Mending 1141 Flashcards
The poem is written in
Blank verse which loosely follows iambic pentameter with 10 syllables per line with alternating stressed and unstressed syllables at some parts.
How does the structure of the words manipulate the speed/tempo of the poem
The words usually gave 1 to 2 syllables, the shorter words make the poem flow smoothly. He also uses colloquial (informal/casual) and folksy(simple or down to earth) words that you hear from everyday person than an elitist academic.
Which lines contains real speech
Line 1 to 9, line 9 to 11, line 12 to 14 bc it contains four full sentences
The writer writes this poem as if
He’s a friend telling a story
The first line establishes
A mysterious mood about an unknown force that doesn’t love the wall creating a gap in it by pushing the ground upwards and causing the upper rocks to fall.
The word something
Makes the reader question what it could be
‘Even two can pass abreast/side by side’
Allows the reader to visualize how large the gap is, it’s disruptive and can’t be ignored.
Three parties that could have been involved
A hunter who has removed the stones to reveal a rabbit that might have borrowed inside the wall and by doing so the hunter would give their dog a target to catch. This also tells us that the narrator is analytical and also evaluates potential scenarios
In terms of syntax
Frost employs enjambament where a line runs into the next line without any form of ounctuthat signals a break
Example of enjambament
Like repair line 6 and where line 7 which allows the reader to follow the writer’s authentic thought process
How is it valid that we can trust the narrator
Rhymes and punctuation would have made it a curated composition but the coversational poem makes the reader trust the narrator more because he’s just relating his experience and feel like he doesn’t have an agenda
Noone has seen the gaps made line 10
He implies nature works when Noone is watching and also that nature is force beyond human control. He also expresses awe and appreciation for nature
Biblical illusion
There is a time for everything and a season for….. And a time to mend”
Spring is one of nature’s cyclical seasons and a time for rebirth, rebuilding and new beginnings
The word mend
Which is a part of the title of the poem. Mending walls describes the activity that the narrator discusses throughout the piece, he’s not only talking about repairing the wall in literal sense. Mending refers to the idea of repairing human relationship ls and solidifying societal bonds
The phrase walk the line
It’s an idiom meaning there’s a delicate balance between two alternatives such as morality and immorality with the purpose of maintaining a neutral stance usually to follow socie5wl norms and customs rather than taking one side
Metaphor used in some are loves and some are so nearly balls
It compares the boulders/rocks to loaves and balls and this connects the contrast between 2 alternatives, as you think of loave as food and sustenance which is necessary for human survival whereas the ball is an object used in games for leisure which isn’t necessary for human survival . This contrasting objects echoes the contrasting choices in the narrator’s mind which highlights the question if whether the wall is necessary or not
‘stay where you are….. Turned!’
Has a playful teasing tone implying that the stones have a mind of their own but he’s not concerned about this. He also reminisces about childhood and outdoor games evoking nostalgia and suggestion that the wall shouldn’t be taken seriously
He is all pine… I’m an apple orchard
He uses metaphor to compare the attributes of the pine tree and apple tree to the neighbor and himself. A pine tree symbolizes prewfr and serenity and it’s cone is rigid and impenetrable outlasting seasonal shifts outside religious beliefs which apples symbolizes sin and deceit mentioned in the Bible when eve the first woman on earth is deceived by the snake to bite into the apple from a certain tree which God told her not to. The neighbor is wwary of the narrator who could pose a threat therefore he wants to protect his solitude pine trees and property from any imposed threat from the outside world.
This could also be literal device in the sense that there are actual pine and apple trees that form a border between the neighbor and narrator’s properties.
‘Good fences make good neighbors’
Reveals irony behind the whole situation, a good neighbor would be generous and friendly which is opposite to this situation where the fence is also a border that separates you from other people like him and the neighbor.
When the 2 neighbors come to fix this wall together, this indicates that they are trying to resolve differences and forge a bond but they are only coming together to repair a border that is meant to keep them apart.
He usesfence the first time rather than wall, why?
Fences are made of wooden slats and are man made also walls but in this context the stones come from the earth.
Using fence implies that barriers aren’t a matter of circumstances but that they are thoughtfully constructed by humans with the purpose of separating ourselves from each other.
Spring is the mischief in me
Offering an alternative meaning of spring, it not only means rebirth but also troublemaking and Tom foolery since April fools is also in spring.
He’s mischievous because
He wants to tease his neighbor and poke fun at him which is supported by the questions he asks which display mischief and curiosity because he genuinely wants to understand why the neighbor wants a wall in this area.
‘before I built a wall…. Like to give offence’
The narrator asks what he’s walling in or out underscoring two sides of the wall and two purposes :protection from danger outside or trapping something inside.
‘I could say elves to him’
The narrator’s tone is humorous
He wishes to the neighbor would say it himself. The wish conveys the narrator’s desire for warmth and connection with his neighbor.
