The Silken Tent Poem Analysis

Robert Frost has a knack for presenting in his writing hidden similarities between two uncommon things. Recognizing one of Frost’s written metaphors is simply the beginning of a poetic journey because “You don’t know how far you may expect to ride it and when it may break down with you” (Parini 265). Now, a poem that demonstrates this temperamental ride is “The Silken Tent,” from Frost’s 1942 collection, A Witness Tree. This fourteen line sonnet is structured in rhyming iambic pentameter and eloquently flows from one impression into another. To see this transition clearly, we will focus on particular words choices in the poem and argue how they manipulate the feel of the piece. Moreover, personal opinions and emotional interpretations …show more content…
“She” is the first word of the poem, making no mistake that the main focus of the piece will have the traditional qualities of a woman. Protecting her exterior frame is a “silken” fabric that expresses brightness, is extremely soft and is of high quality. Additionally, her disposition is as wide open as a “field” and intimately pleasing at “midday,” when the weather is balmy. Her long flowing hair or “guys” graciously oblige the harshest weather conditions and her inner strength as strong as a “central cedar pole.” The audience is spellbound by all of these lovely female features that propel the tent into superhuman status. Namely, her “sureness of the soul” sounds unshakable and the zero attachment “to any single cord” is a mind-blowing notion. Collectively, the ladylike qualities of the tent are endearing and blend nicely with the earlier feeling of …show more content…
To accomplish this goal, the text is sprinkled with a variety of sharp-witted word choices that enhance specific feelings or impressions. First, we see this technique working with the tent’s transformation into a delightful feminine figure by using the words: she, silken, sways, held, love and thought. Next, building up the ladylike illusion of freedom forms easily with non-argumentative words like: sureness, naught and none. Finally, the knowledge that the female is attached to something becomes obvious with: bound and bondage. All of these careful words choices encourage the fluid movement between the opening feelings and the ending knowledge. Incidentally, “The Silken Tent” did leave us with a few unanswered questions like, who is the female figure bound to? And why is the speaker aggressively revealing this fact to us? With no answers in sight, the audience can take some comfort in knowing that every human on earth is bound to something, like it or