ter a l ly means

to keep the blood f rom sp i l l ing , but by subst i tut ing the word ‘ l i fe ’ for

blood, the poem ga ins in c lar i ty, force and emot iona l intens i ty. Th is

emot iona l intens i ty i s mir rored in the poem’s constr uct ion . ‘ “Out , Out

—”’ i s a nar r at ive in blank ver se , conta ined with in a cont inuous

s t r ucture . There are no stanzas and no phys ica l breaks in the poem. By

not s t r uctur ing the poem in a formal manner, Frost does not at tempt to

confine the emot iona l response of the reader. F ina l ly, whi le the poem

provokes an emot iona l response in i t s reader s , i t s tone i s a t a l l t imes

imper sona l . The nar r ator s imply re la tes the t r uth of the boy ’s acc ident

and death in a s t r a ight forward manner. I t i s le f t to us to respond

emot iona l ly to the event descr ibed .

______ 30 ______

Poetry Versus Prose

Having read and s tud ied th i s poem, cons ider how the language of

poetr y d i f fer s f rom the ord inar y prose . Th is i s the news s tor y that

insp i red Frost ’s poem.

The March 31 , 1910 , ed i t ion of The L i t t le ton Cour ier of L i t t le ton , New

Hampsh i re , car r ied the fo l lowing s tor y :

Raymond Tracy F i tzger a ld , one of the twin sons of Michae l G. And

Margaret F i tzger a ld of Beth lehem, d ied at h i s home Thur sday a f ternoon,

March 24 , as a resu l t o f an acc ident by which one of h i s hands was

bad ly hur t in a sawing mach ine . The young man was ass i s t ing in sawing

up some wood in h i s own door yard wi th a sawing mach ine and

acc identa l ly h i t the loose pu l ley, caus ing the saw to descend upon h is

hand , cutt ing and lacer at ing i t bad ly. Raymond was taken into the house

and a phys ic ian was immediate ly summoned, but he d ied ver y suddenly

f rom the e f fects of the shock , which produced hear t fa i lure […] March

31 , 1910 .

______ 31 ______