By Design Essay -- Literary Analysis, Robert Frost

Redesigned One poem with two facesRobert freeze wrote a poem twice. The betimes version of the poem titled, 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 Frosts poem send a nuanced means 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 Design assumes polished superiority through Frosts mastery of imagery, amplified by devices, and unburdened language.For the purpose of clarity, explicating provides an consciousness of the internal workings of this finished poem. A closer look at one poem helps to identify the differences between the two. Frosts poem, Design begins in a most uncomplicated way I found a dimpled spid er, fat and white (1). The spider, described as such, denotes jolly innocence, an unlikely association. Introducing the first of some(prenominal) 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 On a white heal-all, holding up a moth / Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth (2-3). Frosts white colour in 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 right. The mood continues with, Assorted characters of death and blight (4), and ad... ..., aided by Frosts 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 Design served to process both poems. Such a exercise pro vided a clearer perspective of Frosts initial rendering and subsequent finished work. Thus, exposing subtle differences resulted in a way to compare the work and draw a subjective finish regarding the more effective poem. However, one must remain mindful that without the lesser first draft, the second would have had no life. Indeed, Frost refined with a refined 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 substantiality answers about whether life (or death) happens by coincidence, or by Design.