On The Antipathy of Robert Frost Irving Rowe was correct in saying that Frost’s best work was “antipathetic to the notion that the universe is inherently good or delightful or hospitable to our needs” (Howe). This is abundantly clear in his poems “Out, Out-” and “Design”. These poems demonstrate the disdain and meaninglessness found in both nature and existence itself in their tone and the striking, harsh reality of their conclusions. Frost’s apathy, as contrasted to his “homey philosophy” and “wandering romanticism”, is jarring, and prompts interior reflection on the meaning of life and man’s relation to God (Howe). Both “Out, Out-” and “Design” are poems that use their tone to convey the cruelty of the universe. “Out, Out-” in particular …show more content…
“Design” is antipathetic in its depiction of something so simple and relatively inconsequential as a spider catching a moth as the evil machinations of a witch brewing a potion. The setting is arranged with the intention of death “like the ingredients of a witches’ broth” (Frost 246). The narrator notes how everything had to line up just right for the moth to suffer its fate, and the eery tone established with the imagery of the occult makes it all the more convincing that there was intention behind the death of the moth. All of this leads to the second stanza in which the narrator ponders why something would will such a small and unnecessary cruelty. Clearly something has caused this moth to die, but what could have such a hatred for life that it would allow the spider to kill the moth? “What but design of darkness to apall?” (Frost 246). Again, we are seeing Frost using the tone of narration to call into question our assumptions about the goodness of the world. Is the world really good if innocent moths are intentionally devoured by “fat” spiders that have only kill because they want to, without any need for …show more content…
At the end of both “Out, Out-” and “Design”, we see a change. Frost chooses his final words with great care, using them to slap us in the face with the indifference and cruelty of our existence. In “Out, Out-”, the poem ends with the lines: “No more to build on there. And they, since they / Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs.” (Frost 244). After the unsettling story of the boy’s accidental death, Frost puts the nail in the coffin of apathy, showing how the world, exemplified by the people around the boy, does not even pause at death. Frost claims that death has no great impact on the universe or those living in it. This is a drastic claim that defies the common beliefs of humanity, and yet it works as the conclusion. It is shocking, but not unbelievable. This is the genius of Frost. His poems build a story, or a moment, and then in his final lines, he can transform that moment into a universal truth in a striking yet believable