Robert Frost was known for writing his own kind of poetry, one that did not seem to fit into any particular movement or literary genre, though his poetry does sometimes contain some of the elements of modernism. He was very popular in his time, mostly because his poetry is so easy to read, containing what seems at first to be simple subjects and a relatively easy to understand language. If the reader were to look beyond the surface level of the poems, however, one could find a much deeper meaning in Frost’s poetry by exploring the different themes and motifs found throughout the poem along with a closer look at Frost’s choice in words, language, and form. This essay will trace these characteristics throughout the poems “Mending Wall,” “Fire and Ice,” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”.
One common theme we typically see again and again in Frost’s poetry is the idea of barrier-building or isolation. For example, in “Mending Wall” two neighbors meet each year to “walk the line” of the barrier between them, in this case a wall, to repair their fence by replacing stones that have fallen off, whether from “hunters” or “elves”. The idea of the wall here is ironic because two men are meeting under civil and friendly circumstances in order to build a barrier between them. The speaker of the poem points out this irony when he questions his neighbor’s cliché justification for needing the wall: “Good fences make good neighbors.” Yet the speaker is the one who goes to his neighbor each year to remind him that it is time to mend the wall. Through this poem, Frost could be saying that even though the idea of a wall that serves no purpose seems silly to the speaker, at least some barriers are important in everyone’s lives. We also see th...
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...s and feel the “easy wind”. In “Mending Wall” we can see the “boulders in the sun” and hear the “yelping dogs”. Overall, his writing process involved using different poetic forms and combining them in various ways to create his own, very distinct form. By using these traditional characteristics but tearing them apart and rearranging them in his own way, one could even say that he was both building and destroying his own wall, creating his own barrier by choosing which rules to break and which ones to follow.
In all, there are many similar themes, motifs, and characteristics found throughout all of Frost’s poetry. At first glance, a reader might mistake his simple language and form for simplistic poetry. However, by looking a bit more closely and delving in to each line, one can start to find the hidden complexities and, overall, the deeper meaning in Frost’s poetry.
A great number of people might look at "Mending Wall" and see a simple poem about a simple aspect of life. If this is truly the case then why are so many drawn to the poem and what is found when more than a superficial look is spent on Robert Frost's work? The "Mending Wall" is an insightful look at social interactions as seen in the comparison of the repeated phrases and the traditional attitudes of the two farmers. The speaker believes, "Something there is that doesn't love a wall"(Stanford 1, 28). What sets this line apart from others?
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?’
Robert Frost's work was originally published in England and later would be published in the US. He was also considered one of the most popular and respected poets of his century. Robert Frost created countless poems and plays, many of them containing similar themes. Some of the most popular themes found in his poems encompass isolation, death and everyday life. Robert Frost wrote many poems; however, one of his most popular themes involved isolation.
“Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words,” Robert Frost once said. As is made fairly obvious by this quote, Frost was an adroit thinker. It seems like he spent much of his life thinking about the little things. He often pondered the meaning and symbolism of things he found in nature. Many readers find Robert Frost’s poems to be straightforward, yet his work contains deeper layers of complexity beneath the surface. His poems are not what they seem to be at first glance. These deeper layers of complexity can be clearly seen in his poems “The Road Not Taken”, “Fire and Ice”, and “Birches”.
Traditions have always had a substantial effect on the lives of human beings, and always will. Robert Frost uses many unique poetic devices in his poem “Mending Wall,” as well as many shifts in the speaker’s tone to develop his thoughts on traditions. The three predominant tones used are those of questioning, irony and humor.
...to be. The characters of which Frost’s poems are about paint clear pictures of what he anticipates that the readers will get out of the poems. The characters could be nature, animals, or people that are used as symbols. The poems are always understandable, even if there is not a clear plot within the poem.
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.
In his poem 'Mending Wall', Robert Frost presents to us the thoughts of barriers linking people, communication, friendship and the sense of security people gain from barriers. His messages are conveyed using poetic techniques such as imagery, structure and humor, 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 neighbors in their friendship.
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.
Throughout the poem, Frost conveys the speaker’s attitudes in many ways, such as word choice, imagery, and how he speaks. “Mending Wall” follows the brief story of a man, his neighbor, and a wall between them. Each year, the man and his neighbor repair a stone wall that separates their property. The man doesn’t quite understand why the stone wall is necessary.
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.
"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.
Robert Frost, known for being a Modernist American poet was said to have hidden the pain of his private life through his writing career. He shared many ideas and was barely given credit for any of it during his lifetime. However, the nation mourned when “the most beloved poet of the century” passed away. (Greiner 94-95). After his death, the nation was then able to study and understand Frost’s life and the reasoning behind his poetry. Frost was set on making a difference in poetry as he once expressed, “I expect to do something to the present state of literature in America” (Greiner 95). The poem, “Putting in the Seed” written by Frost himself, expresses one of his common themes in his poems, nature. Being recognized as an American poet till after death, Frost has impacted poetry in a way that may not exist if it was not for him. Throughout his life he overcame many hardships through writing, which he used as therapy. This astounding author left the impression of creativity at its finest.
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.
The everyday objects present in his poems provide the reader an alternative perspective of the world. Robert Frost uses all the elements of poetry to describe the darker side of nature. After analyzing the Poem Mending Wall and After Apple Picking it is clear that nature plays a dark and destructive role for Robert Frost. This dark side of Frost’s poetry could have been inspired from the hard life he lived.