INTRODUCTION
Robert Frost has been one of the most well-known poets of all time. His works all showcase emphasis on deep meanings and quality representations. His use of words and elements in a single poem create a combination of different literary forms of sentences. Most of his works combine many figures of speech like irony, simile and metaphor. But among all of his works, his constant utilization of personification makes him a great poet. The poem “Stopping by the Woods” and “The Road Not Taken” has put him in the world map and has cemented him as one of the all time greats ever in history. But there is one poem that he composed that creates a very intriguing message and a very intricate representation.
That poem is entitled “Design”
ANALYSIS OF “DESIGN”
Robert Frost’s “Design” has created such a very perplex outlook and perception about the world. Many consider that the title “Design” is based on the design of how the world exists along with a God that controls everything on it. This poem projects a mournful and mellow feeling and even almost reaching to point of becoming frightening to some.
Robert Frost starts the poem with a clear picture of a scene, presenting the characters and clarifying the whole situation and the setting as well. Frost’s clear depiction of 3 main elements or characters adds up to the planned approach of representation. Frost discusses and elaborates on 3 characters which are the ff: the spider, the moth, and the flower. These three have different meanings but intertwining with regards to the overall message being projected by Frost.
There is great importance with regards to the representation of all the key elements. All of them have the same depiction of color, which is white, that suggests innocence or purity. These implicates or suggests that the elements in the poem are all innocent of the design of the world. Though there is a distinct definition between all of the elements, the spider is perceived as the common predator or hunter, and the moth is the hunted, while the flower is the on-looker. This has been a constant cycle in the world where there is a victim, a witness and a suspect. This probably is one of the aspects that Frost indicates about “Design”.
In the second part of the poem, Frost raises up philosophical questions that seemed to be unanswerable and leaves the readers to conclude upon it. Frost mentioned questions that he never seemed to expect any answers from.. This makes the poem all interesting and unique, it leaves the readers with nothing but critical thinking and a desire to figure out the whole essence of the poem.
A FLOWER IN EVERYDAY LIFE
I consider myself related to the flower in the poem “Design” for I have been a by-stander almost all my life. I have been neutral in most aspects of life and I perceive both the good and the bad in a lot of things. As a “flower” I can say that I am in the middle of things and I’d rather be innocent of things than to take advantage of other people. I perceive the world as a very inconsistent place where everything around changes, but I believe that there is still one God above that “designed” each and every thing in this matter world. He still holds the control over life and as a “flower” I just accept everything that happens day in and day out.
WORKS CITED
Frost, Robert. Design. Retrieved 12 July 2008, from <http://www.poemhunter.com/best- poems/robert-frost/design/>.
