"Mending Wall"

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews the poem, "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost, and examines how Robert Frost uses the low stone walls, common in the countryside in New England, as a metaphor for the difficulties people may have connecting with each other. It discusses how Frost sees walls as a barrier between people, while his neighbor, who shares the wall with him, disagrees. It also shows how Frost notes that walls come down for destructive reasons and how he was probably influenced by World War I, since the poem was written in 1915.

From the Paper:

"He wants his neighbor to consider why they must maintain this wall between themselves. He points out that there are no cows to keep contained, and that apple trees cannot walk from one farmer's land to another's, but all his neighbor will say about it is "Good fences make good neighbors." So now the reader sees the real wall is a personal one put up by his neighbor, who will do the heavy labor but not discuss the need for it with the other person working beside him, although always on the other side of the wall."

More papers on "Mending Wall":

• Poem Review # 44401 : "The Mending Wall"
• Poem Review # 90950 : "Robert Frost 'Mending wall'"
• Poem Review # 108993 : "Analysis of Robert Frost's "Mending Wall"

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