The Hidden Meaning of Robert Frost's Mending Wall

435 Words1 Page

The Hidden Meaning of Robert Frost's Mending Wall

"Mending Wall" is a poem written by the poet Robert Frost. The poem describes two neighbors who repair a fence between their estates. It is, however, obvious that this situation is a metaphor for the relationship between two people. The wall is the manifestation of the emotional barricade that separates them. In this situation the "I" voice wants to tear down this barricade while his "neighbor" wants to keep it.

"Neighbor" is here a metaphor for two people who are emotionally close to each other. "Good fences make good neighbors", is a line the author emphasizes by using it two times. The "neighbor" says the line while the main character does not agree with it. He can not see that there is something between them they need to be "walling in or walling out".

The "I"-voice sees himself as a good spirited person. He is obviously worried because a person he cares about is shutting him out. He thinks that his "neighbor" is of a dark disposition. "He is all pine and I am apple orchard", the poem says. Pine is a dark tree while apple trees have white flowers.

In "Mending Wall" the main character finds gaps in the fence. I believe the emotions between the characters make these gaps. He informs the neighbor and together they repair the fence with boulders. When they meet they argue or have communication problems. This is why they manage to repair the barricade between them. However, I would say that their emotions, especially the main character’s, try to get the boulders off balance so the wall can be leveled with the ground. The balancing of boulders is a symbol of their meetings; "We have to use a spell to make them balance". "We wear our fingers rough", the author writes about the handling of the boulders. One may interpret this to signify that the meetings between these two "neighbors" are very hard on them.

This is a long one-stanza narrative poem. All the lines have five stresses and are written in iambic pentameter or blank verse, which was also Shakespeare's chosen meter in his plays.

Show More
Related

  • An Analysis of Komanuyakaa Facing It

    996 Words  | 2 Pages

    The persona in the poem reacts to the power the wall has and realizes that he must face his past and everything related to it, especially Vietnam.

    Read More

  • Mending Wall And The Great Gatsby

    642 Words  | 2 Pages

    Both authors explore the progressive attitudes and how these were received during the time period of both Fitzgerald and Robert. Frost presents this idea in the poem, ‘Mending Wall’. The poem is about two neighbours who every year go to the end of the garden to meet and build a wall together. However, one neighbour is confused as why there needs to be a wall as there is nothing that needs to be divided or prevented from escaping or entering. This neighbour begins to challenge the other neighbour, ‘why do they make good neighbours?’

    Read More

  • A Theological Perspective of the Clash of Civilizations

    7150 Words  | 15 Pages

    On more than one occasion, President George W. Bush has described the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, as fostering “a monumental battle of good versus evil.” In this battle, there has been no doubt in his mind (or in ours) regarding who is on the side of good and who is on the side of evil. Though some have winced at the President’s use of such absolute moral terms to portray the tragic events of that fateful day, others have applauded his courageous use of such unfashionable discourse as entirely appropriate, even suggesting that it implies the demise of the cultural scourge of postmodern moral relativism.

    Read More

  • final

    875 Words  | 2 Pages

    The reason why women are scarcely mentioned throughout the history textbooks are because women are conformed in their status of the private sphere. Women are related to “nature” considering their roles in society such as child bearers and housewives. Culture is considered as a sustaining force that transcends nature to create and control a new interest. Because of this “nature” status put on women, they are considered inferior to men. However, this is not the case for everyone and not all society understands culture and nature like westerners do. Some consider what women and men do rather than the symbolic attributes that are placed on them.

    Read More

  • The Intricate Meanings of Robert Frost 's Poetry

    777 Words  | 2 Pages

    Robert Frost is considered by many to be one of the greatest poets of the twentieth century. Frost’s work has been regarded by many as unique. Frost’s poems mainly take place in nature, and it is through nature that he uses sense appealing-vocabulary to immerse the reader into the poem. In the poem, “Hardwood Groves”, Frost uses a Hardwood Tree that is losing its leaves as a symbol of life’s vicissitudes. “Frost recognizes that before things in life are raised up, they must fall down” (Bloom 22).

    Read More

  • Jesse Owens Perceptions Of African Americans In The Film, The Race

    555 Words  | 2 Pages

    On February 19, 2016, The Race, a movie about Jesse Owens came to movie theaters across America. This film documented the track and field career of Jesse Owens, an African American track and field star and four-time Olympic gold medalist and the main character of the film. Although Hollywood writers dramatize real stories in movies, The Race still conveys the real struggles and obstacles Jesse Owens had to face in his lifetime. In the movie, The Race, Jesse Owens is shown to have challenged the perceptions of African Americans in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Mending Wall by Robert Frost

    398 Words  | 1 Pages

    Mending Wall written by Robert Frost, describes the relationship between two neighbors and idea of maintaining barriers. Where one of them feels that there is no need of this wall, 'There where it is we do not need the wall: He is all pine and I am apple orchard.' On the other hand his neighbor remains unconvinced and follows inherited wisdom passed down to him by his father, 'Good fences make good neighbors.' They even kept the wall while mending it, this reflect that they never interact with each other, ?We keep the wall between us as we go?. Robert Frost has maintained this literal meaning of physical barriers but it does contain metaphor as representation of these physical barriers separating the neighbors and also their friendship.

    Read More

  • William Shakespeare's Influence on the English Language

    575 Words  | 2 Pages

    In addition to adding an incredible amount to the language, Shakespeare’s work offered a reflection on the language itself through his use of iambic pentameter in his verse. Iambic pentameter is a style of poetic writing in which each line is ten syllables, alternating from soft to hard accents (five soft, five hard). Iambic pentameter captures the natural underlying rhythm in English speech. Some of Shakespeare’s most memorable lines have been written in iambic pentameter. For example, the opening line in one of Shakespeare’s most renowned plays, Romeo and Juliet, reads “Two households both alike in dignity” (I, i, 1).

    Read More

  • Mark Twain's Influence on American Literature

    1193 Words  | 3 Pages

    Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by the pseudonym Mark Twain, has been central to American literature for over a century. His seemingly effortless diction accurately exemplified America’s southern culture. From his early experiences in journalism to his most famous fictional works, Twain has remained relevant to American writing as well as pop culture. His iconic works are timeless and have given inspiration the youth of America for decades. He distanced himself from formal writing and became one of the most celebrated humorists. Mark Twain’s use of the common vernacular set him apart from authors of his era giving his readers a sense of familiarity and emotional connection to his characters and himself.

    Read More

  • Tension and Conflict in Mending Wall

    2528 Words  | 6 Pages

    The conflict in "Mending Wall" develops as the speaker reveals more and more of himself while portraying a native Yankee and responding to the regional spirit he embodies. The opposition between observer and observed--and the tension produced by the observer's awareness of the difference--is crucial to the poem. Ultimately, the very knowledge of this opposition becomes itself a kind of barrier behind which the persona, for all his dislike of walls, finds himself confined.

    Read More

  • Robert Frost’s Poem Mending Wall

    1721 Words  | 4 Pages

    The wall was probably built with practicality in mind, yet Frost highlights the ambiguous perception it may create in someone who is being “walled out.” Many people are known to “build walls instead of bridges” and this is what can ruin many relationships. When a person is more inviting and social, they would be more inclined to “build bridges,” but people who are enclosed and private tend to “build walls.” It is often difficult for the person on the other end to interpret the intent of the “builder,” complicating the interaction. The “Mending Wall,” suggests a generally good relationship between the speaker/narrator and his neighbor.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Traditions In 'Mending Wall'

    1631 Words  | 4 Pages

    The poem “Mending Wall” begins by the narrator telling is that there is a wall that is constantly being taken down by nature, and the narrator and his neighbor have to keep re-building it. But as the poem progresses, the narrator becomes unsure with himself, and begins to say that there is a wall “There where it is we do not need the wall” (23). He starts to question why a wall is there, knowing that he can never get across it to his neighbor. As the poem keeps progressing, he learns that the wall is there because of his neighbors tradition from his father, and he ends up saying “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall that wants it down (35), and he is talking about himself. In the progression of this poem, we see the narrator’s character change from someone who is persistent to someone who has hatred for what he is doing. He becomes more aware, having an epiphany, learning that there is truly no need for a wall, and it is only there because his neighbor is following his father’s tradition that requires him to keep the wall up. Through this characterization, we see that by only one side having hatred for the other, it can cause a division between them, because one person disagrees with the other. Through this poem, we see many character changes amongst the narrator, but one character that stays the same

    Read More

  • Analysis Of 'The Mending Wall' By Robert Frost

    1164 Words  | 3 Pages

    In his poem 'Mending Wall', Robert Frost presents to us the ideas of barriers between people, communication, friendship and the sense of security people gain from barriers. His messages are conveyed using poetic techniques such as imagery, structure and humour, revealing a complex side of the poem as well as achieving an overall light-hearted effect. Robert Frost has cleverly intertwined both a literal and metaphoric meaning into the poem, using the mending of a tangible wall as a symbolic representation of the barriers that separate the neighbours in their friendship.

    Read More

  • Jesse Owens Essay

    887 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jesse Owens did not let segregation fet in the way of achieving his dreams. Throught the olympic games Owens as utimiuilt vumerabla3e ro sehreharion, German officials complained. There there letting non-humans race.”(Schwartz .Larry. Owens pierced a myth. ESPN.con sportscentury. February,19 2016)When it came too Owens Long jump ,Owens was doing a warmup jump but german officials counted it as a run wasting atry on his jump. When Owens was asked to take the spot of two jewish men that were supposed to run in the relay. It was recorded that Hitler asked US official,”Spare

    Read More

  • Walls Placed on Relationships in Mending Wall by Robert Frost

    846 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the poem "Mending Wall," Robert Frost utilizes the literary devices of imagery, meter, and symbolism to demonstrate the rational and irrational boundaries or metaphoric "walls" humans place on their relationships with others. The precise images, such as the depiction of the mending-time ritual and the dynamic description of his "old-stone savage armed" neighbor, serve to enhance our enjoyment as well as our understanding of the poem (40). The poem is written in blank verse (iambic pentameter); the form that most closely resembles everyday English. Frost deliberately employs this direct, conversational, and easy to understand style of meter which appears simple on the surface. Although symbolism is used throughout, the three most significant symbols are: the wall, his neighbor, and Frost himself as the speaker. Analyzing each of these devices as well as how they harmonize with one another is necessary in order to appreciate what Frost was revealing about human behavior.

    Read More

More about The Hidden Meaning of Robert Frost's Mending Wall

Open Document