"Out, Out --" - Robert Frost

1. Sinister: snarled, rattled, leaped out at the boy's hand
Friend: it helped the boy with his work
2. Other workers, possibly adults, maybe his family if it is a family-run operation. They seem somewhat indifferent - perhaps selfish. The poet does not tell us anything about them feeling compassion. The boy is almost seen as simply a business investment, a child who can do an adult-share of work.
3. Just the idea of the boy dying at the end. Theme: To have children doing the work of adults can often result in tragedy, and even if it does not, can cause a child to grow up too fast.
4. Well, it tells a story, and both go chronologically. Frost's is definitely more interesting, easier to follow. It also seems to give a bit more commentary, and opinion of the author. The Sir Spencer poem was organized differently, broken up into smaller verses, which helped us follow it, even though the words weren't the English we're used to.