[730] Mending Wall
Guest poem sent in by Suchitra Kumar <suchi_7@>
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun;
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.
The work of hunters is another thing:
I have come after them and made repair
Where they have left not one stone on 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.
I let my neighbor 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.
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!"
We wear our fingers rough with handling them.
Oh, just another kind of outdoor game,
One on a side. It comes to little more:
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 neighbors."
Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head:
"Why do they make good neighbors? Isn't it
Where there are cows? But here there are no 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.
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.
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 neighbors."
-- Robert Frost.
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(From the"North of Boston" collection)
[Background]
The Robert Frost Farm is in Derry, NH about an hour from Boston. It was here
that Frost used to repair an old wall with his neighbor Napoleon Guay, who
liked to say, "Good fences make good neighbors."
[Comments]
Am sending in this poem after being astonished that there are only four
poems of Robert Frost on minstrels!
Robert Frost is a favourite of mine for the air of mystery and
(almost) melancholy that surrounds his poetry. I read "Mending Wall" when I
was at school and did not understand most of it. But I liked the line
"Something there is that does not love a wall" - it sounded so strange and
beautiful.
Now I like the poem for its "mischievous" manner - its as if Frost is making
fun of both his neighbour and the reader. His neighbour is shown to be a
conservative (ignorant?) farmer who does things in a certain way *because
they have always been done that way*. The lines "If I could put a notion in
his head", and the reference to "elves" show the playful thoughts of Frost.
At the same time he seems to be saying that the same wall that keeps them
apart also brings them together. Though he mocks his neighbour ("he moves
in darkness"), I also think Frost has a deep affection for him. Similarly
all of Frost's poems show a love for us readers, as if he likes to indulge
us our tendency to discover what a poem *really means*.
Critiques of "Mending Wall" abound on the Internet. Some suggest that the
poem represents man's quest to connect with nature, and mankind itself - the
walls that separate people,etc. But I think all Frost's poems are best
enjoyed without interpretation. I like the simple language and the way it
can be read on a surface level with hints of deeper, perhaps darker meanings
hiding around the corner. It seems so much more fun that way.
{Favourite, chuckle-worthy lines]
"To each the boulders that have fallen to each.
And some are loaves and some so nearly balls"
"My apple trees will never get across
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him."
[Critique]
There's are lengthy critiques of "Mending Wall" at
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/frost/wall.htm
[Biographies]
http://www.bartleby.com/65/fr/Frost-Ro.html
http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/8/0,5716,36168+1+35504,00.html
- Suchitra
From: "Kimbol Soques" <kimbol.soques@>
my favorite lines come just after the "some are loaves and
some so nearly balls" line --
We have to use a spell to make them balance:
"Stay where you are until our backs are turned!"
doesn't everyone do that with piles of stuff?
but metaphysically speaking
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.
i use not only in handling relationships but even in doing
systems administration security :D.
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Kimbol Soques Net:
kimbol@
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From: "TRACY SIZEMORE" <alisotm@>
I enjoy this Frost poem. I mostly think of his poems as delving too deep
into nature and thinking too hard. Departmental and The Road Not Taken
are two examples of this. You can see his analysis, his thoughts slowing
him down in life, he compares man and nature too much, and personally, I
think Frost as a man was too meloncholy.
Mendind Wall I can relate too. It is a good poem, one that in my view is
not too meloncohly and isn't dwelling on some simple issue. My favorite
line in Mending Wall is the "Good fences make good neighbors."
since I can relate to it. A have good neighbors, we have good fences, it
brings people together, yet seperates them. I see Frost putting into
words a simple feeling of neighbors and slight thoughts or questions on
fences.
From: Jenber24@
Thank you for your help on finding criticisms on this poem. It isnt one of
Frost's most popular so it helped that you specifically had the link. Keep up
the good work.
From: conrad josephs <marlow@>
what a lovely idea, this site.
Along with "Birches", this must be one of Frost's better poems, being
metaphysical and yet evocative of a task I have done myself more than
once. Spring is definitely the mischief in me, and I wonder, sometimes,
who is right? Given my background I must side with the speaker, and I
hope I have avoided building walls without knowing "What I was walling
in or walling out," -- my own weak preceptions and prejudices on the
inside and the whole magic of the universe on the outside."There are
only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle."- Albert Einstein.
Nonetheless, does that stone age neighbour have a point? Can we be
ourselves without barriers? After all, as Frost said in another poem,
"Men work together, I told him from the heart/Whether they work together
or apart."
From: Jennifer Toal <jennifer.toal@>
I have recently sought the words of this poem in its entirity. I learned
it at school but couldn't remember all of the poem. I live in N.Ireland
and one of my favourite places is the Mourne mountains, not far from where
I live. Each time I visit and marvel at the old stone walls, still built
and repaired with rocks and boulders, this poem comes to mind. I can
visualise Frost's two characters building together with their different
thoughts. This poem holds a s[ecial place in my heart. I studied English
for my B.A (hons) degree at the University of Ulster and pondered over
many poems and authors. This must be my favourite!
--
Using M2, Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/m2/
From: HeartBreakerHuN@
When i first read this poem a couple months ago in the beginning of my
senior year in high school i felt an instant connection to it. My english
teacher, Mr. Griffin, asked the students of my AO English class to write an
assignment on Mending Wall. One of the questions that we needed to answer was "What is
that 'something' that Frost writes about?"
I came back the following day, volunteered to share my answer with
everyone in my class, and stood in front of my class while reading the poem and
describing what i thought the meaning of the poem was. At the end, i realized that
"something" is a person's emotions. Nobody likes getting hurt and even though
people know that it is inevitable in life they still keep building walls
around themselves and their hearts to protect themselves from emotional harm.
Emotions on the other hand do not like our self-constructed walls and try their
best to tear them down because like everything and everyone else emotions just
want to be free.
I fell in love with this poem because every time i read it i could relate
to it. My teacher was impressed by my analyzation and i was extremely proud
of myself as well.
~Anna S.
From: Pat.McVerry@ Tue Feb 8 13:55:56 2005
I recall "Mending Wall" being very popular in the 1950-60's as directed
at the Berlin Wall. While the theme was not consistent with
restrictions on freedom many of the passages were relevant out of
context. My favorite line is "That sends the frozen-ground-swell under
it" as it points to Nature's inclination to disorder (entropy).
From: Rimrocker1120@
this poem isnt one of his best...although they all suck and are hard to
understand im glad he isnt around to write anymore stupid poems
From: "Zhang Qin" <zqin@>
this poem is so lovely.its like decyphering a code.but with such emotions
and words that are so beautiful, so delicate.Every word is set there with a
purpose , and carefully chosen .What does the line about hunters and rabbits
do? Does it represent something? i'm doing a presentation about Mending
Walls. i'd like to share thoughts more.its a perfect idea to make this web
site.
From: Onefaithministry@
Activity 3=E2=80'Class Discussions: Mending Wall
1. Review =E2=80=9CMending Wall.=E2=80=9D
2. In the Mending Wall forum discuss the following:
1. How does the poem speak to the issue of community and individualism?
2. Which character supports which position?
3. Name a few significant walls that exist in our culture. Should
these walls be removed?
4. How should we, as Christians, respond to these walls?
3. Use your Online Journal entries to help fuel your discussion.
I believe in the beginning when he said something there does not love a wall
he was referring to the animals that needed to get by or to the other side
of the fence they dug under the fence or even chewed the fence and made big
enough spaces for two of them to pass through there, and then he mentioned=20the
hunters but preferred to stay on the subject of the fence and the defenseless
animals.
Then he gets into talking about he and his neighbor I imagine Denace the
menace or Clifford big red dog. The characters that always tend to live next to
children who make messes and noises and it=E2=80=99s always an elderly couple. They
end up butting heads and in that case the put up the fence to keep out the
dogs and children but they always tend to sneak to the other side. Everyone
likes to have his/her individual space when living it=E2=80=99s a since of=20privacy that
you know you are safe in your house. I have one nosey neighbor even on the=20day
I moved in she came over to my house nosing around and continued till I SENT
her on her way, I mean it would have been ok except for the fact you know
when someone comes around snooping to do damage or they mean well. And she=20has
been trouble for me and at first I centered my attention on the things she
did like calling the police when my son knocked the screen out of the window or
when I accidentally burned a tea bag while doing homework the firemen where
upset to find it was just a pot. She is always looking over here in my
windows and she lives way across the street every time I walk out the door =20she is
sitting by the window watching me she is a harassing nuisance and worse she
has numerous times called the police if I left the garbage can out in the front
for 1 day or if my grass was not cut and technically she only does this to
me the cop told me that too because my neighbors have garbage cans out and the
cop told me he tagged there too but she only called for me. Sometimes I
wander when that late 80=E2=80=99s lady will either leave me alone or kick=20the bucket not
to be mean I'm tired of it but I don=E2=80=99t let it get to me only because I am
writing it made me think of the times I did.
I do believe that racism and discrimination should end but we cant change
everyone and we just have to learn to live around foolishness and mind our own
business like I do, I don=E2=80=99t have a social life with the neighbors they don=E2=80=99t
have children to play with my children they are men with wife=E2=80=99s and=20they
prefer to keep to themselves that is the way the houses are were I live and
partially that is good, but I wish sometimes some of my kids friends would=20live
close to us their was a boy here when we came but they moved two years ago=20to
be replaced by a old man so its like living next to crabs I have had a few
run-ins with him too he always bugged me about my business. When he should=20have
stayed to himself. Like why didn=E2=80=99t you mow the whole lawn or some silly
stuff like that, or was mad my kids went to his yard. I am a single mother=20and I
can=E2=80=99t do it all at once, they expect since I live in a rich neighborhood I
should do as they want to. As I said before I spend little to no time outside
except for play and maintenance, and he lives in the back yard in the summer.
which is weird he has a TV in his garage and stays out there for hours. Even
though I am a Christian they have laws against knocking on doors to
evangelize and I want to do this but at the same time there are issues still in my
character that need ironing out. So I could say as Christians we should reflect
the life of Christ but we all know in a moment of despair or trouble the
first thing we do is think flesh first then Jesus, and we don=E2=80=99t do=20it on purpose
our minds are already set up that way. Even though they are mean to me I
either ignore them and walk away or try to be nice but I don=E2=80=99t always answer
like that. I believe the narrater is putting himself as the Protagonist and=20the
other man he described as a pine cone is the antagonist or the hard man who
possibly got on his nerves a few times, he would love to have the neighbor=20in
but the neighbor puts up a wall between them and only he the neighbor can take
down. It was his fathers saying, Good fences make good neighbors. As to say
I do my business and you stay to your own and we will get along as we walk
up and down the fence, say an occasional hi but that is where I draw the line.
Dena