The land was ours before we were the land’s.
-- Speaker (Line 1)

Importance: These lines introduce “The Gift Outright” and establish the poem’s major players, the speaker “we” and the land, as well as the theme of possession. Further, the poem's metrical scheme emphasizes each of these items sonically. Stresses fall on each mention of the “land” – highlighting its importance in the poem – and also on “ours,” which emphasizes both the position of the speaker and the issue of possession.

She was ours / In Massachusetts, in Virginia, / But we were England’s, still colonials.
-- Speaker (Lines 3 – 5)

Importance: These lines occur near the beginning of the poem and describe America’s colonial period, which Frost treats as the first part of a three-act history of the United States. They highlight the way the speaker views the country and national identity as a whole. The speaker uses the female pronoun to refer to the American land, which...