Mending wall poem summary. Mending Wall by Robert Frost: Summary and Analysis 2022-10-13

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"Mending Wall" is a poem by Robert Frost that explores the idea of boundaries and the consequences of maintaining or breaking them. The poem is written in the first person and follows the speaker as he walks along the wall that separates his property from his neighbor's. The speaker reflects on the wall and the process of mending it each year, considering the reasons for its existence and the motivations behind its repair.

The poem begins with the line "Something there is that doesn't love a wall," suggesting that there is a natural tendency to resist or defy boundaries. The speaker acknowledges that the wall serves a purpose, as it keeps his neighbor's cows from wandering onto his property and damaging his apple trees. However, he also notes that the wall is not necessary for this purpose, as there are no cows on either side of the wall. This suggests that the wall serves a symbolic rather than practical function.

As the speaker and his neighbor work together to repair the wall, the speaker wonders why they feel the need to do so. He suggests that it is "an old-stone savage armed with stones," implying that the wall represents a primitive and violent desire to protect one's territory. The speaker also wonders whether the wall is meant to keep people out or to keep something in, again suggesting that the wall has a deeper, symbolic significance.

Throughout the poem, the speaker grapples with the idea of boundaries and their role in human relationships. He wonders whether the wall is necessary or whether it is simply a habit that has been passed down through the generations. He also wonders whether the wall serves to bring people closer together or to drive them apart, suggesting that boundaries can have both positive and negative effects on human interactions.

In the final stanza of the poem, the speaker reflects on the nature of fences and walls and their role in society. He suggests that fences and walls are often used to divide and separate people, but that they can also serve to bring people together. He concludes by saying that "good fences make good neighbors," implying that boundaries can be useful and necessary, but only if they are used wisely and with care.

In summary, "Mending Wall" is a thought-provoking poem that explores the themes of boundaries, territoriality, and human relationships. Through the speaker's reflections on the wall that separates his property from his neighbor's, Frost raises questions about the motivations behind the maintenance of boundaries and the consequences of their existence. The poem ultimately suggests that boundaries can be both useful and harmful, depending on how they are used and understood.

Mending Wall

mending wall poem summary

I see him there Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed. But, with the same playfulness he catapults the reader to the land of doubt regarding the meaning of the poem. Sometimes, the cause is known and sometimes it is not known. Answer: They hinder free interaction among people, and consequently, the quality of life of those people suffers. The speaker asks questions and then himself answers them. Walls are a symbol of savage thinking and darkness of heart.

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Mending Wall Poem Summary and Analysis

mending wall poem summary

He thinks it is perhaps elves. READ ALSO: Small—scale Reflections on a Great House Summary and Solved Questions Short Answer Type Questions Q. It is a dramatic lyric and a monologue. What I was walling in or walling out meaning? Further, the poet believes that there is no requirement for a wall. The poem "Mending Wall" is about the activity of mending a wall that the speaker and his neighbour do each spring.

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Mending Wall Summary

mending wall poem summary

After placing the stone in its position they ask the stones to stay there until the backs of both are turned. This poem presents sharp contrasts between two views, the one which advocates the idea of raising a wall and the other which make a protest against this idea. Poet and his neighbour have to mend the wall each year in spring, by putting the stones back, which are quite heavy. Explanation The poet says that there is something in nature that does not love a wall and wants to bring it down. Walls are a symbol of savage thinking and spiritual darkness. Ultimately, the presence of the wall between the properties does ensure a quality relationship between the two neighbors. Spring is the season when the damages caused by winter have to be repaired.

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Mending Wall Poem

mending wall poem summary

Both the neighbours are of conflicting views. Ultimately, the presence of the wall between the properties does ensure a quality relationship between the two neighbors. There are social, cultural, religious, regional, political and other barriers all around us. It comes to little more: There where it is we do not need the wall: He is all pine and I am apple orchard. They walk along the lines of wall while mending it. But are these impulses so easily separable? They raise the fallen stones, some like bread loves and others like spheres that wobble and threaten to fall. He does not believe that a wall should exist simply for the sake of existing.

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Mending Wall Poem Summary, Notes & Line By Line Explanation Class 12 • English Summary

mending wall poem summary

I see him there Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed. The poet says that there are two types of people namely wall builders and wall breakers. Frost feels like pointing out that neither of them had cows and that is another reason for pulling down the wall. He thinks that the ideas of his ancestors are very good. In other words, it makes us think about human limitations and societal advantages. Trees can not intrude, trespass as cows can.

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Mending wall

mending wall poem summary

He the neighbour believes in the idea of raising a wall between man and man. These lines bring out the idea that man is often a prisoner of tradition. Yet his neighbour says that good fences make good neighbors. We keep the wall between us as we go. Poet grows apples and his neighbour has pines. See eNotes Ad-Free Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts.

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Frost’s Early Poems “Mending Wall” Summary & Analysis

mending wall poem summary

READ ALSO: A Poison Tree By William Blake Summary, Analysis, Themes and Question Answers Q. Frost feels that repairing the wall is meaningless. He says that good fences make good neighbours. Frost — heave breaks them. He wants that his neighbour could say such thing to himself. It is a stereotyped response.


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Robert Frost: Poems “Mending Wall” (1914) Summary and Analysis

mending wall poem summary

The poet makes clear that it is not hunters who break the wall. How would you describe the poet and his tone in Mending Wall? About The Poet Robert Lee Frost 1874-1963 is one of the most prominent 20th-century American poets. That is why the poet says that nature swells the ground under the wall. The poet gives both sides of the argument for and against walls. Our fingers gets chafed with handling the rocks but its just an outdoor game, each on our side of the wall and nothing more.

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Mending Wall Robert Frost's Poem Summary & Analysis

mending wall poem summary

. When his neighbour emphasises the need for separation, he is saying that strong fences maintain warm, emotional relationships. In the heat of the sun, the upper boulders start falling out of the wall further and create a gap through which two can pass abreast. But here there are no cows. Explanation The Poet says that there is something, perhaps some natural forces, that does not love a wall. Apart from that force, the hunters also play part in destroying it but that is another story.

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