FREE ESSAY ON MENDING WALL

MENDING WALL

Mending Wall
Biography 
Robert Frost was inspired to write Mending Wall after talking with one of his farming
friend Napoleon Guay. He learned from talking with his neighbor that writing in the tones
of real life is an important factor in his poetic form (Liu,Tam). Henry David Thoreau
once stated that, "A true account of the actual is the purest poetry." Another factor
that might have played a role in inspiring Frost to write this poem was his experience of
living on a farm as a small boy. Mending Wall was published in 1915 along with a
collection of Frost's poems in North of Boston.
Theme Statements 
Nature dissolves the barriers that humanity erects.
The purpose of the wall in this poem was to isolate one's personality and privacy. In
line one and thirty-five, "Something there is that doesn't love a wall" reveals that
nature has no boundaries, and because it, "doesn't love the wall," nature attempts
destroy that boundary to bring humanity and the environment together in a harmonious
bond. Nature has made, "... gaps even two can pass abreast," shows how nature has made a
hole big enough for one person to walk across, and towards another person's property to
talk. But, it also shows how humans are still unknowingly walling one another out from
each other's lives.
Tradition undermines the desire for change. 
As the poem progresses it gradually changes from young ideals to old tradition. The old
man in the end, is presenting what he learned from his father through tradition. In line
43, "He will not go behind his father's saying," it clearly states that he will not stray
from his father's teachings and the tradition set by his antecedents. Why change
something they isn't broken? Even though the youth has his points as in lines 24-26, "He
is all pine and I am apple orchard. / My apple trees will never get across/ And eat the
cones under his pines," the youth will never affect the old man's tradition. Apples come
and go with the seasons, but pines are forever and never out of season.
Change instinctively challenges and questions the ideals of tradition. 
In order to change, one must first break tradition. But, in the poem the old man does not
want to change and break tradition. The person who is willing to question tradition and
confront the problem is the young man. He uses those "w" words to ask the question,
"There where it is we do not need the wall," and "Why do they make good neighbors...Where
are the cows?" The youth is asking logical questions, but is rebutted with the answer
that, "Good fences make good neighbors". The youth challenges the old man to say what is
on his mind, but the old man is an, "old-stone savage armed," who, has no ideas of his
own and, "moves in the darkness," of the traditions he follows. 
Tone
Narrative and explanations (lines 1-22)
In these lines, Frost is introducing the setting, characters, and the conflicts to the
reader. We also get an explanation about how, "Something there is that doesn't love a
wall," and how the wall has been damaged to the point where, "gaps even two can pass
abreast." The reader is also introduced to the attitudes of the characters, and how they
feel towards the wall. The youth is curious and jolly in the beginning, thinking it as a
game. But, the old man is a complete opposite, he doesn't say much and gets right to work
without a simply hello or gesture.
Inquisitions and curious (lines 23-36)
The youth wishes to understand the purpose of the wall, and uses question words to
support his curiosity. For instance, when the word "why," is italicized in line 30 it
emphasizes his questioning of the importance of the wall. He challenges the neighbor to
give a better answer then, "Good fences make good neighbors," but he doesn't receive one.
Instead he accepts this to an extent and is still contemplating ways to how he can, "If I
could put a notion in his head...(line 29)"
Frustration (lines 36 and 40)
Within the youth there is an internal conflict because he does not want to go along with
the old man's tradition. However, he respects the old man enough, he does not say
anything to his face but contemplates his ideas in his mind. As you know, silence is
golden and a true sign of respect, even though the youth is frustrated and calling the
old man names inside his head; he does not say it a load and make the old man
uncomfortable in front of him. 
Wise Resignation (lines 43-45)
The youth is getting smarter as time goes on because he knows it is a useless cause. It
will be a waste of breath to the youth because he will not be able to change the old
man's senile attitude. The old man is set in his ways and will not break tradition when
the youth says, "He will not go behind his father's saying. (line 43)" This line states
even though there is no meaning behind, "Good fences make good neighbors," it is like an
unwritten rule and he expects to go through this ritual every year during "spring-mending
time." 
Paradoxical (Carson Gibbs, 1962)
This poem can be seen as being negative, but it can also be viewed as a positive to many
reader's eyes. Even though the wall divides the neighbors, it also unites them once a
year. In lines 13-14, "And on a day we meet to walk the line/ And set the wall between us
once again," we notice that this is the only reason they see each other- to mend the wall
that keeps them apart. This is ironic because without a wall, both neighbors would be
separated naturally because one lives, "beyond the hill," and "in the darkness...not of
woods only."(Liu,Tam)
Argumentative
Throughout the entirety of the poem seven reasons were presented by the youth in order to
explain how the wall was superfluous. Those reasons included nature, the hunters and
their dogs, the youth himself, the pine trees vs. apple orchards, the scarcity of cows,
and the elves. There is no concrete reason for why there should be a wall, except for the
old man's father's cliche, which belittles the purpose of the wall.
Language:
Vocabulary
Some of the vocabulary that pertained to this poem was abreast, savage, mending and
loaves. Each vocabulary word that was written has a special meaning to the poem, abreast
means side by side. Nature wanted both the youth and the old man to walk side by side
with one another through the wall. But the savage, meaning belonging to a primitive
society, is too stubborn to do that; which is very primitive of him since he learned it
from his father and will not change his attitude. The youth feels that mending the wall
is only repairing the wall physically but not the wall between them emotionally, he feels
they are loafing there time there, or wasting, and shouldn't bother with the wall at all.

Personification
There are two inanimate objects in the poems that are given human characteristics. The
first is nature, "Something there is that doesn't love a wall, / that send the frozen
ground-swell under it/ and spills the upper-boulder in the sun (line1-3)." That
"something" the youth is referring to is nature, and it is trying to bring down the wall
because like nature, the wall is gradually destroying something too. That something is
the relationship between the two characters, because before the wall was being put
together, the youth in lines 1-22 refers to himself and the old man as "we" and "us."
But, as the wall takes it's shape once more, it destroys the bond formed earlier in the
poem and the youth is now getting frustrated and referring to the old man as an,
"old-stone savage armed." 
Alliteration
Frost utilizes two letters repeatedly in his poem. The letter "s" in lines seven and 40,
"stone one a stone," and,"Old-stone savage," is used because of its soothing effect on
the reader and the calmness it brings when the youth is so frustrated with his search of
answers. The second letter Frost utilizes is "w" repeatedly throughout his poem in order
to manifest the monotonous work that goes into building the wall. 
Onomatopoeia
Like an auditory sound in the poem, it gives the reader a reason to why the wall is in
its ruinous state. It helps the reader picture some, "yelping dogs (line 9)," chasing
some rabbits and running into the wall, and knocking some bricks off. 
Assonance
The most noticeable assonance Frost uses is through the youth. He uses the words, "why,"
"where," "for whom," and "what" to ask the questions that are bothering him. These words
are of a curious tone, but they never get answered in till the end; which was a
superficial one anyway. Other assonance Frost uses in the poem is his use for them when
he needs to separate language i.e. "Gaps-wall," "walling in or walling out," "never get
across," and "one on a side," are perfect examples of how he utilizes assonance in the
poem. 
Repetition
Repetition in the poem was found to be mostly concentrated to one part of the poem. The
first part lines1-22 had the words "we," used five times, "them," six times, and "us,"
twice. This showed the unity before the wall was being mended as stated earlier, but,
after the wall was in the process of being restored the words: "I," "he," "him," "his,"
and "me," were repeated throughout the poem to show that the speaker and the neighbor are
being selfish and parochial in their own ideas. The most important repetition of all
however, is found in lines 27 and 45. The, "Good fences make good neighbors," line is the
most powerful line in the sentence because that is the line the youth is questioning
throughout the poem, and the last answer he receives from the old man; letting the old
man have the last word in their conversation and the poem. 
Simile
The only simile is the poem is referring to the old man. In line 38-40 the youth
comments, "I see him there...like an old-savage armed," with this quote, we see that the
old man is being compared to an old, primitive being who cannot accept change. What we
also see is the old man holding onto his last shred of tradition he learned from his
father and not letting it go without a fight.
Metaphor
The metaphors in this poem are very abstract because the reader has to look very hard in
order to get them. In line 17, the youth is talking about how the wall has dropped bricks
the shape of, "loaves and balls." What the youth is actually commenting on indirectly is
how the loaf is like the old man: square, and doesn't change or move very much. And the
ball is himself, always moving around and rolling into situations where he gets trapped
by a square object. Another metaphor in the poem was the youth saying that mending that
wall was, "Oh, just another outdoor game." The youth doesn't think much of the wall and
is playing along with the old man since it is the only time of the year they meet one
another.
Symbols/opposites
In order for the reader to better understand the poem, he/she must recognize the symbols
that are in the poem. The first word we see in the poem was a symbol. The "something,"
the narrator is talking about stands for the unknown and a higher being in life. The
hunters and dogs symbolized nature and its different ways of tearing the wall apart. The
two men we are introduced to are complete opposites; one is a young man who represents
youth, and the other an older man who is traditional. Another opposite in the poem is the
use of the word pine trees and apple orchards. The pine trees are solid, steady, and
cointinueuesly grows and matures with time every day of the season, and represents the
traditional side. While the apple trees only grow apples once a year, and are radical
because of their different shapes, colors and sizes. These apples represent new ideas and
change while the pine is the opposite. The poem starts out in the morning with the sun,
but ends in darkness. The sun represented the first half of the poem, the youth being
enlightened with questions, but ends in darkness when the wall is nearly complete and the
questioning was subsided. 
The wall itself is a symbol; it represents the conflict between tradition and change. The
holes in the wall, big enough so that two can pass abreast, symbolizes how nature wants
the wall torn down so that we can walk to each other's side. But, how we don't take
advantage of this and instead try to patch it up. Mending the wall itself, is also a
symbol, to be exact it has two meanings, a double entondra. The first meaning is the
physical one, a barrier between the youth and the older man, the second the relationship
the youth and the older man make as they're mending the wall. As the more they mend the
closer they get together, and the more the youth understands the older man's traditional
saying.
Parallel construction
In the poem there contained three parallel construction, each pertaining to the wall.
Lines 10, "seen them made or heard them made," corresponds to one another because you
could not see or hear how the wall broke. And in lines16-17 where the "boulders that have
fallen," look like, "loaves and balls," show what the broken wall pieces look like on the
ground. The most noticeable one in the poem was in lines 14 and 15 because deals with two
walls as mentioned in symbols. They are setting down the wall (physical) to keep the wall
(emotional) between them. These lines demonstrate how the neighbors "mend their wall, but
they actually grow apart. 
Imagery
The reader can vividly imagine the two neighbors working simitanously, side by side, and
without saying a word to one another. We know how badly the walls have been damaged to
the point that, "...gaps even two can pass abreast (line 4)," and need bricks that are
the size of, "... loaves and some so nearly balls (line 17)." The reader also imagines
each neighbor, "One on a side (line22)," with an, "old-stone savage" on one side and an,
"apple orchard" on the other. Each having wore their, "fingers rough with handling them,"
while all this is happening during "spring mending-time." 
Allusion
The only allusion in the poem was that of Napoleon Guy, who was the farming neighbor of
Frost. He was the person who inspired Frost after building a wall to separate their
properties, and is alluded to twice in the poem when the older man says, "Good fences
make good neighbors." 
Conflicts
In this poem, there contained three main conflicts. Change vs. Tradition, nature vs. the
wall, and the individual vs. individual. In the poem the young man is constantly
wondering what is so important about why, "Good fences make good neighbors," and the
youth is constantly pondering questions to ask the man, but never really ask them because
he knows that tradition will prevail. Individual vs. individual plays in the same kind of
role as the other because it is again the youth questioning the old man's ways. The first
conflict in the poem is given in the first line, "Something there that doesn't like the
wall," and that something is nature and it wants the wall down. 
Style 
The poem is written in first person narrative, and with a series of arguments (refer to
Tone). The poem is written with 45 lines and separated into two parts, with line
twenty-three represents that wall that is discussed in the poem. In the first part of the
poem (lines 1-22), the youth tells the story from his point of view, which is an internal
monologue. He uses the world "we" five times, and the word "us" twice to show both are
working on the wall and being connected to each other; the most they have been throughout
the year. The middle line of the poem is, "There where it is we do not need the wall...",
which represents the dividing point of the poem, a barrier of sorts. But in lines 24-45,
there is frustration in the youth's tone as the wall is taking its original shape back
again, and he begins to isolate himself more from the old man when he uses the words "he"
seven times and "him" or "his" once. Frustration led to sarcasm in the youth's arguments,
but in the end the poem ended in wisdom. It started out with a silly question about why
there was a need for a wall, but ended with an enlightened remark by the old man.
The poem contained four colons, which shifted the youth's thought to one argument to
another; the colon was a transitional tool Frost used very well in this poem. Like most
of Frost's other poems, the majority of this poem was thought up in the narrator's head.
And like his other poems, their contained dialogue, a setting, characters, a conflict and
an ending. 
Form
This poem was written in blank verse and not a free verse because it was written in an
iambic pentameter without rhyme. It went stressed-unstressed for 5 meters. All 45 five
lines were written in iambic pentameter, and voiced narratively.