Preview

Mending Wall Commentary

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
583 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Mending Wall Commentary
Mending Wall Commentary Robert Frost’s Narrative poem, “Mending Wall” is a light-hearted yet tense depiction of opposing views that brings together two different people. Written in blank verse with simple structure and strewn with images alluding to myths and human history, this poem reveals the men’s customs and furthermore the never ending ritual of man, which guides the reader to conclude that
In this poem Robert Frost does make an allusion to the famous Greek myth of Sisyphus. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this legend, it tells the story of a man named Sisyphus who was condemned to the chronic punishment of continuously pushing an oversized boulder up a steep hill only to watch it roll back down so he could start the process all over again. This directly relates to the Mending Wall because in this poem the two neighbors meet up from time to time to put boulders on top of the wall dividing their properties. Yet, just as inevitably at the fate of Sisyphus, the boulders frequently fall back down and the two men willingly repeat the process. Another interesting concept that falls into the two men’s process, is that the neighbor who initiates the repairs of the wall is the speaker who believes that there is no need for a wall between their properties. If his true desire was to rid of the wall then he wouldn’t constantly restore it, therefore the speaker must derive some inside satisfaction from the building of the wall or even the connection it brings with his neighbor.
The structure of the Mending Wall is a long one-stanza poem. It is written in blank verse (no rhyming) and contains a narrative-like style. One of the main devices Robert Frost comprises is repetition, which is used as a technique to emphasize the collision of views between the neighbors. We first see the line “something there is that doesn't love a wall” in the beginning of the poem when the speaker is referring to nature as that ‘something’, and once the line is repeated it has a

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Conveying to the reader his themes allows the responder to create a meaning and purpose for his poem. In Mending Wall, the composer uses imagery to convey his theme of the barrier in the relationship between humans. In the poem, the ‘wall’ is a symbolic representation of the barriers that separate friendship between the neighbours. The repetition of the word ‘wall’ throughout the poem allows the reader to interpret and understand why there is a barrier between the neighbours. “Sends the frozen-ground-swell under it, and spills the upper boulders in the sun” (lines 2-3) is an example of imagery used to help the responder to create a distinctively visual description of the setting. The responder can see that the ‘wall’ is visually described as a giant barrier. Through the use of the imagery in the quote and the distinctively visual image Frost has created through it, the responder is able to interpret the distance in the relationship between humans. “Good fences make good neighbours” (line 27), once again frost uses the distinctively visual image of the fence being the neighbour in order to convey his theme of man’s relationship with each other through the characterisation of the neighbour. The repetition of this quote throughout the poem…

    • 1275 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the poem “Mending Wall” Robert Frost uses form, function, and philosophy to create meaning. To do this he uses many different techniques like blank verse, enjambment, end-stopped lines, syntax, meter, and iambic pentameter. These techniques are used to support the main theme of tradition versus innovation.…

    • 415 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The reason for beginning with Frost’s poem from the literal stance is to establish a foundation in which symbols are used as metaphors. “Mending Wall,” is literally after winter when the speaker and his neighbor repair the wall. A wall which was damaged by unseen nature and hunters. As they repair the wall the speaker questions the reason why the neighbor wants the wall repaired. He infers that their trees are different and produce opposite things. Even though, the speaker internally questions why the neighbor wants to keep this wall amid them, he wonders if he can cause the neighbor to question his own ideas about the wall. He does not act on this thought instead he continues to walk down the wall rebuilding it from his side, as the neighbor does the same.…

    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first half of the poem demonstrates the speaker’s despair and confusion by visiting and reflecting on the wall from the memorial, the wall visually and physically representing the loss of his comrades. The poem opens with a tone of despondency as the speaker tries to have "no tears" (4) come from him, demonstrating his emotional struggle to visit this nostalgic memorial. The physical detail of "tears" (4) suggests that the speaker still experiences pain and sorrow whenever…

    • 863 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Cited: Clarke, Peter. “Mending Wall.” Rev. of Frost’s Mending Wall, ed. Robert Frost. Explicator Fall 1984: p48. Print.…

    • 1768 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the poem ‘Mending Wall’, Frost portrays two neighbours working together to fix a wall, despite being at odds with each other.…

    • 1027 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In “Mending Wall”, Frost mentions how the wall affect people. He states that the narrator thinks negatively about his neighbor, and how it keeps them separated. “Good fences make good neighbors” (Frost). President Ronald Reagan states from his text, “Tear Down This Wall”, that the people on one side doesn't have their freedom, affects…

    • 239 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    3. Yes, both poems, Mending Wall and Scaffolding, bring new light to me and allow me to see the play Fences in a different way because of the firm relationships talked about and the walls that stand still.…

    • 274 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Robert Frost uses allusion to show how divisions can help maintain boundaries. Since the men mend the wall, with keeps their lives of living next to one another running smoothly. Both know their property, and their place. By mending the wall order remains. Whenever the wall deteriates, it creates chaos and a mess.…

    • 438 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This is reflected in Robert Frost’s poem ‘Mending Wall’ where the persona ultimately accepts his discovery of the inevitability and futility of barriers that separate individuals and, by association, humanity. This is exemplified through the strong visual imagery of, “two can pass abreast” to refer to the fact that the hole in the wall can allow these neighbours who have differing perspectives, to come together and pass through the wall, side-by-side. The indirect link to unity by not mending the “wall” is important as the personas idea is challenged by the nature. This is reflective of the responder’s context as it challenges the widely held assumptions about human experience and the wider world. The idea is further stated intellectually in the poem where the, “gaps I mean” refers to the “walls”. The personal pronoun and the metaphor accentuate the “gap” in relationship between neighbours. It is important to note that the walls that bring the two people together and apart are not necessarily bad things as it allows space for privacy for self-reflection and human solitude. This allows the persona to lead to renewed perceptions and the values upheld by the neighbour. This notion is further strengthened in the last line of the poem where the repetition of the adage, “Good fences make good neighbours” exemplifies that the ‘neighbour’…

    • 1015 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The speaker says “we do not need the wall”(23). In a later line the speaker says “He is all pine and I am apple orchard”(24). This line could be portrayed that the speaker doesn’t need the wall because he and his neighbor are so different. The speaker actually wants his neighbor to accept that the wall is unnecessary. The speaker wishes the neighbor could have an epiphany and take the wall down under his own free will. The speaker represents his neighbor as an “old stone savage” because of values when it comes to neighbors(40). The speaker sees his neighbor as a closed-minded puritan, because he can’t accept that the speaker can respect his space and the neighbor can’t see the value of connection. The speaker hopes to challenge the notion that “Good fences make good neighbors”(45). The speaker begins by saying that he actively participates in the rebuilding of the wall, as the poem goes on the speaker sees the discrepancies in the idea of having a wall. The speaker wishes that his neighbor would be able to see for himself that a wall helps no one. Frost seeks isolation but as his life continues and he experiences more, Frost sees the futility of seeking…

    • 1040 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Intro: Robert Frost's "Mending Wall" and Ronald Reagan's "Tear Down This Wall" both talk about the theme of separation. The two stories have a different walls, but they both separate people. Both walls in the stories impact the people both physically and mentally. Frost and Reagan both have their very own style and tone of the stories that they write about. They each have very unique ways of telling their stories but the separation is what is focused on.…

    • 525 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mending Waall Essay

    • 606 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Throughout the poem, “Mending Wall” Robert Frost uses a particular diction to support the idea that walls don’t belong. For example, the first line of the poem, “Something there is that doesn't love a wall.” In this quote the author is saying that there is something, whether it be human, animal, or the will of nature that doesn’t like the idea of walls. The word choice within this quote brings an almost omniscient quality to the “something.” This quality along with Frost’s continued discussion of how the wall constantly falls apart proves that the “something” desires the wall to be removed.…

    • 606 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Robert Frost Depression

    • 954 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The poem tells of a man who is walking somewhere with his horse one night, and stops to ponder the sight of the woods for some time. Then, he is reminded of his duties, and continues on his way. The man in this poem is depressed, much like the man in "Dust of Snow". When he looks into the woods, it serves as a metaphor for the man contemplating his own suicide. Frost describes the woods as "lovely, dark and deep". This description makes the woods seem very appealing, to the point where one would want to step into the them and walk through them. Frost is likening these woods to embracing one's depression and committing suicide. This is because the thought of ending one's life might seem appealing to one stricken with deep depression. But, the man does not embrace his depression. Instead, he carries on and continues with his life, saying to himself, twice, that he has "miles to go before [he] sleeps". The repetition in this line seems to be a mantra for the man, which he repeats in order to convince himself that he must go through with his life. But what ultimately brings this man out of his depressed state? It is the "promises" mentioned in line 10, which the man feels he needs to uphold. So, it is society and other people who save the…

    • 954 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the poem “ The Man He Killed,” Hardy mentions the importance that the man is a foe many times and the shooting the gun more than once. This repetition states the two men were in a war, so they had to kill each other. This killing is an order for each other, so either one is survived. In fact, the repetition is a method that Hardy tries to illustrate how the man persuades himself that killing his enemy is a right thing to do. Hardy uses this repetition to explain the man tries to release himself from being regretted or feeling sin while Frost uses the repetition to emphasize the neighbor’s decision depended on his father’s advice. In the poem “ The mending Wall,” Frost repeats two lines such as “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,” and “ Good fence makes good neighbors”( Frost 1 and 27). This repetition emphasizes as it is my side of the argument, and that is your side of the argument. The speaker starts to tell how unnecessary the wall is and tries to change his neighbor perspective by asking why, but still his neighbor replies: “ Good fence makes good neighbors,” and can not explain why. Thus, by this repetition, we all know people will not figure out why they have done it by following…

    • 970 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays