"Design"

The tragedy of the loss of a loved one, the horror of poison gas, and the monstrosity of trench warfare led Robert Frost to a grim outlook on life that is reflected in his poem, “Design.” Written in the wake of Frost’s son’s death and in the midst of WWI, the poem’s violent interaction between a spider and a moth on nature’s stage raises questions regarding the presence of evil and divine power in life and ultimately serves as a microcosm for the conflicts of the world.

Frost’s poem is split into two stanzas: an opening eight-line stanza and a closing six-line stanza, and for a poem entitled “Design,” the basic structure is surprisingly unorganized. The word “design” often has a connotation of organization and structure; thus, this poem is a paradox in itself. On the other hand, the word design also has a connotation of intent—if something is made by design, it is as it is supposed to be. A hybrid of a Shakespearean sonnet and free verse, “Design” contains fourteen lines but has no apparent quatrains or consistent rhyme scheme. The rhyme scheme changes from abbaaaab to acaacc with only the final two lines matching the cc rhyme scheme of a couplet in a traditional Shakespearean sonnet. This lack of structure in a poem, the most structured form of literature, strongly correlates with the poem’s theme of a general lack of structure in a seemingly structured world.

The first stanza uses imagery to paint a picture of a “dimpled spider, fat and white, / On a white heal-all, holding up a moth” (1-2). Frost develops the scene in the first stanza with images of a white spider, camouflaged on a white heal-all flower. Though heal-alls are generally blue, Frost claims that the scene is full of “Assorted characters of death and blight” (4), suggesting that the heal-all is diseased. Atop the flower, the spider, “ready to begin the morning right,” (5) holds the moth “Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth” (3) with “dead wings…like a paper kite” (8). The simile comparing the moth to satin cloth and the ironic imagery juxtaposing dead wings and a paper kite portrays the fragility and the frailty of the moth.

The second, more philosophical stanza serves as a reflection on the aforementioned scene. Consisting of only questions, the latter stanza asks, “What had that flower to do with being white,” (9), “What brought the kindred spider to that height, / Then steered the white moth thither in the night?” (11-12) and ultimately, “What but design of darkness to appall?— / If design govern in a thing so small.” (13-14). To answer the first question, the color of the flower can be attributed to its sickness. The answer to the second lies in the observation of nature. Spiders are naturally attracted to the heal-all plant, and because moths are attracted to light, the white flower existing amidst the dark night would naturally lure the moth towards it. Thus, the flower brought the two insects together. The final question, however, is unanswerable. To paraphrase, it asks, “what being would design something so evil if design reigns in things so small as a conflict between a spider and a moth?” This question is more one of a probing nature—inspiring readers to think and reflect on what higher power must exist that would create something so terrible as violence and evil.

Examining beyond just good and evil, a reader will see that this poem is full of objects described counter-intuitively. Spiders are generally thought of as spindly, black creatures, but Frost describes this particular spider as “dimpled…fat and white” (1). The heal-all—generally blue and thriving—is white and diseased. Additionally, the overall “white” motif is ironic, as white is generally dubbed the color of purity. Finally and most ironic, the moth dies on a flower called a heal-all, yet the flower fails to bring the moth back to life. Perhaps these oddities are meant to show the corruption in our world. Perhaps they are Frost’s way of conveying his idea that often things not as they appear to be.

Continuing with that idea, each of the poem’s “Assorted characters of death and blight” (4) is not only what it appears to be, but is also a symbol for something greater. If the reader views the first stanza as a symbolic microcosm for the world, the flower serves as a symbol for a divine power plagued with the sickness of corruption. Once innocent and beautiful, the divine power now watches violence and does nothing to stop it. The flower does nothing to save the fragile moth—the symbol for frail innocence—from the spider—the symbol for evil. Instead, the flower aids the spider in its hunt for prey. Not only does the flower naturally lure the moth towards its doom, but it also camouflages the portly hunter—both beings covered by a false veil of purity. To further emphasize the spider’s maleficence, Frost describes the creature as “dimpled” (1) and “fat” (1). An overweight creature, the spider represents the world’s well-fed evil that preys on innocence.

Ultimately, Frost’s “Design” raises more questions than it answers, forcing readers to closely observe what it is that he is trying to say. In the throes of WWI and after the death of a son, Frost and many others saw the world as a place of unthinkable violence, a place where men committed inconceivable murders, and a place seemingly bereft of God. Thus, from the ruins of his era rose Frost’s “Design,” and the ultimate question: “What but design of darkness to appall?—/ If design govern in a thing so small.” (13-14)

Bibliography
Frost, Robert. "Design." Perrine’s Sound & Sense. New York: Thomson Wadsworth, 2008. 153.