... White is not usually considered a colour, and by removing colour from the spider, (an insect which is normally considered as black or red), the moth, (which can be white on occasion), and the heal-all, (a flower that is normally considered blue or violet) Frost gives incredible dimension to this poem, intentionally altering the perception of the images presented. There are many answers as to why Frost chose the colour white as his key ingredient, and Frost being the metaphorical master that he was, gave everything ample meaning. The chances of a white spider, sitting on a white flower, carrying a white moth is very unique. This is perhaps the first indication of coincidence, or fate, which is interwoven throughout the poem. Frost also chose the colour white to signify purity, and innocence. By accepting innocence, we are able to forgive the spider for it's station in life as a killer, and view the moth as a victim of life`s design (fate). White can also signify death. When a person is deceased, the colour of their skin is a pale white. The dead moth is held up "like a white piece of rigid satin cloth"(Design, ln.3) Forcing the reader to look past the innocence of nature, and think of the rigid lining of a coffin. At first this line made me think of a wedding dress, being made of satin cloth, but the use of the word rigid, made me reconsider, Due to the fact that a corpse is rigid. This connotation of death brings to light yet another possible use for the colour white. After introducing the situation of the spider and the moth, Frost proceeds to use the word death twice: "death and blight"(4), "dead wings"(8), as well as "witches broth"(6), "night" (12), and "darkness"(13). These words are in contrast with the "snowdrop spider" (7) and "flower like a froth"(7) compelling the reader to think of the colour black, even though it is not formally mentioned. By not formally mentioning the colour black, Frost is able to illustrate the looming qualities of death and darkness, in the innocent act of life's design (Fate). Frost emphasizes this point by questioning the reader in the second last line " What but design of darkness to appall""(13). Death is always in the back of our minds, we cannot escape it. Frost demonstrates this point by creating the same effect in the poem. The colour black is just as present in the poem as white is, only it is hidden, in the background. ...
