Robert Frost's Petrarchan sonnet, written in iambic pentameter, “Design,” questions God's role in the world through predestination and divine intervention with the use of tone, juxtaposition, imagery, and symbolism. He does this by recounting a scene in the octave in which a spider holds its prey upright atop a healer, and then asking provocative questions about the appearance of such a scene in the seset that follows. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay “Design” has two distinct tones with a shift after the first octave. The first part, being a narrative, is light and observant, as it would be from the point of view of a spectator, observing from afar instead of taking a personal role in the action described. Frost uses this tone to keep the poem neutral as he uses imagery and symbolism to make his point. Imagery is used specifically as symbolism in this piece, most evident in the coloring of three objects: a white spider, pregnant with prosperity and cruel in its actions, a white flower that heals, and a dead white butterfly, victim of spider. . The juxtaposition can be seen within these symbolic elements, as the purity of the white color contradicts the actions of the spider, "fat" and "holding a moth." Not only do the colors contradict the actions of the spider, but the spider itself also contrasts with the idea of ​​a pure flower that heals. The phrase "snowdrop spider" sounds euphonious and sweet, but the feelings evoked relate more to the flower than to the spider, which is a "large" spider, known to kill, while the flower is more affectionately called a spider. “heal all” and “a flower like moss”. We know that the spider, the flower, and the moth are meant to be compared, seen together, and not just as three separate units because of the lines "Assorted characters of death and blight / Mixed together ready for a good start to the morning , / Like the ingredients of a witches’ broth.” In “Design,” the spider seems to represent the evil of the world. Since the poem can be seen as reflecting the entirety of human existence in terms of divine intervention, the spider is the unintended negative, seen as it kills a moth. The flower is Good, taking a less obvious action in the poem, but still present and apparent. The butterfly seems to represent the victims of the evil of the world, because it is as if “satiny”, but “rigid” by death. This also gives context to the questions he asks in the sestet about the "design" involved in bringing the three to the state they are in. The second of the two parts, after the change in tone beginning with the sestet, carries a darker, more analytical, anxious and contemplative tone, as the speaker asks questions as much about humanity in general as about the scene described . Although the octave sets the stage for analysis, these questions bring the poem to its entirety on the theme of questioning God and the role He plays with respect to humanity. In the final lines, Frost writes: “What but the conception of darkness to frighten? - / If design governs a thing so fall,” referring to the concept of predestination. Does “design” or God govern things as small as these, bringing these rare, colorful creatures together at the right time and place, just so that the spider ends up eating the moth? Or is there no “design” at all? Is it all just a random event? It shows by language more..