Design by Robert Frost

                                      Design 

Robert Frost’s poem with the title design is a philosophical poem which states that there is a design of destiny or God in everything and every incident which happens in our life. To show this truth the poet picks up the subject matter of a spider , a moth and a white flower. The scene which is portrayed here is of a dark night when one moth becomes a morsel of a spider. 

It is night and in the darkness to seat on a white flower. The spider wants’ to catch that moth on the that white flower and so it changes it’s cooler to white. So that it may remain invisible to the eyes of that moth. 

       “ All that happiness it is designed by lord God” 

That spider remains successful in catching the moth. And very soon the wings of that moth are detached from it’s body. Falling down just like paper kite. The poet observe this scene and it clicks a realization in him that even in the smallest of small incident which happens in this world there is a design of destine. Destiny made the flower white and inspired that moth to go to that flower. The same destiny inspired spider to go to that flower and to began his morning rituals by making that moth it’s a food. The poet comes to conclusion that nothing happens in this world without design. The seal of destiny is a must for the occurrence of any incident. 

Themes 

1) Fate and free will: 

We're big on freedom, sure, but everything has its limits. For thousands of years, humans have taken comfort in the idea that, while we might make our own choices, someone or something is still in ultimate control of the universe. 

Like the ingredients of a witches' broth 

Frost makes us think that something out there is purposefully collecting objects and events and forcing the outcomes. We like the idea that not everything is just coincidence. It makes us feel like there's a good reason (even if we can't grasp it) In "Design," Frost sees the scary side of that idea. If a creator is in control, which means that this god must have a hand in everything, including all the terrible things that has happened with moth and everything else. 

If design govern in a thing so small (14) 

The last line of the poem gives a terrifying "either/or" situation. Either there is no design to the universe and we are just out here on our own or design governs everything—even the most horrific events we can imagine. 

2) Fear: 

"Design" isn't a ghost story. Nothing all that awful happens. A spider gets ready to eat a moth. It's the circle of life—get over it. 

I found a dimpled spider, fat and white (1) 

But the philosophical argument that Frost develops begins to play with some of our deepest fears. 

Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth (3) 

This is the first (but not last) image of death in the poem. We picture the moth like a starched white funeral cloth over a coffin. Frost moves from telling a story to asking questions, questions that become increasingly more urgent. It is as if he is slowly uncovering all the possible implications of the scene and he is terrified of what he discovers. 

What but design of darkness to appall (13) 

Frost's list of questions comes to its final and scary conclusion right here. Whatever brought these three things together in this strange scene, it had to be something that enjoys creating these fear-inducing nightmares—in other words: something a little twisted. 

3) The Supernatural power 

In "Design" there are a lot of supernatural elements which Frost has questioned. God and the cosmic forces control our lives. But we also have the other-worldly realm like witches, overweight spiders, and pale flowers in poem. The whole poem is about big things and small things and whether those big and small things are controlled by superstition, by God, or even by nothing at all. 

On a white heal-all, holding up a moth (2) 

Of all the flowers to pick, Frost chose a heal-all, a flower with a heavy supernatural vibe. It can be brewed into a drink and used to treat things like sore throats and fevers. Even more eerie, this heal-all is white—it's supposed to be blue. 

Like the ingredients of a witches' broth (6) 

The reference to Macbeth brings to mind the whole creepy list of things that get thrown into a cauldron, from "eye of newt" to "lizard's leg." In this poem, it hints at the possible control of supernatural forces. 

The first stanza refers only to small superstitions (the spider, the heal-all, the witches' broth), but Frost takes his supernatural discussions to a cosmic level by the end of the poem. Even though Frost makes plenty of references to the supernatural, at the end of the poem we still aren't sure whether he even believes that anything supernatural exists.