Sunday, April 7, 2013
Mending Wall
The speaker
immediately tells us that something is amiss in the countryside.
Something is there that does not like walls. He and his
neighbor must get together every spring to walk the whole length of the
stone wall that separates their properties, and to fix places where the
wall has crumbled.
Then, our speaker begins to question the need for walls. He grows apples and his neighbor grows pine trees. His neighbor says that "good fences make good neighbors." The speaker becomes a bit mischievous in the spring weather, and wonders if he can try to make his neighbor reconsider the wall. His neighbor looks like a menacing caveman as he puts a rock into the wall, and repeats, "Good fences makes good neighbors."
The poem literally says that a stone wall separates the speaker's property from his neighbor's. Every year the wall is damaged from harsh weather and hunters. In the spring, the two neighbors walk the wall and jointly make repairs. Also, the speaker sees no reason for keeping the wall because there are no cows to be contained or anything, only apple and pine trees.
The theme is that you won't get to know a person unless you put down your wall or barrier.
The speaker can be characterized as philosophical, amiable, and unconvinced. The philosophical aspect comes from figurative language and diction such as when the speaker says that "spring is the mischief in [him]" (line 28). The speaker is also amiable for he friendly converses with his neighbor about the necessity of the wall. The speaker remains unconvinced about why the neighbor wants to keep the wall. Lastly, the speaker's tone is one that is yearnful and inquiring for change and an end to the wall.
One auditory observation in the poem is its harmonious and dramatic quality that is created through the device of euphony. Also, a cold and harsh sounding quality is produced through the repetition of stones and boulders. Additionally, there's a cacophonous auditory quality that's produced by the improper grammar visible in line one that says "something there is that doesn't love a wall". It grabs the reader's attention.
The structure of this poem is that it is blank verse with no stanza breaks, obvious end rhymes, or rhyming patterns. The writer's intention with this form is that it sustains the natural speech and conversational quality of the poem. Also, the poem's physical structure and appearance on the paper resembles a solid stone wall which would explain the reason for no breaks.
One of the main literary devices visible in this poem is metaphors and figurative language. Its presence is all throughout the poem from beginning to end. This device functions to display ambiguity and inspire all kinds of interpretations of the text. It also functions as a means of portraying humor, which is discernible when the speaker tells the neighbor "[his] apple trees will never get across and eat the cones under his pines" (lines 25-26).
Another poetic device that's observable all throughout the poem is visual imagery. It produces a beneficial effect by aiding the speaker in elaborating the details of mending the wall. This can be discerned in line two and three because every winter, "the frozen ground-swell spills the upper boulders in the sun" (lines 2-3).
Another perceivable device is diction. There are at least ten lines throughout this poem that noticeably portray the speaker's intentional word choice. Diction functions to develop ambiguity such that is seen in line one. In addition, it provides emphasis in order to draw and focus the reader's attention on a certain concept or idea. This can be distinguished when the speaker states "there where it is we do not need the wall", because it is a main concept discussed (line 23).
Furthermore, symbolism of the wall is another device that is visible mostly in the heart of the poem. This stone wall symbolizes a divide between properties that puts up confinements and boundaries. This symbol develops a theme of barrier-building and segregation. The symbol of this wall also functions to develop the character of the neighbor as having an ancient and old fashioned way of thinking, which is noticeable through words such as "spells" and "elves" and an "old-stone savage".
Finally, irony is a device that's distinguishable in this poem. It is portrayed in several humorous remarks by the speaker, throughout the poem. The irony of the wall is that the speaker and his neighbor rebuild the wall every spring, only to have it broken again next year. Mending the wall is a pointless act because it will inevitably be damaged once again.
Then, our speaker begins to question the need for walls. He grows apples and his neighbor grows pine trees. His neighbor says that "good fences make good neighbors." The speaker becomes a bit mischievous in the spring weather, and wonders if he can try to make his neighbor reconsider the wall. His neighbor looks like a menacing caveman as he puts a rock into the wall, and repeats, "Good fences makes good neighbors."
The poem literally says that a stone wall separates the speaker's property from his neighbor's. Every year the wall is damaged from harsh weather and hunters. In the spring, the two neighbors walk the wall and jointly make repairs. Also, the speaker sees no reason for keeping the wall because there are no cows to be contained or anything, only apple and pine trees.
The theme is that you won't get to know a person unless you put down your wall or barrier.
The speaker can be characterized as philosophical, amiable, and unconvinced. The philosophical aspect comes from figurative language and diction such as when the speaker says that "spring is the mischief in [him]" (line 28). The speaker is also amiable for he friendly converses with his neighbor about the necessity of the wall. The speaker remains unconvinced about why the neighbor wants to keep the wall. Lastly, the speaker's tone is one that is yearnful and inquiring for change and an end to the wall.
One auditory observation in the poem is its harmonious and dramatic quality that is created through the device of euphony. Also, a cold and harsh sounding quality is produced through the repetition of stones and boulders. Additionally, there's a cacophonous auditory quality that's produced by the improper grammar visible in line one that says "something there is that doesn't love a wall". It grabs the reader's attention.
The structure of this poem is that it is blank verse with no stanza breaks, obvious end rhymes, or rhyming patterns. The writer's intention with this form is that it sustains the natural speech and conversational quality of the poem. Also, the poem's physical structure and appearance on the paper resembles a solid stone wall which would explain the reason for no breaks.
One of the main literary devices visible in this poem is metaphors and figurative language. Its presence is all throughout the poem from beginning to end. This device functions to display ambiguity and inspire all kinds of interpretations of the text. It also functions as a means of portraying humor, which is discernible when the speaker tells the neighbor "[his] apple trees will never get across and eat the cones under his pines" (lines 25-26).
Another poetic device that's observable all throughout the poem is visual imagery. It produces a beneficial effect by aiding the speaker in elaborating the details of mending the wall. This can be discerned in line two and three because every winter, "the frozen ground-swell spills the upper boulders in the sun" (lines 2-3).
Another perceivable device is diction. There are at least ten lines throughout this poem that noticeably portray the speaker's intentional word choice. Diction functions to develop ambiguity such that is seen in line one. In addition, it provides emphasis in order to draw and focus the reader's attention on a certain concept or idea. This can be distinguished when the speaker states "there where it is we do not need the wall", because it is a main concept discussed (line 23).
Furthermore, symbolism of the wall is another device that is visible mostly in the heart of the poem. This stone wall symbolizes a divide between properties that puts up confinements and boundaries. This symbol develops a theme of barrier-building and segregation. The symbol of this wall also functions to develop the character of the neighbor as having an ancient and old fashioned way of thinking, which is noticeable through words such as "spells" and "elves" and an "old-stone savage".
Finally, irony is a device that's distinguishable in this poem. It is portrayed in several humorous remarks by the speaker, throughout the poem. The irony of the wall is that the speaker and his neighbor rebuild the wall every spring, only to have it broken again next year. Mending the wall is a pointless act because it will inevitably be damaged once again.
Mending Wall by Robert Frost
Robert Frost
Robert Lee Frost was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and philosophical themes. A popular and often-quoted poet, Frost was honored frequently during his lifetime, receiving four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry.
Early years
Robert Frost was born in San Francisco, California, to journalist William Prescott Frost, Jr., and Isabelle Moodie. His mother was of Scottish descent, and his father descended from Nicholas Frost of Tiverton, Devon, England, who had sailed to New Hampshire in 1634 on the Wolfrana.
Frost's father was a teacher and later an editor of the San Francisco Evening Bulletin (which afterwards merged into the San Francisco Examiner), and an unsuccessful candidate for city tax collector. After his father's death in May 5, 1885, in due time the family moved across the country to Lawrence, Massachusetts under the patronage of (Robert's grandfather) William Frost, Sr., who was an overseer at a New England mill. Frost graduated from Lawrence High School in 1892. Frost's mother joined the Swedenborgian church and had him baptized in it, but he left it as an adult.
Despite his later association with rural life, Frost grew up in the city, and published his first poem in his high school's magazine. He attended Dartmouth College long enough to be accepted into the Theta Delta Chi fraternity. Frost returned home to teach and to work at various jobs including delivering newspapers and factory labor. He did not enjoy these jobs at all, feeling his true calling as a poet.
Nothing Gold Can Stay
Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf,
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day
Nothing gold can stay.
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf,
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day
Nothing gold can stay.
-Robert Frost
Summary of the poem.
In the poem the speaker refers to Nature's beauty which can never
remain.
"Nature's first green is gold
Her hardest hue
to hold"
These lines above somehow represents the spring time when nature is alive and
vibrant. Plants, trees, and flowers thrive and become something of value
to a keen observer. The statement that green is gold almost seems like a
contradiction. However, the speaker is not using the word gold in a
literal sense, but in a figurative way implying that the beauty of
nature is something precious and valuable. Because, of the uncaring and
unyielding seasonal changes, that golden green will not endure as it
succumbs to the unforgiving elements.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf,
The speaker also mentions a flower
that only lasts an hour. Again the speaker reiterates the limited time
nature has to display its beauty.
So Eden sank to grief,
The poem continues describing leaves
that eventually subside comparing them to the fall of Eden, which also
was unable to remain "gold."
So dawn goes down to day
Nothing gold can stay.
Nothing gold can stay.
Finally the poem closes with its final
couplet. The reference
to dawn going down to day may be another emphasis on the cyclical
process that occurs within nature. The final line of the poem seems
strikingly negative and contains no signs of hope.
On the surface, this poem may simply be an observation of
nature's cycle. In the springtime, nature thrives and displays lush
images of life and purity. However, it gradually decays leaf by leaf and
dies.
Frost uses his vivid description of nature as a
metaphor to depict yet another cycle that occurs within our lives.
Frost leaves us a few hints that help us to uncover this other cycle.
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