MENDING WALL - Robert Frost

Heights of Harmony

Fraternity and tolerance are the twin virtues of harmonious living. But, do we cherish these qualities in our daily life? What should be our attitude to our neighbours? Need we accept their ideas as well in order to maintain good relationship with them? 

Mending Wall - Robert Frost

Something there is that doesn't love a wall,

That sends a frozen-ground-swell under it

And spills the upper boulders in the sun,...can pass abreast.

There is a power that dislikes walls. In the warmth of the sun, it causes the frozen ground beneath a wall to expand, causing the higher stones to fall off.

The falling stones creates gaps in the wall. It becomes so big that two people could easily walk through them side-by-side.

 

The work of hunters is another thing:

I have come after them and made repair

Where they would have left not one stone on a stone,

But they would have the rabbit out of hiding,

To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean,
No one has seen them made or heard them made,
But at spring mending-time we find them there.

The hunters who destroy walls are something entirely/completely different. In order to calm their barking dogs, hunters frequently/often try to flush out rabbits that hide in the wall, so I have to come and repair/mend the areas where they have not left a single stone in order. 

No one has seen/noticed or heard these gaps in the wall being made. When it comes time to fix/repair the wall in the spring, we only discover/find them there.

I let my neighbour know beyond the hill;
And on a day we meet to walk the line
And set the wall between us once again.
We keep the wall between us as we go.
To each the boulders that have fallen to each.

I get in touch with my neighbour who lives over a hill, and we arrange a time to meet and walk along the wall, filling in these gaps along the way. We only deal with the stones that have fallen from the wall on our side of it; he walks on his side of the wall and I on mine. 

 

And some are loaves and some so nearly balls
We have to use a spell to make them balance:
"Stay where you are until our backs are turned!"

Some of them resemble/look like loaves of bread and others are spherical/round like balls. So we pray that they will remain in position, balanced on top of the wall, saying, "Don't move until we're gone!" 

 

We wear our fingers rough with handling them.

Oh, just another kind of outdoor game,
One on a side. It comes to little more:
There where it is we do not need the wall:

When we pick up the rocks/stones, our fingertips get chafed/scraped. We're all on our sides of the wall, and it's just another outdoor activity.

The presence of a wall is not necessary.

 

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.
He only says, "Good fences make good neighbours."

There is an apple orchard on my side of the wall and nothing but pine trees on my neighbours'. I tell him, “It's not like my apple trees are going to cross the wall and eat his pine cones."

In response, he simply says, “Good fences are necessary to have good neighbours."

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Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head:
"Why do they make good neighbours? Isn't it
Where there are cows? But here there are no cows.

Since it is spring and I’m feeling naughty, I wonder if I can convince my neighbour to ask himself:

“Why are they necessary? Isn't that only the case when you're attempting to keep your neighbour's cows out of your fields? This place is free of cows.

 

Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offence.

If I were building a wall, I would like to know what I was keeping out and what I was allowing in, besides who would get offended.

 

Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That wants it down." I could say "Elves" to him,
But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather
He said it for himself. I see him there,
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.

There is something powerful that wants to break down walls instead of loving it. I could say that Fairies are the reason for the wall's gaps, but it might not be true and I prefer to have my neighbour solve the problem on his own.

Like an ancient warrior, I see him picking up stones and holding them firmly by the top with each hand. 

 

He moves in darkness as it seems to me,
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.
He will not go behind his father's saying,
And he likes having thought of it so well
He says again, 'Good fences make good neighbours.'

He goes in deep darkness that goes beyond the shadows of the trees and into the woods.

He enjoys having expressed his perspective in such a simple and straightforward way, and he does not wish to think beyond that.

So he says it again: “Good fences are necessary to have good neighbours.”

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B. Is It Better to Build Walls or Bridges in Human Relationships?

It is better to build bridges rather than walls in human relationships. Bridges symbolize trust, understanding, communication, and friendship, while walls often represent separation, misunderstanding, and emotional distance.

In Mending Wall by Robert Frost, the speaker questions the necessity of rebuilding the wall every year. He believes that there is no real reason for a barrier between him and his neighbour because they do not harm each other's property. Nature itself seems to oppose the wall by creating gaps in it, suggesting that barriers are not always necessary. However, the neighbour continues to repeat the old saying, "Good fences make good neighbours," showing his belief in tradition and personal boundaries.
Through the poem, Frost encourages readers to think about whether unnecessary barriers keep people apart. While some boundaries are important for privacy and respect, strong relationships are built through openness, trust, and mutual understanding. Therefore, it is better to build bridges that connect people rather than walls that divide them.

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C. Poetic devices in "Mending Wall

1. Personification - "Something there is that doesn't love a wall", "And spills the upper boulders in the sun",  "Stay where you are until our backs are turned!"

 Frost attributes human-like actions to nature

2. Paradox - Something there is that doesn't love a wall" versus "Good fences make good neighbours."

3. Metaphor - some are loaves and some so nearly balls - Frost also employs metaphors to describe the stones, such as calling them "loaves" and "balls".

4. Simile - In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed. The neighbor is compared to an "old-stone savage armed," emphasizing his primitive, unthinking adherence(sticking/attachment) to outdated traditions

5. Imagery- Visual images - frozen-ground, sun, gap, hunters, rabbits, fence, stone wall, apple tree, pine cone, cows etc.

6. Alliteration - "That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,"- /s/ , "What I was walling in or walling out"  - /w/ , "Before I built a wall" - /b/ ,et.

7. Assonance - Something there is that doesn't love a wall, -/i/

That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it" - /e/ , not one stone on a stone -/o/

8. Repetition/Refrain - "Good fences make good neighbours" - reinforces the neighbor's stubborn nature.

9. Enjambment - Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out, - Highlighting the uselessness of the wall.

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D. Think and Write

Question 1. Why does the poet say that there is something that doesn’t love, a wall?
Answer: The poet says that there is something that does not love the wall because every spring season, the poet finds the wall is broken. But nobody has seen or heard someone breaking the wall. So it is clear that there is something that does not love a wall and wants to destroy it. This suggests that nature itself challenges the need for such divisions.

Question 2. Why does the poet meet his neighbour beyond the hill at spring?
Answer: The poet meets his neighbour beyond the hill at spring so that they can fix one day and walk along the wall to put the fallen stones back into place on their respective sides.

Question 3. How does the poet and his neighbour mend the gaps in the wall?
Answer: The poet and his neighbour mend the gaps in the wall by walking along the wall on either side and picking up the fallen stones and filling the gaps on the wall.

Question 4. Why does the poet argue that there is no need of a wall in between his estate and that of his neighbour?
Answer: The poet argues that there is no need of a wall in between his estate and that of his neighbour because he only grows apple trees, while the neighbor grows pine trees; his trees won't cross over and eat the neighbor's pine cone.

Question 5. How does the neighbour justify the need for waits or fences?

Answer: The neighbour justifies the need for walls by saying that good fences make good neighbours. His words highlight a traditional belief in the importance of boundaries for maintaining harmonious relationships

Question 6. Why does the poet consider the spring season mischievous?

Answer: The poet considers the spring season mischievous because it is in the spring season the gaps are found in the walls. He thinks in the spring season the warm sun makes the frozen ground under the wall expand. This cause the upper stones of the wall fall down on to the sides.

Question 7. What are the contrasting views presented in the poem?
Answer: The poet has one view but his neighbour has a different view. The poet views the wall as an unnatural and unnecessary barrier. Because he has apple trees and the neighbor has pines, his trees won't cross over and eat the neighbor's pine cone. But his neighbour The neighbor is portrayed as stubborn and unenlightened, repeatedly insisting on maintaining the wall simply because it is a rule passed down by his father. is a rigid traditionalist who clings to the adage, "Good fences make good neighbors," believing that barriers are necessary for maintaining good relationship.

Additional Short Answer type questions

1. Who is the speaker's neighbour?

The speaker's neighbour is the man who owns the land next to his property. Every spring, they meet to repair the stone wall that separates their farms.

2. What does the wall symbolize?

The wall symbolizes barriers between people. It represents separation, tradition, personal boundaries, and the emotional distance that can exist in human relationships.

3. Why does the speaker question the need for the wall?

The speaker questions the need for the wall because he has apple trees and the neighbor has pines, his trees won't cross over and eat the neighbor's pine cone. Moreover, there are no cows to keep in or out, and there is no real conflict between him and his neighbour. He believes the wall is unnecessary and wonders why it should be rebuilt every year.

4. Explain the meaning of "Good fences make good neighbours."

The saying means that clear boundaries and respect for each other's property and privacy help maintain peaceful and healthy relationships. The neighbour believes that keeping proper boundaries prevents misunderstandings and conflicts.

5. What message does Robert Frost convey through the poem?

Robert Frost encourages readers to question old traditions and think about whether the barriers we create are truly necessary. He suggests that while personal boundaries have value, trust, communication, and understanding are equally important in building good relationships.

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Appreciation - Points to remember

• Introduction (Name of poem and poet)
  
• Theme and Central Idea of the poem
  
• Brief Explanation
• Poetic Devices used
  
• Conclusion

Appreciation

 

"Mending Wall" is  narrative poem by Robert Frost, It explores the complex relationship between neighbors and the symbolic significance of boundaries.

 

The main idea that the poet wants to convey is about man-made divisions. The wall conveys a symbolic meaning of separation; a wall which is built in mind. This separation works on various levels. Through the speaker and his neighbor ,the poet discusses how traditional attitudes act as blockages to modern values. The speaker of the poem sees himself as a civilized man and rational thinker who questions the necessity of boundaries and his neighbor as a rigid traditionalist, a living example of a dark-age mentality.

 

In spring, the two meet to walk the wall and jointly make repairs. The speaker of the poem is not quite sure about the reason behind it. He tends to believe that it can be the work of nature which makes the ground swell under it. He also blames the hunters who remove the stones to flush away the rabbits that hide in the wall in order to calm their barking dogs,  The elves also come to his mind who can do something like this. The speaker questions the need for the wall because he has apple trees and the neighbor has pines, his trees won't cross over and eat the neighbor's pine cone. Moreover, there are no cows to keep in or out, and there is no real conflict between him and his neighbour. On the contrary, his neighbor is not interested in finding reasons. He goes on repairing the walls repeating the old adage “Good fences make good neighbors” highlighting a traditional belief in the importance of boundaries for maintaining harmonious relationships. 

 

Many poetic devices are employed by the poet.  We can see Metaphor in the lines "some are loaves and some so nearly balls" - Frost also employs metaphors to describe the stones, such as calling them "loaves" and "balls". There is an instance of simile in the line In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed. Personification can be seen in the opening lines "Something there is that doesn't love a wall", There are examples of Alliteration as in "Before I built a wall" - /b/, Assonance in "Something there is that doesn't love a wall", -/i/, The poet uses a variety of visual images like stone wall, gaps, sun, rabbits, dogs, hunters, apple trees, pine trees etc. Also the refrain “Good fences make good neighbors”

 

In the poem even the nature is attempting to destroy the barriers that man has created on the land, but man continues to repair the barriers, simply out of habit and tradition. The wall is not only physical but also metaphorical. People put walls between them and others while it was not necessary. The poem tells us  to destroy man-made walls and to build a better world where brotherhood and harmony are maintained in the places of conflicts and separation.

 

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