Design
By Robert Frost
I found a dimpled spider, fat and white,
On a white heal-all, holding up a moth
Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth–
Assorted characters of death and blight
Mixed ready to begin the morning right,
Like the ingredients of a witches’ broth–
A snow-drop spider, a flower like a froth,
And dead wings carried like a paper kite.What had that flower to do with being white,
The wayside blue and innocent heal-all?
What brought the kindred spider to that height,
Then steered the white moth thither in the night?
What but design of darkness to appall?–
If design govern in a thing so small.
Summary of Design
- Popularity of “Design”: Termed as an Italian sonnet of Frost, this poem first appeared in 1922 in an anthology of American poetry and later became popular due to the philosophical argument it presents for its readers. Frost seems at his best in seduction through the simplicity of language, but the complexity of the argument is presented through these simple words. The popularity of the poem lies in this innocent presentation of a complex idea of the design in the making of the universe.
- “Design” As a Representative of Fate and Determinism: Robert Frost has beautifully placed a first-person speaker as if he is himself speaking to his audience. The main point is he sees a dimpled spider that is fat as well as white. It is holding a moth in its mouth that is also as white as a satin cloth. The poet is rather amazed at the sight of the death of a moth and the deadly spider holding him in his mouth. He thinks that it seems some witch has woven a spell for him to show him this scene. The poet questions the symbols of colors and their meanings, whether white is associated with innocence, and how the spider has trapped that white moth in the darkness of the night. Then he answers it simply that there is a design behind every happening by which he means that everything is determined by fate.
- Major Themes in “Design”: Divine scheme of things, fate, determinism, and superstition of events are major themes of the poem. The poet sees a white and fat spider eating up a white moth and questions the scheme of things. This is the first thing that he sees in the morning and he comes to believe that it could be some magic or dark magic woven by some witch as it symbolizes death, for the moth is in the mouth of the spider that is eating it. Therefore, he poses questions about color scheme as white is always associated with innocence or the fate of things that determines whether things would die or perish in one or the other way. He becomes superstitious for some time and then leaves, saying that it is the design that lies behind everything but stops short of saying that it is a divine scheme of things.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in Design
Robert Frost used various literary devices to enhance the intended impact of his poem. Some of the major literary devices used in this poem are as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /i/ in “Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth” and the sound of /o/ in “A snow-drop spider, a flower like a froth.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /r / in “Assorted characters of death and blight” and the sound of /h/ and /l/ in “On a white heal-all, holding up a moth.”
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Robert Frost used imagery in this poem, such as “I found a dimpled spider, fat and white”, “Mixed ready to begin the morning right” and “A snow-drop spider, a flower like a froth.”
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between objects that are different in nature. The poet used metaphors calling the spider and the moth as assorted characters as if they are human beings.
- Personification: It means to attribute human emotions to inanimate objects. The poet used the personification of the design as if it has emotions and could appall everybody.
- Rhetorical Question: It is a device in which a question is asked not to get an answer but to emphasize the main idea. The poem shows the use of rhetorical questions such as; ‘A snow-drop spider, a flower like a froth’, ‘Then steered the white moth thither in the night?’ and ‘What but design of darkness to appall?—’
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols, such as a spider, moth, fat, white, and cloth to show the arrival of death or something bad.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Design
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows good use of formal, poetic, and simple diction.
- End Rhyme: It means to use verses having matching end words. Robert Frost shows the use of end rhymes, such as white/blight and moth/broth.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem shows the rhyme scheme of ABBAABBA in its octave and CDCCDD in its sestet.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are two stanzas, and the first one is an octave and the second sestet.
- Sonnet: It is a poem having fourteen verses. This poem is a sonnet.
- Tone: It means the voice of the text. The poem shows descriptive, loving, seductive, and appalling tones at different places.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote when talking about how chance works in our lives.
What brought the kindred spider to that height,
Then steered the white moth thither in the night?
What but design of darkness to appall?–
If design govern in a thing so small.