*Ting*, a double-sided coin is flipped; in the few seconds as it rotates about in the air to the point where the coin lands flat with one side facing up, can one tell whether it head or tails with one hundred percent confidence? This scenario evidently describes the concept of “random chance”, where although the outcome is always unknown, a process is always apparent. Scenario two, a man decides to build a house, after hard labor and a few years time, the house is built. This scenario describes “planned outcome”. Which of these govern our universe when it comes to living beings? This question is addressed by the poems, “Design” by Robert Frost and “The Tyger” by William Blake. Although both poems share the prevalent theme of intelligent design and both poets use similar styles, with each poet raising rhetorical questions throughout poising a seemingly ambiguous conclusion towards the question, Blake and Frost are in actuality subtly guiding the reader towards their beliefs, the speaker in Blake’s poem advocating for intelligent design while Frost’s advocates for random chance.
Both poets utilize rhetorical questions in their poem, however the content of the questions are highly different in accordance to their tone. In “Design”, Frost asks questions like “What had the flower do with being white?” when the flower is supposed to be blue, “What brought the kindred spider to that height?”(Frost line 9-11). These questions are stated with a tone of “I don’t know the answer because these events are all random”. Contrasting Frost, Blake’s questions are asked with the tone of “marvel”; “What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry?” , “What the hammer? What the chain? In what furnace was thy brain?”(Blake, stanza 4 ,lines 1-2). These questions are those expressing fascination of God’s creation of the tiger. Questions like, “How did He do it?”, “What hammer did He use?” and “How did He make you so perfect?”. The difference then being Blake acknowledging that there is a God and that “He” could provide an answer to the question, whereas Frost’s questions are truly unanswerable as the events he ask of are due to “random chance” in his eyes. What is seemingly ambiguous is actually a tactic employed to subtly declare their beliefs.
Furthermore, it is not only the tone of the rhetorical question that declares’ the speaker’s positions, but the content of the rhetorical question themselves. For example, Blake asks “Did He who made the lamb make thee?”(Blake, 5th stanza line 4). The lamb is often referred to as a symbol of the Christian God for those who are unaware. The “H” in “He” is also capitalized, and that is another sign that “He”, must be referring to God, as it is like so in the Bible. Without this key line, we would not have known that Blake was talking about design in a naturalistic way, as in the creation of the tiger as a living being. Most would have assumed that the tiger was mechanical without this line, as other questions like “What the Hammer?” and “What the anvil?” makes it seem as though the tiger was man-made and artificial. In Frost’s poem, Frost purposefully placed the lines “What but design of darkness to appall? If design govern in a thing so small” (Frost, line 13-14) at the ending of the poem, as if to conclude his statements. As if to say that design is only a minute part of our life, which may not even exist in the macro world we live in. The line “Design of darkness to appall”, probably mean the limits and fear that Design plays on us, that is the thoughts of hell and devils possibly? Frost says we do not need the superstitions of heaven or hell through the use of this line.
Another subtlety by Blake and Frost is symbolism; straightaway, in both “The Tyger” by William Blake and “Design” by Robert Frost, a creature of the natural world are selected to act as a resounding symbol. Blake chooses a tiger “Tyger ,tyger, burning bright”(Blake, line 1), while Frost chooses a spider. “I found a dimpled spider, fat and white” (Frost, line 1). Here is where we see the two poets contrast. Spiders like most small creatures are hard to spot and in most occasions when spotted, the spider seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, let alone a “white” spider than the normal “black” coat that spiders usually have. These occasions therefore are so rare, that if it were to happen, it is as if it happened by random chance. On the other hand, the tiger often seen by society as a majestic beast; many people marvel at the sight of a tiger and many long to see one. The negative attributions associated with the spider and the positive attributions associated with the tiger, thus set and reveal the tone of the individual poems, where Frost has a tone of negativity towards “intelligent design”, and Blake having more of a positive attitude.
These symbols are not the only tools used by Blake and Frost to set the tone, other imagery and their choice of diction also suggest the same. In Frost’s poem, words such as “death”, “darkness”, and “appall” illustrates a much more negative tone than Blake’s “burning bright”, “immortal”, and “aspire”. Moreover, in Frost’s poem, “death and blight [are] Mixed ready to begin the morning right, Like the ingredients of a witches’ broth” (Frost, line 4-6). This image here again suggests “random chance” rather than that of a “designer” because why a designer would put items of death together, lest he create something as horrid like a “witches’ broth”. Yet Frost states that a “witches’ broth” is necessary to start the day right, thus perhaps random chance created it or a God that does not know what he is doing. In Blake’s poem, the tiger itself seems to be the creation and not just any creation, but one that seems to be perfect as the phrase “fearful symmetry” suggests; Contrasting Frost, Blake seems to praise God for his making of the tiger.
Though both poems share similar styles by asking rhetoric, and illustrating a distinct symbol, there are certain differences that make them unique. Frost uses iambic pentameter and a sonnet and this is somewhat more suitable than Blake’s villanelle. Frost’s objective was to present something common in the beginning and then dazzle the reader with a new perspective of the same ideas exhibited to them. The sonnet is thus most suitable where a Volta would allow for such a shift to occur. The villanelle is suitable to Blake because Blake desires to employ a tone of amazement. When one is amazed beyond belief, one tends to repeat phrases through the excitement. The villanelle with its unique style of repetition applies these effects.
While both Blake’s “Tyger” and Frost’s “Design” share a central theme of “intelligent design”, and seemingly never arrive at a conclusive answer. Both authors have strong opinions on the subject matter and do have opposing viewpoints, one advocating for “design” and another against “design”.
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