Preview

Poem Analysis of Mending Wall

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1121 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Poem Analysis of Mending Wall
***** ********
October 20, 2011
Professor ******
Poem Analysis
Mending Wall I chose this poem because the wall reminds me of my personal struggles with other people. When people annoy or bother me I instantly put up an imaginary wall between me and that person. They ask me to stop ignoring them and I just shrug their request, just like in this poem. I decide that the wall between us is better up than down because I was afraid of getting mad and saying things that I would regret later on. Mending Wall, by Robert Frost portrays the routines of two neighbors who are constantly mending the fence, or wall, that separates their properties. If a stone is missing from the fence, you can bet that the two men are out there putting it back together piece by piece.
In Frost uses imagery right from the beginning that lets us know a little bit of the setting with “frozen-ground” (Line 2). He also uses assonance in lines 2-3: “Sends…Swell / Spills, Sun”. In lines 17-19, Frost uses metaphor, personification, and hyperbole. A metaphor compares the stone blocks to loaves and balls. A metaphor-hyperbole compares the method of placing the rocks to a spell. Frost uses alliteration: “Before I built a wall I'd ask to know / What I was walling in or walling out” (32-33). Frost's description of every detail in this poem is quite interesting, very pleasant to read, and extremely imaginable. He leaves the reader to decide for himself what deductions he is to make from the reading. On one hand, Frost makes literal implications about what the two men are doing. For instance, they are physically putting the stones back, one by one. Their dedication, commitment, and constant drive shines through when reading how persistence these men seem about keeping the wall intact. Quite the contrary however, is the inferences that something even deeper is going on. There is a sharing experience taking place here. Indeed, by laboring so hard, each man is experiencing physical repercussions, but

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    in ‘Up the Wall’ family life in Bruce Dawes poem shows that the mother is always busy cleaning the house and preparing food for the family, the father is at work to earn money for the living, in the poem ‘up the wall’ Bruce Dawe shows how important the life of a mother is but the family don’t appreciate it because it is stereotypical and that’s what every mother should do for the family. “The kettle’s plainsong rises to a shriek; the saucepan milk is always on the boil.” This Quote shows that the mother is multitasking trying to keep up with her Daily work and she is consistently working for the house. ‘shriek’ is an example of onomatopoeia that shows there is chaos. Another quote which shows how devastating and mundane the life of the mother…

    • 246 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • 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
  • 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
  • Good Essays

    robert frost - journey

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Human spirit can be seen from many different perspectives. Theses perspectives differ from person to person, but a mainstream definition still stands. Others have different meanings which they believe and follow. This scenario is represented in Robert Frost’s journey poem, “Mending wall.” The theme of the poem is we create barriers between us for no rational reason. This is the belief which Robert Frost has incorporated into the personas perspective. In complete contrast, the neighbours opinion is, “good fences make good neighbours,” he sees the wall as a necessity for a good relationship. This mentality is not original, to the persona it is “his father’s saying” and is deemed as a thoughtless superstition. Not explained in the poem, the neighbour powerfully believes it is better for people to mind their own business and to respect the privacy of others, the wall being the physical support for this attitude. Although the theme is dominant, we as the audience must look beyond. Have they had a dispute other than the wall itself? No problems between each other, hence they make good neighbours. Could…

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Mending Wall” is in the form of a narrative. It is in iambic pentameter and is a blank verse. Frost utilizes repetition of two specific lines to make a statement. “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,” and “Good fences make good neighbors.” “Good fences make good neighbors” means that if people know their limits and do not get overlay comfortable with one another, a moderate…

    • 438 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    This poem makes me think of my favorite book called The Perks Of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. It is the story of a boy named Charlie and his not-so-average life. The story is written as letters to someone he has never met, but heard was a good shoulder to lean on. This book is my favorite because I can really relate to Charlie. Speaking of Charlie, that is my puppy's name. He is a chihuahua and dachshund mix. He is my best friend and is always at my side. He is probably the coolest puppy ever, except at three in the morning when he is sitting outside my door whining, then he can be someone else's best friend. This poem is probably one of my new favorites because it actually made me feel something and that is really important to me when reading. I really enjoy how the poet talks about words people never use because I have an extensive vocabulary, but rarely use any of the words I know because most people I know would not understand me at all. The reason I am so educated in words reminds me of my grandmother, who is one of the most intelligent people I know. When I was about six or seven, she would say words to me that no Kindergartner knows and I was expected to spell them. Most of the time, I was pretty close and when I got it right, she would tell me what the words meant. At that age, I was more interested in the taste of my boogers than in learning boring words I never thought would matter. Looking back, I cannot thank her enough for that small effort to help me in life. I am sure without her, I would be using words like "ain't" and phrases such as "don't got no" instead of knowing how to speak like a civilized human being. my grandma is awesome, and as soon as Meya (my daughter) starts school, I plan to use this same technique on her to ensure she grows up to make something of herself. Might as well end this with things about Meya. She is the most beautiful child, and she is so intelligent, it is…

    • 448 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    This poem is about a time when the author went up to fix the stone wall that stood between his property and his neighbors. The poem talks about the experience and the authors thoughts about the experience.…

    • 1903 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Frost's description of every detail in this poem is quite interesting, very pleasant to read, and extremely imaginable. He leaves the reader to decide for himself what deductions he is to make from the reading. On one hand, Frost makes literal implications about what the two men are doing. For instance, they are physically putting the stones back, one by one. Their dedication, commitment, and constant drive shines through when reading how persistence these men seem about keeping the wall intact. Quite the contrary however, is the inferences that something even deeper is going on. There is a sharing experience taking place here. Indeed, by laboring so hard, each man is experiencing physical repercussions, but they are also using this time as a "meet and greet" period.…

    • 757 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    "The strength of 'Mending Wall', one of Frost's most often quoted poems, rests upon a contradiction. Its two famous lines oppose each other. The poem maintains that:…

    • 319 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The poem “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost encompasses a dialogue between the narrator and his neighbor in which they communicate their feelings about the continuous renovation of the stone wall that divides their properties. The overall poem has a simplistic tone with the internal thoughts of the narrator and the external dialogue of the narrator and the neighbor. The point of view of the narrator is clearly shown as he demonstrates his distaste for the walls renovations year after year. He claims even nature disagrees with the wall stating, “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall, That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it, And spills the upper boulders in the sun”, proving that the wall decays often and that the natural world is trying to tear it down (lines 1-3). The narrator seems to view himself as a more…

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mending Wall analysis

    • 320 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The speaker of the poem displays how outdated the neighbor is by the way he describes him. The wall itself is so old; the speaker describes it as though it were from the ancient mythical times, with elves and spells. And the neighbor himself is described as being “like an old stone savage armed” whilst trying to rebuild the wall. In an attempt to end this tradition of wall repairing, the speaker points out that the point of fences was to separate cattle, and that they have no cattle, but only trees. His neighbor merely responds with the cliché “Good fences make good neighbors” without really what idea is being presented to him. The speaker himself, however, provides a contradiction. If he is so against having the wall up, why does he keep coming back to build it? Does he just want the social interaction that teamwork provides? Frost does not provide an answer to this question, nor does he clear up the contradiction that is the speaker. This allows the reader to create his or her own reasons for the hypocrisy embedded in the speaker. Perhaps the act of building the wall brings him joy, or maybe he truly dislikes his neighbor and looks forward to getting back to the routine and ignoring him. It is not told, but inferred.…

    • 320 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays