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The Mending Wall – Summary
Robert Frost wrote the poem, “The Mending Wall” in twentieth century America. The poem is set in New England America which can be shown though phrases hidden in the poem. The speaker of the poem tells the audience that a wall divides him and his neighbor. This wall separates them from one another but once a year they join together and repair any damages in the wall. Frost is using this wall as a metaphor for the relationships being built in the modern world. The wall prevents individuals from connecting, however by coming together to rebuild the wall the men grow closer. The speaker does not understand the need for the wall, but his neighbor insist that the wall is the reason they are such good neighbors. The neighbor keeps the wall because of his duty to tradition, however this tradition continues to keep a disconnect between people in society. Frost wanted the audience to understand that the strength of relationships needs to change which is very apparent though this poem.
My poem
The air is thick
too hot
as a water drop goes down my face
Looking up at the sun
Beating down on my skin
The day is never ending
As the sky opens up
Rain begins to fall
Joy appears on my face
Thoughts After Peer Review
After reading other individuals’ paper, I realized that I need to add more descriptive language. The rough draft I completed needs to be clearer and the terms I included could be explained in more detail. In order to turn in my final draft, I must look over my paper in its entirety and correct the mistakes I made that my peer reviewers pointed out.
The Mending Wall – Analysis
During the early twentieth century, Robert Frost garnered much popularity through his poems about the New England lifestyle. Though he received ample criticism during his lifetime, Frost continued to publish his works and ultimately became one of the greatest poets of his time. One of his most familiar works, “The Mending Wall” reveals the story of two men divided by a wall separating their homes from one another. Although the two men are isolated from one another, they mutually come together once a year to repair the wall. Interestingly, the wall that separates the neighbors also serves to bring them together. The wall is in fact not tangible, but Frost uses it as a metaphor for the separation that can exist between individuals in the modern world. Robert Frost uses imagery in the poem, “The Mending Wall” to symbolize the physical and emotional separation between men in the setting of an American society.
Frost uses the New England setting in a majority of his poems and he effectively weaves imagery of this setting in “The Mending Wall”. Throughout the poem, Frost includes expressions that reference the New England location such as, “He is all pine and I am apple orchard”. These words provide an image of the New England lifestyle during the time the poem was written. Additionally, in the first two lines of the poem, the speaker vividly emphasizes the intense winter he must endure. Frost wrote, “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall, that send the frozen-ground-swell under it.” The mention of the winter once again underscores Frost’s theme of isolation. During periods of cold weather, people are isolated inside of their homes, providing the appropriate setting for Frost’s isolation theme throughout the poem. Frost skillfully uses the New England countryside not only as the poem’s setting but also as the central symbolism for the audience to understand the message Frost is attempting to convey.
Equally important, the metaphor of the wall in the poem illustrates the struggle to connect with individuals in the modern world. The speaker and the neighbor maintain their disconnection due to the wall between them but it is also the wall which unites the characters when they meet to repair it. Frost writes, “And on a day we meet to walk the line and set the wall between us as we go.” Ironically, the only thing that unifies the neighbors is the wall that creates the separation between their characters. Additionally, it is evident that the characters repair the wall during the springtime. Unlike winter, spring represents a time of rebirth and joy. Eventually, the speaker begins to question the purpose of the wall through his words, “There where it is we do not need the wall”, and realizes the wall isolates him from his neighbor for no apparent reason. The neighbor dismisses his concerns by repeating, “Good fences make good neighbors” in order to sustain their distance. It can be theorized that the neighbor upholds his commitment to the wall in order to uphold the tradition set by the men before him. The people of New England continue to build walls to protect themselves from forming relationships with others. Given these points, it can be interpreted that Frost desired to use “The Mending Wall” to share this insightful message with the public.
Throughout “The Mending Wall”, a metaphor is used to describe the problems with modern societies’ relationships. Frost uses a physical wall to separate individuals but in reality, the wall is imaginary. It is apparent throughout the poem that the wall is not necessary, but people continue to rebuild it. Frost wishes for the audience to recognize their mistakes and take down the walls they form to separate themselves. In order to convey his message, Frost chose to use the New England countryside as the setting and for symbolic imagery. Frost uses his local setting in order to connect with his audience on a personal level. It is important to understand the use of setting and imagery to convey the theme of isolation that individuals create between themselves. Frost longs for the audience to use this poem as a lesson to stop repeating history but instead create new relationships and experiences. The poem, “The Mending Wall” explores the human capacity to overcome isolation and reveals the mistakes many individuals make in the world today.
How did the analysis go?
After spending my time to effectively write about the poem, “The Mending Wall” I feel like I understand the poem and my writing skills better. The analysis allowed me to practice my writing skills more but also made me realize that I still need more work. In the next assignment I need to work on transitioning and making my point clearer throughout the paper. Hopefully I will be able to use this assignment to improve my assignments in the future.
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