The Significance of Titles in Poetry

IN poetry, as well as prose and drama, titles are of great significance; in some cases the title itself becomes the first line of the poem. In other instances, if there is no title to a poem (also common for poets), the editor/publisher uses the first line of the poem as the title.

In the Robert Frost poem, “Out, out—“ the title is taken from Shakespeare’s Macbeth. In his speech, Macbeth considers first the untimely death of his wife, then the brevity of human life and whether life itself has meaning. By using the title “Out, out—“ Robert Frost expects his reader/audience to:

• make the connection to the speech in Macbeth
• see a similarity in the situation he presents in the poem
• contemplate the same eternal aspects of death

It is important then to familiarize oneself with titles and question whether there are underlying meanings or allusions* to fully understand the poem. (*allusion – a reference to the past, whether historical, literary or religious)

From Shakespeare:

Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.