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Robert Frost's poem "Mending Wall" is an exposition on the maxim, "Good fences make good neighbors." The poem is about barriers and boundaries. The wall dividing the narrator's property from the neighbors is a metaphor for the boundaries people establish in their personal lives. A good fence ensures privacy, although too good of a wall between neighbors also prevents intimacy and friendship from developing. Frost uses a healthy dose of humor and sarcasm in the poem, such as when the narrator states, "My apple trees will never get across / And eat the cones under his pines." In other words, it's the narrator who has apple trees yet the neighbor is worried about erecting a strong barrier between their properties.
Each spring after winter wreaks havoc on the wall, the two neighbors playfully bicker about the importance of the wall. The narrator does not mind if there are gaps in the wall or if the wall is unfinished but the neighbor insists "Good fences make good neighbors." The narrator longs for more fluid boundaries, whereas the old neighbor prefers a more rigid separation.
When incorporating Robert Frost's poem into a lesson with young adults, educators can discuss both theme and poetic devices. The poem can become a springboard for discussion about privacy, personal boundaries, land ownership, and cultural differences regarding privacy. Students can share their own views over how strong the walls are between them and their friends or family members. The discussion may be especially fruitful in diverse classrooms, where students will have vastly different points-of-view and experiences regarding walls, neighbors, and privacy.
"Mending Wall" can also be studied as a poem, to analyze its literary devices. Metaphor is the main lesson to be learned from "Mending Wall," although Frost's free verse style can help students understand different forms of poetry too. Frost's use of diction and humor are unique, as the narrator speculates as to the relevance of the saying "Good fences make good neighbors." Inspired by Robert Frost, young adults may be asked to write their own poems that focus on cultural maxims or specific social norms.
Robert Frost's New England Poetics Of Isolation And Community In Humanity's State Of Nature "Something there is that doesn't love a wall," reads the first line of Robert Frost's classic poem, "Mending Wall." The narrative of Frost's most famous poem depicts two farmers, one "all" pine and the other apple orchard," who are engaged in the almost ritualistic action of summer fence mending amongst New England farmers. However, the apple farmer
Figurative Language in Robert Frost's Poetryand "The Metamorphosis" Robert Frost is one poet that always utilizes figurative speech in dramatic ways. By employing the literary techniques of symbolism and personification, Frost is able to craft many poems that make us think and feel about many aspects of life. This paper will examine several examples of Frost's figurative language and how they relate to the overall messages of Frost's poetry. In his famous
Frost's piece "Fire and Ice" is also rich with metaphors about the human condition. Frost begins his piece with "Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice." Again at first glance, frost appears to be discussing the end of the world. However, his next line "From what I've tasted of desire, I'll hold with those who favor fire." Frost appears to be discussing the end of
With a dull, dead throb of syllables that virtually reaches out and grabs the auditor, Owens writes: "If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood / Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, / Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud/of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues, / My friend, you would not tell with / such high zest / to children ardent for some desperate glory, / the
Mowing," and "Mending Wall," by Robert Frost. Specifically, it will establish some points of similarity and difference in the two works. Both "Mowing" and "Mending Wall" celebrate the joy of honest labor, but with two very different results. In "Mowing," the man is satisfied by his labor, but in "Mending Wall," the man is not. ROBERT FROST POEMS The narrator in "Mending Wall" never names himself, but he does not need
Mending Wall" by Robert Frost, and "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," by T.S. Eliot. Specifically, it compares and contraststhe two works and how they are both excellent examples of the dangers of unexamined tradition. Unexamined tradition can be extremely dangerous in life, because it forces individuals to do things the "way they have always been done," rather than forcing them to find new ways to interact. This allows