Topic > Comparative Analysis of the Poems of Robert Frost and Wilfred Owen

'Out, out' is a poem written by Robert Frost which tells the story of a boy whose life was taken in an extremely upsetting circumstance. In comparison to this, Wilfred Owen's "Disabled" portrays a young man who left a part of himself behind during the war. Both poems assert ideas that insinuate the brevity along with the fragility of both characters in the poem, as well as the essence that life will go on, that a life as singular as that of the characters is as insignificant on a universal scale as when the young soldier of The " disabled" returned from the war is forgotten and the boy from 'Out, Out' where the people around him carried on even when he had just died. "Out, out, brief candle! Life is but a walking shadow, a poor actor who struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more." This is undeniably a reference to Shakespeare's Macbeth which illustrates the image of a flickering, fragile and short candle. It also recalls the spirit of life, which at the same time is equally short and easily tearable. Unlike 'Disabled', 'Out, Out' Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In "Out, out-" by Robert Frost, the tragic accident places no blame on the boy. On the other hand, Owen's "Disability" was partially attributed to the young man at fault. The fact that it wasn't the boy's fault in "Out, out-" encourages pity in the audience because they know nothing could have been done to stop it. Similarly, in "Disabled", the young man is brainwashed with propaganda to believe that war is great and fun. This encourages the audience to feel pity for the young man as he believed that the war could not harm him. The desperation induced in the reader by the child's unexpected death and the soldier's mistaken belief that glorious war is a main feature of both "Disabled" and "Out, Out." The soldier had believed that the war would be magnificent, but, nevertheless, he returns home unheroic and shunned by other "whole" people. His perception of life and his view of war have been radically affected by his poor choice. The young soldier had initially been involved in an elaborate dream of "jeweled dagger hilts in tartan socks" and of "intelligent salutes and care of weapons; and departure and payment of arrears". Yet, as he understands, these are all illusions that he managed to deceive and engage in. The wonderful image of war he formed in his childhood is soon changed, and his high hopes contrast with the brief, blunt reality he will find himself in. «Spend a few years of illness in the Institutes, and do what the rules deem wise». We, as the audience, feel pity and sympathy for him as his expectation is dashed and he ends up disappointed. Furthermore, there is the shocking realization that everything he thought was true as a child when he "liked to have a bloodstain on his leg" and "thought it would be better to join in" has been proven wrong by his experiences and the reader feels the need to give him that little comfort of which he is now deprived due to his deformities and "noticed how the eyes of women passed from him to those of strong men who were whole." Similarly, in 'Out, out' the reader feels anguish over the painful way in which the child must have died. The saw "as if to prove that he knew what dinner meant, sprang out of the boy's hand." This is an example of vivid images that allow us to feel the events unfolding and understand all the feelings and overload.