The Truth is in the Tone

Richard Brautigan’s poem, “All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace” has many interpretations. The first interpretation contains an anti-technology tone and message. He starts out each stanza with the words “I like to think,” suggesting that his wish is for a better future, possibly one free of technology. This wistful thinking also suggests that in order to soothe his mind he imagines a world where nature and technology coexist. The parenthesized words in this poem can be seen as having a sarcastic tone. “The sooner the better,” “right now, please” and “it has to be” all imply sarcasm and mockery towards technology. Also, ending each of these lines with an exclamation mark suggest urgency and aid in supporting the mocking tone.

However, this poem can also be seen as having a pro-technology tone. The tone is peaceful and contains many images of serenity. The words “harmony,” “stroll peacefully,” and “loving grace” all have positive and tranquil connotations. These words are used to describe the speaker’s longing for a world where technology and nature, two very contrasting ideas, can coexist in peace with one another. By combining technology and nature into one harmonious ecosystem, the speaker acknowledges that two very different concepts are capable of existing together. Therefore, technology is not completely destructive or negative, but actually has redeeming qualities, for it is able to share the world with nature and those who reside within it.

In my opinion, I believe that the speaker has an anti-technology tone and message. The speaker’s tone is not only sarcastic, but also wistful and filled with longing for a world where technology doesn’t rule. He wishes for a day when “we are free of our labors and joined back to nature” and “are all watched over by machines of loving grace.” He wants to be liberated from technology and instead go back to the times of simple beauty and pleasure. The speaker also talks about the beauties of nature, such as the “pure water touching clear sky” and the “flowers with spinning blossoms.” He brings to mind these beautiful images of nature as a way to remind readers that the world was once this way. One must not be consumed by the various complexities of technology and instead take the time to smell the flowers and enjoy the beautiful and breath-taking scenery that only nature can provide.

List of Imagery

Dimpled spider, fat and white

White piece of rigid satin cloth

Assorted characters of death and blight

Ingredients of a witches' broth

Snow-drop spider

Flower like a froth

Dead wings carried like a paper kite

Wayside blue and innocent heal-all

Kindred spider to that height

Steered the white moth thither in the night

Design of darkness to appall

Frost's Design

Robert Frost’s poem, “Design,” describes with vivid imagery the role of life and death by incorporating illustrations such as the “dimpled spider, fat and white,” the “white heal-all” and the moth, whose “dead wings carried like a paper kite.” The imagery of the color white is carried on throughout this poem. It is used to symbolize purity and innocence and is contrasted with the dark images of death. For example, the “ingredients of a witches’ broth” portrays a negative and dark illustration and is eerily reminiscent of death and all its wickedness.

Frost uses juxtaposition in order to emphasize the contrast between objects. For example, the flower’s name, color, and the object itself, all bring to mind positive thoughts and images. It is called a heal-all, it is white (which resembles pureness), and as a flower, it is seen as delicate, fragile, and gentle. However, this flower is also the site for death to occur and is compared to that of froth, which depicts a negative image of violent, foamy saliva often resulting from disease or death.

The same can be said for the spider. Although white in color and described as “a snow-drop spider,” this creature brings fear to others and perpetuates death. The description of the moth also contains juxtaposition. Frost describes the moth as a “rigid satin cloth.” Whereas satin is smooth, glossy, and silky, the word rigid means firm, stiff, and unyielding. The moth, who was once soft and light, has now succumbed to the cruel hands of death, causing it to become stiff and frozen. Perhaps this event symbolizes how innocence, at one time or another, must surrender to death.

In the second stanza Frost contemplates the incidence that just occurred. He realizes that this setting, the white spider killing the white moth on the white flower, is all too improbable. It is too much coincidence to be accidental. He questions why the spider climbed onto the flower, why the moth was steered toward that spider, why the normally blue heal-all was a rare color of white. It is in this moment that he realizes everything, no matter what their size or significance, has a predetermined path that they must follow. Death is a part of life and will always be present, for it is inescapable, inevitable, and imminent.

Frost

Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken” inspired the title of my blog because it talks about encountering a fork in the road and having to choose which route to take. Both paths are nearly identical, so the choice he makes is up to chance. The road not taken causes him to forever wonder what could have been. This sense of mystery and the unknown is all a part of life. There will be a time in everyone’s life when they must make a decision and live with the fact that they cannot turn back time and choose another road.
No one can predict what will happen after a decision is made, nor can they take both roads and see the different outcomes. Life is made up of taking chances, living with them, and learning from them. This is the beauty of life because it creates millions of different possibilities and diverse outcomes. However, it also causes regret because it is impossible to ever find out what would have happened if one chose a different path. That is why it is important to learn from your mistakes and not obsess over the possibilities of the past.
This insightful piece of work reveals how literature, in the form of a seemingly simple but complex and perceptive poem, can produce thoughts and feelings and affect others in an extraordinary way. Literature is capable of evoking emotions and innovative ideas, while at the same time can inspire and motivate others or serve as a source of comfort. Once someone makes the choice to write, they can then go on to affect others and themselves. Only when one chooses to act on a decision can they then create an impact.