Please annotate and paraphrase Frost's "Mending Wall". You should focus on tone, diction, and syntax. Keep in mind that you should decipher a specific purpose/theme and how the poet communicates the theme effectively through diction, syntax, and tone.
Your essay is due Monday at the beginning of class. DO NOT RESEARCH FOR YOUR ESSAY. Approach your essay as if it were an AP test question.
Post your responses to the poem by Saturday, January 22nd @ midnight. Your responses should discuss your essay. You must respond to two of your peers by Sunday, January 23rd @ midnight.
In case you lost the poem, here is a copy:
Mending Wall
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 a 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 out-door game,
One on a side. It comes to little more:
There where it is we do not need the wall:
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."
The “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost contains an interesting and controversial theme, of fences making good neighbors. The wall is the main object in the poem that forms the boundary between the two ideas. The wall stands for the boundary line that man has against each other. It is human nature to want privacy. Fences and walls provide that privacy among society that humans find comfort in. The example that the poem gives of this is the neighbor, “He moves in darkness as it seems to me~ Not of woods only and the shade of trees”. The speaker does not see his neighbor just his shadow. Fences also provide the idea of ownership, the separating of an individual’s things from another’s. The poem’s example of separation of property is demonstrated by the two sides of the fence, “He is pine and I am apple orchard”. This ownership gives us our pride.
ReplyDeleteThe tone plays a major key in conveying the controversy of the fence, just as there are two sides there are two tones, playfulness and seriousness. The tone is playful and jokingly, confused as to why nobody wants a fence, the narrator plans on repairing it nonetheless. He calls his neighbor and they make repairs to each of their side of the wall together. They have a hard time trying to get the stones and rocks to go together that the narrator describes the two of them as using, “a spell to make them balance”. He uses the playful saying of, “Stay where you are until our backs are turned!” meaning that the rocks will stay together while the men are looking at them but will fall down as soon as they turn around to move on down the wall. This seems to be a kind of game that the two men are playing with nature. When the neighbor makes the comment of, “Good fences make good neighbors”, the tone changes to become serious. The narrator is contemplating the reason for his neighbor to say such a thing; he can’t seem to find any importance in keeping the fence in which they have between them, they have nothing to contain. The neighbor is so set and stubborn that they still build the wall between them separating them from knowing each other.
Diction is important in conveying the tone throughout the poem. In the playful part of the poem words such as spell, mischief, and game are used. The narrator who realizes the silliness of building fences and finds a joke in everything has apple trees. This is properly used because apples trees are an image of playfulness that the narrator and first part of the poem possess. The second tone of the poem, the tone of serious contemplation uses words such as offence, darkness, savage, and shade. The words have become more dark and serious in order to introduce the change in tone. The neighbor’s possession on his side of the fence are pine trees a more serious and dark kind of tree. They are fuller providing more darkness and shade, in a wooded area, just like the neighbor himself. Through the use of simple but sensual diction the two tones were creatively portrayed in the poem, in the characters, and in the two sides of the wall.
The syntax describes where the thought of the poem is coming from. The ideas and scene is all portrayed though the narrator, so the poem generally follows an iamb, having five stressed syllables per line. Though the use of varying the feet a natural speech and though process is resembled. There is no intentional end rhyme but there are some subtle internal rhymes. The variation of the rhyme and rhythm can be considered blank verse. The playfulness of the poem can be supported also by though the use of assonance. Frost used words such as, hill, ball, and wall, or him, game, and them. Most words are short and simple to convey the way the narrator is simple and sweet which gives him the joking sense.
The theme of the poem "Mending Walls" as communicated by Robert Frost through diction, syntax, and tone is: a person will do what makes sense to hime, for reasons he may choose to keep to himself, even if it does not make sense to others. In the poem, the neighbor is such a man and the poet lookes on and does not understand. the poet does not understand why there needs to be a wall between their two properties when clearly nothing will cross and yet he helps to bulid it. The tone that aids in this conclusion is confusion but acceptance. Words like game, mischief, why, and darkness bring to the reader's mind a picture of one man shaking his head at another's actions, smiling, wondering what he can do to sabatouge his neighbor but knowing that he will not really do it. This lighthearted, just go with it, atttitude keeps the poet helping his neighbor. The arrangment of these words is for the either standard straight forward, as it is when the peot asks a question, or mixed and out of order, as it is in the first line, which also reads:There is something there that doesn't love a wall or something exists that doesnt love a wall. meaning something in the poet. It seems as though this distinction is sentence styles arrises when the poet switches topics.It seems when h discusses the wall the neighbor with the wall the sentence structure is mixed, confusion?, but when he discusses the nieghbor and himself it is more straightforward, acceptance?, maybe because he understands himself better?
ReplyDeleteIn Robert Frost's poem "Mending Wall" he uses diction, tone, and syntax to communicate effective his theme. The theme that he chose for this poem is the dividing line between two differant opinions or ideas. This is why he uses the idea of a wall, like if the wall was dividing the ideas. Robert Frost uses tone in a very uncoventional manner in this poem. He chooses too use a tone of comparision and divding. He presents one idea and instead of expanding on that idea too make it more of an informatative peice he rather just switches ideas and moves quickly to another. This gives the peice and informative tone. He also discusses his theme by using certain diction in his poem. He uses words that are not alike to convey his theme of dividing ideas. One way he does this is he mentions that there is alot of pine trees but i am an apple tree clearly here he is cummunicating a clear distinction of what that differance. Also another comparision that is made by a special choice of words is he says something aabout a loaf of bread and a ball also a clear discrepincy of topics and ideas right there. As far as syntax the is no ryhme scheme to follow for this poem however there are a couple of ryhmes within the poem but only minor ones and also the meter is set at 10 beats per line as i counted thus i figure that this would be called iambic double pentameter. I believe that this doubling of the 5 beats is symbiolic of the two ideas thus that is why there is two differant ideas and the twos sets of five. This is how Ribert Frost uses tone, diction and synttax to communicate his theme.
ReplyDeleteThe message of the poem "Mending Wall", by Robert Frost, is made evident by his use of tone, diction, and syntax. The main message seems to be about a tension caused by contrasting opinions between the speaker and his neighbor. The tone can best be described as tense and hostile. Frost used words such as frozen-ground, mischief, darkness, shade, hiding, gaps, and offence to set this tone throughout the poem. The wall mentioned many times within this poem is most likely a stone wall since it has been constructed with boulders meaning that it is a permanent separation between the two properties. Frost could have made the wall a fence or made of smaller rocks, but instead he chose to use boulders which explained the magnitude of the hostility between the two neighbors. Frost uses lines like "He is all pine and I am apple orchard" to exemplify the conflict that exists between them. Those two things are nothing a like. The speaker in this poem does not even seem to understand why he agrees to build and constantly repair the fence. The line "Good fences make good neighbors" explains how the neighbor feels about the situation. In his opinion, without the fence, there could be no possible way they could live next to each other. Frost also uses lines like "he moves in darkness as it seems to me~" and "like an old-stone savage armed." shows exactly how the speaker thinks of his neighbors views. He sees them as old and outdated. These are the ways the Frost uses syntax, diction, and tone to explain his message.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Ryan:
ReplyDeleteIt was very interesting to me how you found the poem to have a tense and hostile tone. I find that your argument was very convincing, but I think that the poem is uniquely effective in portraying several different tones with more than one tone being accurate.The use of the size of boulders was a good thought as to the degree of hostility that could be between the neighbors. Overall I liked your response I can clearly see your point even though we have differing opinions.
In response to Mark:
ReplyDeleteYour interpretation of the theme was plausible in my mind, I could see how you used the wall as being the symbol of division in the opinions of the two neighbors. I would have liked you to explain more on your argument of the loaf of bread and the ball. I believe that this was an image of the size of rocks that were found out of place, but I would further like to know what you meant by this being an example of using these words as the diction in which the theme of conveying different view points is used in the poem. I learned something new today from you response. That a 10 beat line is known as an iambic double pentameter. thank you for this new attained knowledge.
I believe this poem is showing a distinction between two classes in society. The wall is a symbol that shows the distinction between the middle class and the upper class. “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'.” This line is the perfect example of the seperation between the classes. The apple trees are the upper class and the pine trees symbolize the middle class. The neighbor with the pine trees want to be friends with the man with the apple orchard. The poem makes the gap seem extremely large. The quote shows that the fence symbolizes a small gap that can be easily overcome so a friendship between the middle and the upper class would still be possible. In other sections of the poem it says that the wall was put up to stop this from happening. This shows that the upper class does not want anything to do with the middle class and wants only to be in a place among other upper class residents. What I got from the poem is that thespeaker is on the better side of the wall, part of the upper class, and he is look down on the middle class people who still want to be friends with the upper class residents and their attempts to reconnect with the upper class. One of my primary reasons for believing this was found in the title of the poem, “The Mending Wall.” The distion used throughout the poem just reinforced this idea by the way that Frost portrayed the narrator looking down on the other man. The diction, syntax, and tone of the poem helped in showing a theme of the great gap between the upper class and the middle class.
ReplyDeleteEveryone keeps secrets, in effect, builds up "walls;" similarily, everyone thirsts for the truth. Robert Frost explores this theme in his poem "Mending Wall" through tone, diction, and syntax. Frost uses repition of sounds almost within every line to create a tense tone. There is definitly tension between the person with a secret and the one who is trying to find out what that secret is. A metaphor of a hunter "that would have the rabbit out of hiding to please the yelping dogs" expresses the strained tone of the theme (Frost 8-9). The diction that Frost uses is key to conveying his theme. The line, "And spills the upper boulders in the sun" in conjuction with a later line, "To each the boulders that have fallen to each" paints a picture of each man's secrets coming into the light - from the darkness of winter into the light of Spring (3, 16). Another expample is the repeated line, "Good fences make good neighbors" which in a sense is saying poeple who do not know their neighbors' secrets likely get along with eachother much better (27, 46). The repitition of this diction reinforces Frost's theme. Finally, the syntax of "Mending Wall" is unique making it especially purposeful in conveying a theme of secrets versus the truth. The seeming incoherency of the first and thrity-sixth line invokes in the reader curiosity as a secret invokes in the hearer that same curiosity. Another expample if syntax conveying the theme is where Frost says: "Stay where you are until our backs are turned!" (24). Here, Frost addresses the boulders directly, and since the boulders are a metaphor for secrets it is as if he is saying "Stay hidden!"
ReplyDeleteSo what I got from this poem is that there are two neighbors and there is a wall that separates them. The speaker and his neighbor go around the wall together and fix it. The speaker does not understand why there is a need for a stone wall and questions his neighbor about it. The neighbor replies with “Good fences make good neighbors”. The speaker does not believe that saying and the neighbor will not be converted into thinking that a wall is unnecessary.
ReplyDeleteI think that this stone wall is a metaphor for the contrasting opinions of the two neighbors. Both the speaker and the neighbor will not be swayed in their personal opinions of the wall. The speaker views the wall as being ridiculous and pointless- being as there are no cows: “Isn’t it where there are cows? But here there are no cows”. According to the poem, the neighbor has pine trees and the speaker has an apple orchard: “He is all pine and I am apple orchard”. The poet, Robert Frost uses simple diction to effectively communicate the theme. There is assonance in the poem: ball, wall, thing, line, stone, game, etc. the poet also uses short words, conversational type words. This makes the poem easier to read and allows the lines to flow into each other.
In response to Ryan-
ReplyDeleteI really like how you connected the stone wall to the tense relationship between the neighbors. I don't know if I see their relationship being as tense as you described, but I like how the wall could be a metaphor for their relationship and when they go around mending the wall, it could symbolize that both of them are content with the resentment and they rather mend it than "take it down"..
In response to Grace-
ReplyDeleteGrace, I really liked the thought of the secrets building a wall. Your interpretation of the poem was unique. I just really liked all that you had to say. you had great evidence to back up your claim and it totally made sense to me. I could see the secrets as causing the mood to be tense and the way you put everything made sense.
In response to Alicia-
ReplyDeleteThanks! I thought that you paraphrased the poem well, and you made a good point about how neither neighbor would give on their own opinion on the wall. I'm also glad you talked about the cows in the poem, because I had know idea what to make of the cows or the elves. I kind of disagree with what you said about the flow of the poem. I think that the assonance along with the short, choppy words made it harder to read. There were a couple of places where it seemed like a tongue twister.
In response to Malinda-
ReplyDeleteI thought that your idea of the speaker and the neighber each giving off a different tone was creative, but I don't wholly agree with it. I think that characters in poems or novels or any writing bring with them a certain atmosphere, but not really tone. I think that the combined auras of the characters in one environment and how they react to each other creates one overall tone for the reader. That tone could be very different from what any character involved is really like. Like say someone sets up a story about a little old Grandma and a thief, they each give off a very different vibe to the reader. Put them together and you can get any kind of tone. If the thief attacks the Granny and tries to steal her purse there could be a tone of suspence and fear. On the other hand if the thief tries to steal the granny's purse, but the Grandma suddenly wips out kung fu and sends the theif running away in fear, a whole new humerous tone is created. So in the poem, the neighbor's reserve combined with the speaker's curiosity produces a new tone somewhat different from the characters of both the neighbor and the speaker.
In Robert Frost's poem "Mending Wall" the theme of the poem is the obvious contrast between the views of the neighbors. The speaker can not understand the reason that they keep rebuilding the wall between their farms when there are no cows that need to be separated. However, he is the one that brings up that its Mending Wall Time! because it is familiar to him even though he has thought of why it exists. When confronting the neighbor about the wall, the neighbor responds, "Good fences make good neighbors." The neighbor feels as if there was no way for them to even live next to each other without the wall. The speaker sees the neighbors ways as old and dead as he feels the wall should be. This symbolizes the contrasting ideas of the neighbors and their separate ways. Even nature tries to break the division of the neighbors and the wall. However, the irony can be seen that even thought the thoughts of the neighbors are different, they still come together to repair the wall and in that way mends their relationship. Frost repeatedly uses imagery to describe how the wall is being torn down by "something". It was described as 'love', 'sends', 'spills' and 'makes gaps' (lines 1-4) that makes the wall seem unnatural. Frost's tone throughout the poem seems lighthearted with the use of "'Stay where you are until our backs are turned!'" (line 19) as if the neighbors come together and almost "play" to repair the wall. So, with the lighthearted tone and symbolism, Frost's purpose was easily achieved.
ReplyDeleteFrost's poem is full complex meanings. He begins by personifying the wall "spills the upper boulders in the sun". He personifies the wall because the "wall" resembles a division between the speaker and the neighbor. The analogy of the hunters implies that each year their is a new confrontation but, "no one has seen them made or heard them made..." The neighbor has something against the speaker and he doesn't want to be around him. The neighbor's only response to why they are rebuilding the wall is because "Good fences make good neighbors."
ReplyDeleteThe tone of the speaker is confusion. Throughout the entire poem, he doesn't understand the point in rebuilding the wall. He even tells his neighbor that he won't bother him. He is rejected continuously.
Good fences make good neighbors. In Robert Frost's The Mending Wall, he has a tone of seperation and a hint of betrayal. By using his diction and punctuation, he communicates his theme very effectively.
ReplyDeleteIn using punctuation to seperate his thoughts, he gives the reader the feeling of seperation from the author. His sentences are short and choppy, not continuously flowing. By his use of diction, he keeps things simple. He doesn't use complicated words, prompting readers to look into his work farther, but leaves it out there point blank. He wants his readers to feel seperate, and he accomplishes his theme well.
In response to Xcylar, I like how you said that the neighbors ways were old and dead. Sometimes people are a little too open with their "feelings", overwhelming people that they don't know that well with their lives. Sometimes we need walls to keep certain people at a distance. And sometimes, that's not such a bad thing.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Kierstyn, I agree with the theme of confusion. The speaker continuously states that he doesn't understand the need for a wall because he's not trying to wall anything in or out. He was always confused as to why these people are always trying to keep him out of their lives, not realizing they were trying to be "good neighbors".
In response to alex:
ReplyDeleteI agree that the wall is the separation of social classes. However, I think that you have the classes switched. The speaker is the one that owns the apple tree and is wanting to be friends with his neighbor. I think that Frost is portraying another side of the upper class than what is usually shown. The person in the higher class is trying to be friends with the lower class, but the poor do not want anything to do with him and they have to put an effort into avoiding the opposite class.
In response to Brittany:
ReplyDeleteI agree that Frost's use of simple diction and choppy sentences helped to accomplish his theme of separation. But I think that he also uses his analogies, metaphors, and similes to show the complexity of the situation also. No one can really explain why social classes are so distinct from each other and his analogies are not completely clear which may show the complexity of the reason behind class distinction.
In response to Allicia- I defaintly agree with what you think the point of the poem is. It is clearly indicated that there is two differant opinion concerning the topics of the fence. He shows this again and again just like in some of the examples that Allicia mentioned like the apple trees and pine trees and the conflicted opinions on whether or not it is needed to have a stone wall or is it just fine for the fence to be normal. They both have a few of the same ideas but none of these go along enough together to show a common theme.
ReplyDeleteIn REsponse to Melinda I agree with alot of Melindas points that were made her point about the tone being that of dividing and comparision and how it comes with a playfulness that can be seen through how it is presented to the reader. I also agree with the diction she discusses. How one neighbor has a very playful and fun diction while the other neighbor does not have such a diction that is presented. Also I agree with her views on syntax about how there is no rhymeing but i think that there is a double pentameter rather then just a pentimeter when I was discussing meter because i counted ten beats not five.
In response to Ryan:
ReplyDeleteI think it is odd that you found the poem to seem grim however you have a valid argument. I found with words like "an outdoor game", I don't find it so grim and but more of a playful bantering between the neighbors.
In response to Kierstyn:
I completely agree how the wall was being personified in keeping the neighbors being separated. I find it interesting that you think the tone is confusion because even thought the speaker wonders why he built the wall, he still was the first to bring it up that it needed to be done.
This says Molly but it is really erin. my mom is molly.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Brittany:
I think ou are correct about when you said that Frost's use of simple diction impells the reader to look further to find deeper meaning. when words are coplicated, often we find ourselves simply looking for the dictionary definition instead of looking for double entrende.
In response to Kierstyn:
the neighbor leaces an aire of mystery by only responding with "good fences make good neighbors." he leave the reader wondering if perhaps something else is going on, like you said, the poet could be being rejected or the neighbor could just be very private. either way, his responsecauses the reader to look twice for a deper meaning
In the poem, "Mending Wall", Robert frost uses tone diction and syntax to reveal his purpose that people build up emotional walls in their lives, even if they do not mean to. Throughout the poem, the speaker mentions the wall as something he has always had to deal with, as if he was taught to build one. Event he syntax of each line one after another with out any spaces shows that the speaker continuously repairs the wall. The syntax of the first sentence, "Something is there that doesn't love a wall," is said in an awkward way so the reader is shown the confusion of the speaker. This syntax plays into tone of confusion. The speaker is confused about why he has to make the wall and that is shown when he asks his neighbor, "Why do they [walls] make good neighbors?" He calls himself an apple orchard, someone that stretches out and is curious and stretches his mind out to wonder why they have the wall. But he says his neighbor is, "all pine," confined to one area and content with only what he knows. The comparison between him and his neighbor, however, are not brought up in conversation. While his neighbor is building the physical wall to separate the two, the speaker builds up a wall of his own by keeping his questions to himself and hiding his thoughts. The line, "Good fences make good neighbors," implies the opinion that with out the chance to have any conflict, the two will get along fine. And both neighbors follow this advise. The "wall" is a representation of the boundary of what both neighbors have always known. Within that boundary they feel comfortable and unwilling to change what they have learned to do because they are scarred of conflict. Therefore, "Good fences make good neighbors," and that is why both neighbors build up their own wall.
ReplyDeleteIn the Mending Wall Robert Frost describes the completely different perspectives of two men. The first man does not see a need to build a fence between him and his neighbor. In his humble opinion the only purpose for having a fence is to keep the cows in an enclosed area; since neither of them has cattle the first neighbor believes that setting up a fence is pointless and will create a divide in a relationship. However the second neighbor is of the opinion “good fences make good neighbors.” This man does not seek out a friendship with his neighbor and find comfort in walls of solitude. This scenario can be taken both literally and metaphysically. On one hand it is a simple story yet it can also be an allegory towards life. The Mending Wall states that there are two types of people in life; those who live with an open attitude and those who hide behind their man made walls. The Mending Wall encourages the reader to break the barriers of insecurity and pride in order to live an open and enjoyable life in the company of others.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Kierstyn: I strongly agree with your points on how Frost uses personification via the trees and the wall. I also appreciate how you said that the tone of the neighbor was one of confusion. I have never thought of the tone like that before and it made me see the poem with a new perspective.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Brittany: I agree with your statement of how Frost uses simple diction for a reason. I appreciate Frost's use of diction because instead of defining words more time can be spent analyzing the deeper meaning of the poem.
Robert Frost's poem "Mending Wall," employs particular diction, syntax, and tone to state his message promoting moral realativism. His simple diction is conversational and the tone is easy going: the hypotheses and wonderings of the man who does not understand the different functions of the wall persuade the reader to look at him in a more positive light due to the relaxed tone. If the language was utilized differently, the speaker in the poem may appear aggressively free-spirited. All Robert Frost is really trying to say is that all of the "walls" we put up in our lives because we are different from each other and our ways are different keep us from really living. His neighbor, in replying "good walls make good friends," symbolizes those who hang on a society that trys not to step on eachother's toes by keeping to themselvs and their own beliefs. It's repetition once again in the poem that emphasizes the importance of that phrase: it stands for the tradition of society that does not ask questions, people simply live and let others live their way and everyone goes through life "happy."
ReplyDeleteThe poem "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost uses tone, diction, and syntax to relay the theme of separation and secrets between two neighbors. The tone of this poem is one of misunderstanding and tension as a result of the wall. The author uses lines such as; "I wonder", or "Why do they make good neighbors?", and "What was I walling in or out," to show the misunderstanding as to why they must have a wall between their houses. The line, "He moves in darkness as it seems to me~" shows the tension or wonder behind the wall. The diction Frost uses, such as mischief, offence, savage, and darkness also relate to the theme and tone of the poem, which allows the reader to picture a confused, curious neighbor wondering how he can uncover his neighbor's secrets. The word "boulder" is used as a metaphor of secrets. The boulder shows a mass amount of secrets trying to be hidden by a wall. The neighbor does not understand the reason to the wall by stating "He is all pine and i am apple orchard.". His misunderstanding is then answered by the line,"Good fences make good neighbors." emphasizing the fact that the less he knows about his neighbor the better off they will get along. It is through Frost's use of tone, diction, and syntax that the theme of this poem is portrayed.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Rachel. I really like your analysis of the line "Good fences make good neighbors". I never thought of it as a social tradition, but i like the idea. I do however disagree with your idea that the tone is relaxed. I don't believe the tone is harsh by any means, but i think the author is confused and somewhat perturbed by his neighbors secretive nature.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Kierstyn. I like how you looked at the neighbor as having a problem with the speaker. I only thought that he was trying to hide his life from him, instead of actually having a problem with him. Now that you said that i can see how the neighbor avoided telling the speaker he disliked him by only answering "Good fences make good neighbors." It's a very creative way to keep the speaker out of the loop.
In response to Brittany: I agree with many of your points. Separation was a major aspect of this poem and I liked how you mentioned the betrayal. I did not pick up on that when I read it but I completely agree with that. I also agree that the simplicity of this poem made it clear for the reader to comprehend the meaning, however, the simplicity itself also may have made the meaning of this poem complex at the same time.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Erin: When I first read your response, I wasn't sure whether I would agree with it. However, after reading through the poem another time, I found that many of the things you brought up to be very good points. Your response helped me gain a better understanding of the poem by seeing it in a completely different way.
the meaning behind the poem "Mending Wall" is simply tradition verses non tradition. the neighbor in the poem symbolizes the meaning of tradition and the speaker symbolizes changing the traditoin or letting the old traditions slip away. the tradition is that every spring the neighbors that are seperated by fences meet up and walk along the entire fence to see the repairs they need to make to the fence after the winter weather.but the speaker in the poem says that there is no need to mend the wall if it is not really seperating anything and that the wall has no actual function. this poem can also show that as the time goes on the generations become more and more careless. they don't value the same things and realize he things they have. i also think that the building of the wall is a way for the neighbors to keep certian things private. there is no referance to age in this poem but we can assume thath the speaker is a younger man and the neighbor is an older man but not elderly .
ReplyDeleteno matter how long or how much the speaker tries to convince his neighbor to just let the wall be, he will never change hos mind. the speaker wanting to let the wall just fall apart over time is what happens to traditions. eventually they all do become nonexisten. and the neighbor wanting to preserve the wall is the older generations trying to keep the traditions alive.
in response to alex:
ReplyDeletei totaly agree that the poem is also about speratin of classes. the examples you used suppported you veiw well. i think that it is a good reason for the wall but i feel that if they were really that seperated by class then they wouldn't be on speaking terms.
in response to kierstyn:
i think that the nieghbor could really have a problem with the speaker but i think you could have taken it one step further and made a suggestion as to what the problem could have been.
In response to Kierstyn: I like how you showed that the wall was being personified, I did not notice that, but now I can see it. I agree that the wall was dividing the two neighbors. You commented that the speaker had a tone of confusion, I agree with you and see where you derived that from.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Brittany: I did not notice the punctuation in the poem and how it was used to aid in revealing the theme. I also like how you explained that Frost wrote the poem to make the readers feel seperated by the use of diction and syntax.
When writing "Mending Wall", Robert Frost uses literary devices such as diction, syntax, and tone to communicate his theme/purpose for writing the poem to the reader. The theme of frustrated and unhappy misunderstanding and secretiveness is uncovered as the reader digs deeper using the literary devices. In this case, Frost also intertwines the three devices to contribute to his purpose as well.
ReplyDeleteThe first of the three Frost uses is diction. Words such as gaps, spills, hiding, and yelping help develop the unhappy nature of the piece. The narrator is unhappy that his neighbor feels the need to keep secrets to have a good relationship with him. He wants there to be no wall between the two of them, and does not understand the need for one on the first place.
The second of the devices is syntax. Partnering with diction, Frost's use of syntax also communicates a feel of frustration. Sentences such as "Stay where you are until our backs are turned!" make me feel like the narrator is beginning to show his feelings of frustration, and is sick of the secretive nature of his neighbor.
The last of the three devices is tone. Through the diction and syntax used, a tone of seriousness is uncovered to the reader. As the style of syntax and diction repeat themselves, the narrator becomes more frustrated, thus displaying the unhappy and serious tone more evidently.
Through all three of the literary devices used, Frost displays an overall theme of secretiveness and misunderstanding to the reader.
In response to Kierstyn: When first reading the poem I didn't look into the personification of the wall at all. After reading your explanation I guess I kind of understand what you're thinking. It makes sense that the wall represents the neighbor's division between each other, but couldn't he have displayed that without personifying the wall?
ReplyDeleteIn response to Sarah: I thought it was interesting how you loooked at the two different men's emotions when reading the poem, I didn't do that. The thing I don't understand is how you think the second guy doesn't want a relationship when he says "Good fences make good relationships"? I just feel like both want a relationship, but in different ways.
To Malinda:
ReplyDeletedo you think that maybe Frost is saying that his neighbor might be hiding something?
to Kierstyn:
ReplyDeletewhat do you think the neighbor has against the speaker?
I'm going to respond to the poem before I read anyone else's response, which probably isn't smart, but here is what I took from the poem.
ReplyDeleteAt first, nothing made sense to me. The wall thing at the beginning through me off, but after re-reading some stuff I came up with this: the poem is about a man who makes fences,and he uses several analogies and stuff with walls and gaps. He thinks fences (or walls) have certain purposes, and shouldn't be used unless there is good reason. I think he puts up a virtual wall with his neighbor, because he doesn't speak his mind to him. But maybe he feels like his neighbor put the wall there in the first place so that he would leave him alone. I think the tone is one of matter of fact, but I feel like the author is a little mentally "different" than other people. Kind of like Flowers for Algernon or whatever that was. Loose comparison, so don't get all fired up and argue with me on it because I won't be able to defend it.
In response to Rachel
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you are saying and you put it verrrry clearly and easy to understand. I took the tone the same way, it just took me a little longer to pick up on. I like the way you described "Good walls make good friends"
Response to Sarah.
Thanks. I definitely did not understand what he meant when he was talking about cows. That cleared things up. =]