The Silken Tent Analysis

A Witness Tree1942She is as in a field a silken tent

At midday when the sunny summer breeze

Has dried the dew and all its ropes relent,

So that in guys it gently sways at ease,

And its supporting central cedar pole,

That is its pinnacle to heavenward

And signifies the sureness of the soul,

Seems to owe naught to any single cord,

But strictly held by none, is loosely bound

By countless silken ties of love and thought

To everything on earth the compass round,

And only by one's going slightly taut

In the capriciousness of summer air

Is of the slightest bondage made aware.

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This is an erotic poem that uses diction to suggest the act of human lovemaking--the silken tent is the female vulva/labia majora. The poet is trying to express his "bondage" to a significant female who has enraptured his soul.

| Posted on 2009-09-02 | by a guest

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Indeed the paradox of this poem is "freedom within confinement." The woman in the poem is bound to the people around her by "love and thought," but she still finds freedom in being so. Thus, Frost has chosen to write a sonnet - it has a form to which the text is bound/confined, but still expresses freedom. This is also shown when Frost has written the whole poem in one sentence - the lack of full stops also show freedom and movement until the very end.

| Posted on 2009-08-23 | by a guest

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This poem talks about woman in field of love like a silken and with broken heart. She has tried to dry her tears but she still cry (ropes relent).after what happened with her she didn’t like to deal with guys, she was not escape she didn’t like to fall in love again. She still strong like cedar pole and that represent how she trusted in herself to forget what happened. Nobody helped her to bears that she depended on herself because she (loosely bound) widely tied to the people around her. With too much love and thoughts and slightly tied to everything on earth that guide her to truth.

| Posted on 2009-05-03 | by a guest

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I interpret this poem as about a woman is transparent to him as being strong, yet soft and gentle(silken); that is a free spirit, yet has ties to keep her grounded. She is strong (cedar pole) and independent flowing in the breeze of her desires but not forgetting those in her heart that hold memories and ties to her life.

| Posted on 2009-05-03 | by a guest

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hahaha, wow, these are perhaps the most shallow and/or ignorant explanations for the poem. Robert frost would be appalled. The poem expresses the nature of a love relationship by describing the woman that the speaker is in love with. Like silk, she is light, smooth and precious, as is the relationship he shares with her. The spiritual dimension of the relationship is unveiled when the speaker focuses on the woman's soul in that however planted in the earth it is, it still reaches "heavenward", another example of the diction that promotes an understanding of something spiritual that is part of that relationship. It is described as "cedar" which is the imagery that provides the firmness and resilience to the wind.
And who in the world thought that this was about a ship. that's ridiculous. the center pole is the center support for the tent which is the temple of her body.

| Posted on 2009-04-20 | by a guest

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If u are writing a poetry explication, Just write about how this poem is about love and 2 peeps in a relationship the literal meaning is diffrent however. BTW go play world of warcraft.

| Posted on 2009-04-04 | by a guest

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Umm.. To the person who said this poem is about a ship
The first line says "She is as in a field a silken tent"
A Field.. Not a sea..

| Posted on 2009-03-19 | by a guest

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The central pole is pointed heavenward. This shows that the man only chooses things for their beauty. He is comparing everything to a girl that he loves and wants.

| Posted on 2009-01-26 | by a guest

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This poem is clearly about a ship. The silken tent is a sail. When all of the ropes relent, the central pole (the mast) seems to be supported by nothing. In fact, it is held up by figurative tethers that connect it to everywhere in the world. It is only when one of these goes taught (the boat ships out), that the real tethers become visible again.

| Posted on 2009-01-23 | by a guest

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1. Read the poem above and then retell the story in your own words. This is called paraphrasing. Soul is like a beautiful body on earth. When the ropes of the tent slacken the soul is content with being on earth. Part of the soul that is connected to god is free but also bound. Bound by family and relationships on earth. Unaware of being tied to earth. Unaware of its freedom and origin.
2. What is this poem about? This poem is about the soul being unleashed into earth. It is about its freedom and that the part of the soul that connected to god was its sturdiness, its way of freedom but with loose bounds.
3. The poet is drawing a comparison between two things? What are they? They are the silken tent and the human body.
4. How do you know Frost is making this comparison? Cite an example of the wording in the poem that makes you believe this. “She is as in a field a silken tent.” The poet is comparing a human being to a silken tent.
5. What is the mood of this poem? (sad, happy, calm, amused, surprised, wondering frightened etc.) I would say that this poem is reflective, touching and very thoughtful. What words help to develop that mood? When I analysed it, it made a lot more sense and I could realize that the meaning of this poem was beautiful.
6. What literary device(s) is used in this poem? The literary devices used in this poem are similes, alliteration and reflection. What is the purpose of using that/those? I think that it all swings the thoughtful, touching mood of happiness.
Anonymous

| Posted on 2008-12-02 | by a guest

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pfft....this is just talking about how this girl is incredibly infatuated to a guy needing space. They end up having sex with eachother...which does signifigant damage relationship. BUT...the silken ties and cords from their passionate love ("central pole") keep eachother from going away from one another. and at the end it makes it even more apparant that it's about sex because it mentions something about bondage. lol.

| Posted on 2008-08-27 | by a guest

.: The Silken Tent :.

More surely than any other Frost poem, this uses the traditional form of the Shakespearean Sonnet with its formal beauty and precise rhythm scheme. These reflect the aesthetic effect the girl has on him. This comes closer to becoming a love poem but still avoids the clichés. The simile of the tent compels the reader to consider closely this conceit. More metaphysical than lyrical it allows us to enter the thought world of the girl

By James Purdon

| Posted on 2007-05-19 | by a guest

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the poem is great. it demonstrates the woman's power and ties to a man. though woman have freedom, they are held back like a dog on a leash being tugged at when trying to run too far. oh yea... the person before me cannot i repeat... CANNOT SPELL!

| Posted on 2007-02-19 | by a guest

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<i>The Silken Tent</i> is an extended metaphor for the ties of moral fiber that urge us to a higher morality, and the capricous nature of our own integrity. Frost shows us that it is only by our love and strength in the belief of one another that we are able to uphold our virtues.

Frost conveys through both his use of sibilance in his diction and by utilizing the rhyme scheme the impression of swaying precariously in a summer breeze, symbolic of the temptations and subjugations that our fragile human nature is prey to. The significance of the ryhming couplet is a resolution, a reassurance by conveying stability and emphasising our strength in one another. That our silken tent is able to withstand the summber breeze, not because of it's central support, but through the support of it's ties. I'm reminded of one of the many analects I find printed accross the tags of my green tea: you have style and panache. More relevent, I think, would be "The mind is a gift to asses harmonize."

| Posted on 2005-12-01 | by Approved Guest

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This poem is an extended metaphor for relashinships. It tells about the good and bad in them and that while they can set one free from choice, they will always be there, tying one down, no matter for good or bad. the Central cedar pole is refuring to the sould of "she" and also it can be compared to the center of a relashinship. Also, only by one pusing the limits to a relashinship do they realize how strong the strings are, holding them into it.

| Posted on 2005-03-17 | by Approved Guest