Departmental
By Robert Frost
An ant on the tablecloth
Ran into a dormant moth
Of many times his size.
He showed not the least surprise.
His business wasn’t with such.
He gave it scarcely a touch,
And was off on his duty run.
Yet if he encountered one
Of the hive’s enquiry squad
Whose work is to find out God
And the nature of time and space,
He would put him onto the case.
Ants are a curious race;
One crossing with hurried tread
The body of one of their dead
Isn’t given a moment’s arrest—
Seems not even impressed.
But he no doubt reports to any
With whom he crosses antennae,
And they no doubt report
To the higher‑up at court.
Then word goes forth in Formic:
“Death’s come to Jerry McCormic,
Our selfless forager Jerry.
Will the special Janizary
Whose office it is to bury
The dead of the commissary
Go bring him home to his people.
Lay him in state on a sepal.
Wrap him for shroud in a petal.
Embalm him with ichor of nettle.
This is the word of your Queen.”
And presently on the scene
Appears a solemn mortician;
And taking formal position,
With feelers calmly atwiddle,
Seizes the dead by the middle,
And heaving him high in air,
Carries him out of there.
No one stands round to stare.
It is nobody else’s affair
It couldn’t be called ungentle
But how thoroughly departmental.
Unpacking “Departmental”: A Deep Dive into Robert Frost’s Witty Observation
Welcome to an exploration of Robert Frost’s insightful poem, “Departmental.” This piece, a brilliant example of Frost’s keen observation and subtle wit, offers far more than a simple narrative about ants. It is a concise, yet profound, commentary on the nature of organization, duty, and the often-impersonal efficiency of bureaucratic systems. Published in 1936 in his collection A Further Range, “Departmental” remains a popular and thought-provoking work, celebrated for its humorous portrayal of a miniature society that mirrors our own.
What is “Departmental” About? A Summary and Central Idea
“Departmental” presents a seemingly simple scenario: an ant going about its daily tasks. The poem opens with this ant encountering a large, dormant moth, an event that elicits no surprise or deviation from its path. Its “business wasn’t with such,” highlighting a singular focus on its assigned duties. However, when this same ant encounters a deceased fellow ant, the situation changes dramatically. Instead of a personal reaction, a precise chain of command is activated. The ant reports the death, and this information ascends through a hierarchical structure, eventually reaching the Queen. From the Queen, a formal decree is issued in “Formic” (the ants’ language), detailing the specific protocols for the deceased ant, Jerry McCormic. A specialized “Janizary” or mortician is dispatched, who, with detached professionalism, carries out the burial rites. The poem concludes by observing that this entire process, while not “ungentle,” is “thoroughly departmental,” emphasizing the cold, efficient, and impersonal nature of the system.
The central idea of “Departmental” revolves around the critique of extreme specialization and bureaucratic detachment within organized systems. Frost uses the ant colony as an extended metaphor to explore how strict adherence to protocol and division of labor can lead to a lack of individual emotional response, even in the face of significant events like death. The poem subtly questions the human tendency to create complex, compartmentalized structures that prioritize procedure over personal connection, suggesting that such systems, while efficient, can strip away empathy and individual agency.
Noteworthy Insights into “Departmental”
- Satirical Observation: Frost masterfully employs satire, using the ant colony to gently mock human bureaucratic tendencies. The poem’s humor arises from the absurd formality applied to a tiny insect’s death.
- Universal Relevance: Despite being written decades ago, the themes of departmentalization, specialized roles, and impersonal systems resonate strongly in modern society, making the poem timeless.
- Frost’s Signature Style: While known for his rural New England settings, Frost here demonstrates his versatility, applying his characteristic observational skill and understated tone to a miniature, allegorical world.
Unpacking the Poetic Craft: Literary and Poetic Devices in “Departmental”
Robert Frost’s “Departmental” is a masterclass in poetic construction, employing a range of literary and poetic devices to convey its satirical message. Understanding these techniques enriches our appreciation of the poem’s depth and wit.
- Allegory: The entire poem functions as an allegory, where the ant colony and its rigid social structure represent human society and its bureaucratic organizations. The ants’ actions, their specialized roles, and their impersonal response to death mirror the often-cold efficiency of human institutions. This allegorical framework allows Frost to comment on societal norms without direct criticism.
- Personification: Frost imbues the ants with human-like qualities, roles, and even a language (“Formic”). They have “enquiry squads,” “higher-up at court,” a “Queen,” and a “special Janizary” or mortician. This personification is key to the poem’s satirical effect, making the ants’ bureaucratic behavior both relatable and comically exaggerated.
Whose work is to find out God
And the nature of time and space,These lines, describing the “enquiry squad,” attribute philosophical pursuits to ants, a clear example of personification that highlights the absurdity of their specialized, almost academic, roles.
- Irony and Satire: The poem is steeped in gentle irony and satire. The formal, almost ceremonial language used to describe the ant’s death and burial contrasts sharply with the small scale of the event. The ants’ complete lack of personal emotion, despite their elaborate procedures, is a source of subtle humor and a critique of human detachment.
No one stands round to stare.
It is nobody else’s affair
It couldn’t be called ungentle
But how thoroughly departmental.The concluding lines are profoundly ironic, suggesting that while the process might not be “ungentle,” its impersonal, “departmental” nature is perhaps a more subtle form of unkindness.
- Imagery: Frost uses vivid imagery to bring the miniature world of the ants to life, making their actions tangible and their environment relatable.
An ant on the tablecloth
Ran into a dormant moth
Of many times his size.This opening image immediately sets the scene, creating a clear picture of the ant’s world and its initial encounter. Later, the description of the burial rites is particularly rich in imagery:
Lay him in state on a sepal.
Wrap him for shroud in a petal.
Embalm him with ichor of nettle.These lines create a surprisingly grand and detailed picture of the ant’s funeral, underscoring the poem’s satirical tone by applying human ceremonial language to natural elements.
- Metaphor: The entire ant colony serves as an extended metaphor for human bureaucracy and organizational structures. Each element, from the “enquiry squad” to the “higher-up at court” and the “Janizary,” metaphorically represents specialized departments and roles within larger human institutions.
- Symbolism: Various elements within the poem carry symbolic weight.
- The ant symbolizes the individual within a large, impersonal system, often reduced to a specialized function.
- The dormant moth, initially ignored, might symbolize distractions or elements outside the narrow focus of duty, highlighting the ant’s unwavering, almost blind, commitment to its task.
- Death, in this context, symbolizes an event that, in a highly departmentalized system, is processed rather than grieved, becoming another item on a checklist.
- The Queen’s decree symbolizes the ultimate authority and the rigid protocols that govern the system.
- Diction and Tone: Frost employs precise, often understated diction. The language is deceptively simple, masking a subtle satirical and observational tone. The poem is not overtly critical, but its detached observation and formal descriptions of ant behavior create a sense of irony and gentle mockery. The tone is objective, almost scientific, which further emphasizes the impersonal nature of the ant colony’s processes.
- Heroic Couplet: “Departmental” is primarily written in heroic couplets, pairs of rhyming lines in iambic pentameter. This form lends a formal, almost mock-epic quality to the poem, enhancing its satirical effect by applying a traditionally grand poetic structure to a mundane, albeit allegorical, subject.
An ant on the tablecloth
Ran into a dormant mothThis opening couplet immediately establishes the rhythmic and rhyming pattern, setting a consistent, almost marching, pace that mirrors the ants’ regimented lives.
- Rhyme Scheme: The dominant rhyme scheme is AABB, creating a sense of order, predictability, and even inevitability. This consistent rhyming reinforces the idea of the ants’ regimented lives and the seamless, unbroken flow of bureaucratic procedures.
- Stanza Structure: The poem consists of a single, extended stanza. This contributes to the feeling of a continuous, unbroken narrative, mirroring the relentless flow of activity and the unbroken chain of command within the ant colony. There are no breaks or pauses, suggesting the unstoppable momentum of the departmental process.
- Enjambment: The continuation of a sentence or phrase from one line to the next without a grammatical pause creates a sense of momentum and flow, often mimicking the seamlessness of the ants’ routines.
One crossing with hurried tread
The body of one of their dead
Isn’t given a moment’s arrest—
Seems not even impressed.Here, the enjambment between “tread” and “The body” and “arrest” and “Seems” emphasizes the hurried, uninterrupted nature of the ants’ movement, even over a deceased comrade, highlighting their lack of individual emotional response.
- Assonance: The repetition of vowel sounds within words creates musicality and subtle connections between ideas.
Whose work is to find out God
The repeated “o” sound here creates a resonant, almost ponderous quality, subtly emphasizing the grand, philosophical nature of the “enquiry squad’s” supposed task.
- Alliteration: The repetition of initial consonant sounds adds a pleasing rhythm and emphasis.
His business wasn’t with such.
The alliteration of “business wasn’t with” adds a crisp, dismissive tone, highlighting the ant’s focused indifference.
- Consonance: The repetition of consonant sounds within words creates a sense of cohesion and texture.
He showed not the least surprise.
The repetition of the “s” sound in “showed,” “least,” and “surprise” creates a smooth, almost hushed quality, underscoring the ant’s calm, unperturbed demeanor.
Key Quotes and Their Significance
These lines from “Departmental” are particularly illustrative of the poem’s central themes and offer rich ground for deeper understanding:
His business wasn’t with such.
He gave it scarcely a touch,
And was off on his duty run.
These lines perfectly encapsulate the ant’s unwavering focus on its assigned duty. The encounter with the much larger moth is dismissed as irrelevant, demonstrating a highly specialized and compartmentalized mindset. This highlights the poem’s commentary on prioritizing action and protocol over engagement with anything outside one’s immediate “department.” It sets the stage for the ant’s equally detached response to death.
Then word goes forth in Formic:
“Death’s come to Jerry McCormic,
Our selfless forager Jerry.
This excerpt introduces the formal, almost bureaucratic language used by the ants. The naming of the deceased ant, “Jerry McCormic,” adds a touch of human familiarity, making the subsequent impersonal procedures even more striking. The phrase “Our selfless forager Jerry” is a formal acknowledgment of his contribution, not an expression of grief, further emphasizing the departmental rather than personal response to loss.
And taking formal position,
With feelers calmly atwiddle,
Seizes the dead by the middle,
And heaving him high in air,
Carries him out of there.
This vivid description of the mortician ant’s actions is a powerful image of detached professionalism. The “formal position” and “feelers calmly atwiddle” convey a sense of practiced, unemotional execution of duty. The act of “seizing the dead by the middle” and “heaving him high in air” is efficient but devoid of tenderness, perfectly illustrating the poem’s concluding observation about the “thoroughly departmental” nature of the process.
Conclusion: The Enduring Message of “Departmental”
“Departmental” by Robert Frost is a deceptively simple poem that offers a profound and humorous critique of modern organizational life. Through the allegorical world of an ant colony, Frost invites us to reflect on the implications of extreme specialization, bureaucratic detachment, and the prioritization of protocol over personal feeling. The poem’s masterful use of literary devices, from its satirical tone and personification to its precise imagery and heroic couplets, crafts a memorable and thought-provoking experience. As readers, we are left to ponder the balance between efficiency and empathy, and the subtle ways in which our own “departmental” structures might shape our responses to the world around us. This poem remains a vital piece for anyone seeking to understand the complexities of human organization and the enduring power of Frost’s poetic insight.