By Design Essay -- Literary Analysis, Robert Frost

Redesigned: One poem with two faces Robert Frost wrote a poem – twice. The early version of the poem titled, â€Å"In White,† creates a simple scene filled with anomalies. For some reason, years later, the work beckoned for further attention. The poet complied and skillfully enhanced the work, rendering a finished poem that exceeded the scope of the original. Side by side, both versions of Frost’s poem send a nuanced message to the thoughtful reader. Open to interpretation, that message invites debate, an introspective feast. For that reason, reworking the poem fine-tuned the message. The revised poem â€Å"Design† assumes polished superiority through Frost’s mastery of imagery, amplified by devices, and unburdened language. For the purpose of clarity, explicating provides an understanding of the internal workings of this finished poem. A closer look at one poem helps to identify the differences between the two. Frost’s poem, â€Å"Design† begins in a most uncomplicated way: â€Å"I found a dimpled spider, fat and white† (1). The spider, described as such, denotes jolly innocence, an unlikely association. Introducing the first of several ironies, the heal-all, which preserves life, has a growing connection to death. In fact, the flower provides a stage for the spider, menacing in spite of its pale disguise as it sits â€Å"On a white heal-all, holding up a moth / Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth–† (2-3). Frost’s white color scheme persists into the dead moth simile. Satin, typically equated with rich finery, finds a meaning much less elegant with the adjective, rigid. Each line zooms closer to the scene at hand, no doubt something is just not righ t. The mood continues with, â€Å"Assorted characters of death and blight† (4), and ad... ..., aided by Frost’s selection of devices, such as similes. As such, the reader derives a deeper understanding of the action, like the lifting of a veil. In summary, explicating â€Å"Design† served to process both poems. Such a exercise provided a clearer perspective of Frost’s initial rendering and subsequent finished work. Thus, exposing subtle differences resulted in a way to compare the work and draw a subjective conclusion regarding the more effective poem. However, one must remain mindful that without the lesser first â€Å"draft,† the second would have had no life. Indeed, Frost refined with a delicate hand by shaping images, placed inventive markers to prod thought, and carefully gave voice to each word. The result produced a superior message, which posed more questions than solid answers about whether life (or death) happens by coincidence, or by â€Å"Design.†