Neither Out Far Nor In Deep Analysis

A Further Range1936The people along the sand

All turn and look one way.

They turn their back on the land.

They look at the sea all day.As long as it takes to pass

A ship keeps raising its hull;

The wetter ground like glass

Reflects a standing gullThe land may vary more;

But wherever the truth may be--

The water comes ashore,

And the people look at the sea.They cannot look out far.

They cannot look in deep.

But when was that ever a bar

To any watch they keep?

.: :.

It seems that Frost is exploring peoples attitudes in this poem. He begins by observing the people 'all turn and look one way./ They turn their back on the land./ They look at the sea all day.' The speaker here views these people in a state of detachment, as a great mass with no individuality who focus on mysteries they cannot comprehend. This perhaps inadvertently reflects Frosts state of mind and questions the purpose of his poetry.
The speaker remarks that 'The land may vary more: / But wherever the truth may be- / The water comes ashore, / And the people at the sea.' This suggests that the speaker can see things the people are looking for, which are readily available, yet the people are too ignorant to see them as they are too busy concerning themselves with the unknown.
At the end of this poem the speaker remarks on how the people cannot 'look out far' nor 'in deep' and seems to be criticising people's ability to understand the great mysteries of humankind, yet cannot introspect and understand themselves either. But then contradicts himself remarking that there was 'a bar' to any watch they keep, seeming that he accepts that they are unlikely to change, and that he has little right to criticise them.
The rhyme scheme employed in this poem is childlike, and the structure is simple. As so often in Frost this could hint at irony, that the speaker is so simple minded yet criticises others for possessing qualities which are within himself

| Posted on 2009-05-12 | by a guest