The Silken Tent by Robert Frost
The Silken Tent by Robert Frost
The “Silken Tent” is a poetic description of a woman’s freedom (Fagan, 2009, p306). The writer, Robert Frost, draws a comparison between a strong woman and a “silken tent”. This represents actions and status of being tender, rich, smooth and beyond the ordinary. The line “supporting central, cedar pole” implies an independent woman with a strong backbone. The woman in the poem “seems to owe naught to any single cord” (Ibid, p307) meaning that she is free from responsibilities. However, the woman is “loosely bound” implies that she has the freedom to do all things around her as she chooses (Ibid). Robert Frost draws a picture of the woman that is so extraordinary and goes beyond the expectation of any other woman. In order to emphasize characterization of women, Frost also uses a fascinating structure in the poem. The poet, Robert Frost, writes the poem in a single sentence comprising 14 lines.
The rhythm scheme applied by Frost uses iambic parameter. The poem seems held together by the strict expectations of Shakespeare’s sonnet. The woman in the poem seems to operate within strict boundaries just as the boundaries of the Shakespeare sonnet. The woman lives, completely unaware, of the limits or boundaries that surround her because she exists too comfortably within them. The poem’s title is captivating to the eye and creates a delicate mental image immediately we begin to read the body of the poem. It is only until one begins to read that he realizes that the poem is about a woman. The silken tent and the woman are simultaneously bound by metaphor. The writer begins with a feminine introduction, but afterwards each word used is symbolic to the word tent.
In the middle of the poem, Frost presents the reader with language of bondage and tying. The poem uses words such as bound, ropes, taut, ties, guys, and support. The choice of words applied by Frost is deliberate; it is not arbitrary. Everything seems deliberate, and the perception must be so even though the writer is unaware of the structure of his words and the significance of the choice of words. It is us the readers that have the responsibility to piece the words together and create meaning. Somewhere around the middle lines of the poem, we come across the “central, cedar pole” (Ibid, 308). This draws the attention of the reader to central climax.
The poem shifts such that the pole becomes a central focus away from the original focus on tent. Also, the language “heavenward” comes to the fore. The word carries an immortal, spiritual connotation. The writer uses the word “soul” in the next line, which supports the presumption (Ibid). It is possible the pole would mean goodness and an embrace of ideals while maintaining the focus on the worldly things. The ropes are symbolic for protection and preservation of the woman. We may not know the intentions of the poet, and, so, all we have to do is conjecture.
As the poem develops, and as the one continues to read, the focus shifts away from the structure to the form. It becomes clear that the poem’s form follows Shakespearean sonnet. It is a poem with fourteen lines and scheme of rhyme similar to the Shakespeare sonnet. Form defines and confines this poem. It is at the middle of the poem that we realize that the central pole represents the central metaphor of the poem. The central pole represents shape, form, and utility. However, we only realize that the form causes shape to occur. Language is an arbitrary organization of symbols and words. The realization of this may induce an uneasy feeling, but the structure used in English language is stable and in at no risk of failure. There are thousands of representations through symbols that combine to form a sturdy network.
In describing language, we understand poetry and literature in general. It is possible by forming connections between symbols and words to determine the language. By reading “the silken tent”, the reader forms connections between images, words, and ideas found in the text. “Tent” relates to the idea of a woman, but extends to heaven and love, and the “central, cedar pole” with meanings including sexuality, birth, mating, and manhood (Ibid, 306). In order to open up spaces between a poem and other pieces of literature, it is essential to discover the hidden, interconnected web of symbols and words found among the stanzas.
The question is what is Frost’s theme in the poem? The poem lays out in the structure the central idea that the woman and tent seem one, but, which in reality, are different. Frost’s poem is at the level of Shakespearean. In the first eight lines, Frost puts across the idea that the woman is free. However, the turn starts at the beginning of the ninth line starting with the word “but”. The word “bound” becomes the idea or the word symbolic for the central meaning of the lack of freedom (Ibid). Frost uses a metaphor to interact with the reader. The poem is successful because it immerses the reader in a physical experience. He writes about a topic that is not concrete, and, so, can address his themes using imagery, in a direct way.
Reference
Fagan, D. “Critical Companion to Robert Frost”. New York, NY: Facts On File, Inc., 2009.
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