The Mending Wall

ANALYSIS #2: THE MENDING WALL

In the poem, "The Mending Wall" Frost creates a lot of ambiguity in order to leave the poem open for interpretation. Frost's description of every detail in this poem is very interesting, it leaves the reader to decide for themselves what deductions they are to be making of the poem. To begin with, Frost makes literal implications about what the two men are doing. For instance, they are physically putting the stones back, one by one. Their commitment and constant drive shows how persistent these men seem about keeping the wall intact. On the other hand, there are inferences that something deeper is occurring.

One possible meaning being a sharing experience between the two men. We can assume from the beginning that the wall has many forces that keeps it in shambles. For example, "that sends the frozen ground swell under it and spills the upper boulders in the sun." Also, "I have come after them and made repair where they have left not one stone on a stoneÐ'..." The man and his neighbor don't seem to have time for anything else, it seems as though they are constantly making repairs. It is important to note that not only are these man completing a task, but they also are "building" a special bond. If this were not true, the neighbor would never state, "Good fences make good neighbors"

As the man tells his story, we find that even though the two men may be conversing and interacting, there is some distance between them at all times. When the man says, "on a day we meet to walk the line and set the wall between us once again." It seems to show that even though there is a bond, there is also somewhat of a riff between the two. As the poem continues, we see that what they are doing is somewhat of a game. The speaker even states, "Oh, just another kind of outdoor game." The speaker goes on to