Mending+Wall+Factsheet

Fact Sheet by Sophia Scarano Mending Wall Author: Robert Frost

Context: Published in 1914, in //North of Boston//, his second collection from New Hampshire, writing from a farm. He had a wall outside of his farm that contributes to the writing of this poem. //Mending Wall// takes up the theme where //A Tuft of Flowers// in //A Boy’s Will// laid it down in //A Tuft of Flowers// the men are working together even though they are separated, //Mending Wall// unites the men even though working together means creating a boundary that so wanted to be extinguished in //A Tuft of Flowers//.

Tone of Poem: The poem is gently contemplative. The reader feels at ease, yet aware of the dissonance of the relationship between the two neighbors.

Synopsis: In this poem, two neighbors are mending a wall that separates their estates. The time has come for mending the wall whence the rabbits and other animals have damaged it. Of the pair, one neighbor ponders the existence of the wall and wonders what it’s presence entails. After describing the existence of the wall in nature, the two neighbors talk about why the wall is necessary.

Theme: This poem presents the opposing perspectives of tradition and logic embodied by the neighbors using repetition, and the blank verse form of the poem. Suggested Questions:

Literary Features: Anastrophe- "Something there is that doesn't love a wall" Repetition- "Good fences make good neighbors" Alliteration- "What I was walling in or walling out."

 Frost Style:
 *  · simple things and people
 *  · <span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">His language = economy and precision his characters display use of farm tools
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: medium;"> · <span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">a valuable legacy of poems celebrating basic emotions and relationships
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: medium;"> · <span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Frost’s poems celebrate encounters with nature
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: medium;"> · <span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">source of analogies to human condition
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: medium;"> · <span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Pastoral
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: medium;"> · <span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">the process of discovery and the relationship between people and their surroundings
 * <span style="font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: medium;"> · <span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">landscapes are metaphorical, not specific

**<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">1. ** **<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">What is the genre, or form, of the poem? **  · <span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">This poem is written in blank verse and is an example of Connotation and Denotation. **<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">2. Who is speaking in the poem? **  · <span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The speaker in the poem is one of the neighbors living on one side of the wall. **<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">3. What is the argument, thesis, or subject of the poem? **  · <span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The conflict in the poem is embodied by the ideals of the neighbors. On one hand, the traditionalist neighbor believes that “good fences make good neighbors”, and he supports this ideal without supporting facts. The other neighbor believes the wall to be unnecessary and presents an argument with details. **<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">4. What is the structure of the poem? **  · <span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The poem is written in blank verse. There are two parts to the thematic structure of the poem – the private thoughts, and the spoken conversation. The thoughts describe the physical appearance of the wall with gaps forged by nature. The second half is an exchange between the neighbors, recounting the feelings of the speaker as the conversation continues. **<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">5. How does the poem make use of setting? **  · <span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The poem emphasizes the nature existing around the wall. The “frozen-ground-swell” of wintertime and the contrasting image of the “spring mending- time” reveal the duress that the wall endures from the forces around it. The “rabbit out of hiding” seems to damage the wall, showing that the life surrounding the barrier disagrees with it. The wall, a representation of ideals in the human mind, is influenced by actions and outside forces that cause a shift in perspective, the outside forces being the animals. Furthermore, the differences of the men are exhibited in the two trees, pine and apple – “He is all pine and I am apple orchard.” And when the time comes to reinforce the wall, the neighbors use rocks and boulders, testaments to the strength of the barrier, yet also, a testament to the power of nature to be able to tear it down. **<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">6. How does the poem use imagery? **  · <span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The “frozen-ground swell” portrays winter as a mild season; however, the ice undermines the strength of the wall and damages the foundation. While the men are walking the wall the boulders that have fallen out of the wall are “loaves and some so nearly balls.” These contrasting images of the boulders relay the idea that in the human mind, different ideas work together to create a boundary that cannot be surpassed. Furthermore, the image of the men casting a “spell to make them balance” creates an image of bewitching strength, reinforcing the idea that the wall is unnatural and does not belong. **<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">7. Are there key statements or conflicts in the poem that appear to be central to its meaning? **  · <span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The repetition of the line “something there is that doesn’t love a wall” emphasizes the disdain shared between the man and nature for the wall. Also, the other neighbor’s anthem “good fences make good neighbors” stresses the traditional non-wavering ideals of the neighbor. **<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">8. How does the sound of the poetry contribute to its meaning? **  · <span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The loosely rhyming iambic pentameter is interrupted intermittently with 11-syllable lines. For instance, the line “To each the boulders that have fallen to each” has 11 syllables and it emphasizes the representation of ideals that have fallen to result in a more open perspective. Also, the statements of the man that disagrees with the wall at the beginning of the poem are marked by short vowel sounds, emphasizing his exasperation with an uneven and almost staccato rhythm. **<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">9. Examine the use of language. **  · <span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The simplistic speaking pattern exhibited in the poem leaves room for a complex interpretation of the metaphor of the wall. For instance, “He is all pine and I am apple orchard. My apple trees will never get across And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.” The simple metaphors for the men as trees represent the difference in thought embodied by the two neighbors. Also the man questions the existence of the wall when he says, “Before I built a wall I’d ask to know What I was walling in or walling out.” The direct speech stresses the direct manor of the thought found in both of the men. **<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">10.Can you see any ways in which the poem refers to, uses or relies on previous writing? **  · <span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The poem does not rely on previous writing. **<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">11.What qualities does the poem evoke in the reader? **  · <span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The poem evokes thoughts of ideals in the reader. The tangible conflict of two opposing ideas causes the reader to examine the strength of their prejudices and anything hindering them from greater open thought. Furthermore, the outside forces that influence the nature of people evoke feelings of fate in the reader; no matter how many times the men rebuild the wall, something will always displace some of the rocks. **<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">12.What is your historical and cultural distance from the poem? **  · <span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">While the setting of the poem differs from where I live, I can relate to the barriers found in the minds of men. The differences in people can always result in prejudices and close-mindedness. **<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">13.What are the world-view and the ideology of the poem? **  · <span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The world-view ideology of the poem expressed is one of contrasting opinions resulting in walls, instead of unifying to create a diverse society living in harmony.

<span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">Possible Conclusion: <span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The tension in this poem is one that is commonly encountered in life. While traditional viewpoints are to be respected, when logic overrules the old order, I feel that tradition should be overrun for that which is more efficient- and in this case, the logical aspect poses a stronger argument. The poem reinforces these conflicting ideas but incorporates the influence that nature has over man, thus reinforcing the idea of a greater power.