Robert Frost's "Design," first published in a 1922 anthology of American poetry, reflects on the argument that the complexity of the world proves that a supernatural creator (i.e., God) must have designed things. The speaker of stumbles across a strange sight one morning that, on one level, might indeed suggest a guiding hand bringing different elements of nature together: a white spider holding a dead white moth on top of a white flower. Finding this sight at once miraculous and grotesque, the speaker wonders what kind of higher power would "design" a world that contains such horror and suffering—if such a power exists at all. The poem was later included in Frost's Pulitzer-winning 1936 collection, A Further Range.
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1I found a dimpled spider, fat and white,
2On a white heal-all, holding up a moth
3Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth—
4Assorted characters of death and blight
5Mixed ready to begin the morning right,
6Like the ingredients of a witches' broth—
7A snow-drop spider, a flower like a froth,
8And dead wings carried like a paper kite.
9What had that flower to do with being white,
10The wayside blue and innocent heal-all?
11What brought the kindred spider to that height,
12Then steered the white moth thither in the night?
13What but design of darkness to appall?—
14If design govern in a thing so small.
1I found a dimpled spider, fat and white,
2On a white heal-all, holding up a moth
3Like a white piece of rigid satin cloth—
4Assorted characters of death and blight
5Mixed ready to begin the morning right,
6Like the ingredients of a witches' broth—
7A snow-drop spider, a flower like a froth,
8And dead wings carried like a paper kite.
9What had that flower to do with being white,
10The wayside blue and innocent heal-all?
11What brought the kindred spider to that height,
12Then steered the white moth thither in the night?
13What but design of darkness to appall?—
14If design govern in a thing so small.
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.
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
A Further Range — Check out the full collection in which "Design" appears.
The Poem Out Loud — Listen to a reading of "Design."
Frost and Religion — An interesting article exploring attitudes towards God in Frost's poetry.
Frost at Home — Watch a 1952 interview with the poet, filmed at his house in Vermont.
Frost's Biography and More Poems — Learn more about Frost's life and work via the Poetry Foundation.