The Silken Tent
The Silken Tent - context Summary
Published 1942, a Witness Tree
Robert Frost’s sonnet, published in 1942 in A Witness Tree, uses the image of a silken tent to present a supple but steady human presence. The central cedar pole evokes an inner firmness or soul, while the many delicate "silken ties" suggest connections of love and thought that loosely bind that presence to the world. The tent’s gentle swaying captures freedom within attachment. Critics and readers commonly read the poem as a restrained tribute to Frost’s late wife, Elinor White Frost, emphasizing love, steadiness, and graceful dependency.
Read Complete AnalysesShe 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 every thing on earth the compass round, And only by one’s going slightly taut In the capriciousness of summer air Is of the slightlest bondage made aware.
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