Analysis of Design

Robert Frost 1874 (San Francisco) – 1963 (Boston)



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.


Scheme ABBAABBA ACAACC
Poetic Form
Metre 1101010101 1011110101 1011110101 0101001101 1101010101 10010010101 01110010101 0111010101 11110111101 011010011 1101010111 110111001 1101110101 1011000111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 588
Words 112
Sentences 6
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 6
Lines Amount 14
Letters per line (avg) 33
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 231
Words per stanza (avg) 55
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 25, 2023

33 sec read
1,107

Robert Frost

Robert Lee Frost was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in America. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. more…

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    Who is the author of the renowned poem collection "Leaves of Grass"?
    A Langston Hughes
    B Walt Whitman
    C Robert Frost
    D Emily Dickinson