"
The doctor, when he comes. Don’t let him, sister!”
So. But the hand was gone already.
The doctor put him in the dark of ether.
He lay and puffed his lips out with his breath
"
Just there. I don't understand what he means by "put him in the dark of ether."
If needed, here's the full poem:
The buzz-saw snarled and rattled in the yard
And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood,
Sweet-scented stuff when the breeze drew across it.
And from there those that lifted eyes could count
Five mountain ranged one behind the other
Under the sunset far into Vermont.
And the saw snarled and rattled, snarled and rattled,
As it ran light, or had to bear a load.
And nothing happened: day was all but done.
Call it a day, I wish they might have said
To please the boy giving him the half hour
That a boy counts so much when saved from work.
His sister stood beside them in her apron
To tell them “Supper.” At the word, the saw,
As if to prove saws knew what supper meant,
Leaped out at the boy’s hand, or seemed to leap —
He must have given the hand. However it was,
Neither refused the meeting. But the hand!
The boy’s first outcry was a rueful laugh,
As he swung toward them holding up the hand
Half in appeal, but half as if to keep
The life from spilling. Then the boy saw all —
Since he was old enough to know, big boy
Doing a man’s work, though a child at heart —
He saw all spoiled. “Don’t let him cut my hand off —
The doctor, when he comes. Don’t let him, sister!”
So. But the hand was gone already.
The doctor put him in the dark of ether.
He lay and puffed his lips out with his breath.
And then — the watcher at his pulse took fright.
No one believed. They listened at his heart.
Little — less — nothing! — and that ended it.
No more to build on there. And they, since they
Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs.
Written by Robert Frost
6 Answers
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They used to use ether to knock people out for surgery and etc. So it just means that the doctor used ether to put the person to sleep.
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The word ether can have several meanings but the context makes it quite clear that Frost means ether as an anesthetic (diethyl ether).
The poor boy will have been in great pain as well as in emotional and physical shock and disbelief. He pleads with his sister not to let the doctor amputate his hand but the saw had already done that work. The doctor uses ether to anesthetize the boy -- presumably so he can close up the wound and stop the bleeding. Sadly the boy dies ("They listened at his heart. / Little — less — nothing! — and that ended it.")
I have always found this sad poem quite disturbing, in fact I still can not suppress a shudder when reading it — no less so that Frost describes the matter-of-fact acceptance of the death by his family.
Frost's reading of his own work is very much like that; he suppresses emotion and expression in his voice and leaves his words to reach the listener.
The references explain the other meaning of ether and link to recordings of Frost reading some of his work.
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'Ether' can also mean the clear air of the upper atmosphere. It was an old-fashioned word for a medium or substance thought to transmit radio waves, etc.. "Ethereal" means light and delicate, or heavenly. That's the interesting thing about words. They can have multiple denotations and even more connotations. Skilled poets often intentionally and subtly play on this connotative multiplicity. It may 'ether' mean one thing or the other!
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This Site Might Help You.
RE:
What does the use of "ether" mean in this poem?
"
The doctor, when he comes. Don’t let him, sister!”
So. But the hand was gone already.
The doctor put him in the dark of ether.
He lay and puffed his lips out with his breath
"
Just there. I don't understand what he means by "put him in the dark of ether."
If...
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ether is a chemical that used to be used for anaesthetic, like for putting people to sleep during surgery. so that part of the poem means that the doctor put him to sleep
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Ether is an organic anaesthetic.
