Robert Frost’s poem “Mending Wall” was published in the collection North of Boston (1914). It is written in blank poetry and shows a couple of neighbors cooperating on the annual maintenance of their shared wall. The wall acts as a symbolic fulcrum for their friendly rivalry, balancing their differing philosophical perspectives on brotherhood.
Frost’s “Mending Wall” was released in 1914 and became one of modern literature’s most widely studied poems. In the poem, a New England farmer walks with his neighbor to fix a stone wall that separates their two farms. The narrator began to doubt the necessity for the wall and its practical and symbolic implications as they began to repair it.
The poem “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost examines the nature of human interactions. When the neighbors begin to repair the main symbol of the poem – the wall – both the narrator and reader begin to inquire about the overall necessity of the wall. The reader examines, philosophizes, and digs deep in an attempt to arrive at a specific conclusion.
“Mending Wall” by Robert Frost is a great example of the appropriate feel and tone, which is exceptionally resonating. This is not last because of the author’s diction and use of basic colloquial words. The poem is also distinguished by its lack of pretentious vocabulary and unnecessarily complicated arrangement.
Robert Frost’s “Mending Wall” offers a reader a deeper perspective on boundary barriers. This poem also emphasizes the significance of borders and walls between countries and communities. Nowadays, when the wall serves as a barrier for many people, it is also beneficial to respect the neighbor’s private life.
Since humanity builds and destroys borders, the “Mending Wall” analyzes paradoxes in life and mankind, including conflicts inside each individual. It also looks at the significance of borders in human society since the wall’s repair serves to divide and join the two neighbors, which is a paradox. The wall also balances their opposing philosophical views on boundaries: “Good fences are good neighbors” as opposed to “There is something that doesn’t like walls” (Frost, 1934). Seasons as repeating life cycles are also explored in “Mending Wall”, which contrasts these cycles with physical and verbal parallelism as men walk along the wall, each to the side, and their dialogue is left out.
References
Frost, R. (1934). Mending wall. Enoch Pratt Free Library.