The Mending Wall

Mending Wall

by Robert Frost

By Jocelyn Goode & Jackelyn Delgadillo

Multiple Choice

What is "figurative language"?

• a comparison to something else in a symbolic way

• a comparison to something else in a literal way

Multiple Select

What is "free verse"?

• poetry that does not have a rhyme scheme

• poety that does have a rhyme scheme

• poetry that does have a regular meter

• poetry that does not have a regular meter

Multiple Choice

What is "theme"?

• the location and time of the story

• the main events that occur in the story

• A moral, truth, or overall lesson in the story

Multiple Choice

What is "tone"?

• The summary of events in a story

• The life lesson or moral learned

• The author's/

  narrator's attitude towards a subject

• How the reader feels after reading

• Born on March 26, 1874

• Died on January 29, 1963

• American poet

• He would often write in blank (free) verse

• His works usually include depictions of nature and man with emotions and thoughts

• Received four Pulitzer Prizes for poetry works

• Most famous works include:

  • The Gift Outright

  • The Road Not Taken

  • Mending Wall

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Robert Lee Frost

- Robert Frost

" Writing free verse is like playing tennis with the net down. " 

Multiple Select

What type of themes are conveyed in Robert Frost's poetry?

• happiness and joy

• depictions of nature

• anger and sadness

• emotions and thoughts

Introducing Mending Wall

Open Ended

From the title, what do you infer the poem will be about?

1. Number the lines (RED)

2. Circle words you don't recognize (YELLOW)

3. Tone and theme (GREEN)

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Annotate the poem

Lines 1-9

What are these lines saying?

• Robert Frost begins the poem by describing his observations in nature.

  • There is something mysterious in nature that does not want walls and destroys them leaving a gap

  • Sometimes it is damaged by hunters who pull down the stones but he later repairs these gaps

Poll

In your opinion, do you think the wall is literal or metaphorical?

• Literal

• Metaphorical

• Both

1. Number the lines (RED)

2. Circle words you don't recognize (YELLOW)

3. Tone and theme (GREEN)

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Annotate the poem

Lines 10-23

What are these lines saying?

• Although no one has seen or heard anyone making these gaps, they do exist when it is time to mend the wall in the spring

• The neighbor and the narrator meet to mend the wall and observe the weird shaped stones scattered on the ground but make sure to keep the wall between each other

  • Because of the peculiar shapes, the stones cannot fit back in the same places and they both believe to need the use of a "spell"

• After handling these stones, the neighbor and the narrator end up with rough fingers and exhaustion

Open Ended

What do you think the gaps symbolize? Or are they simply just gaps?

1. Number the lines (RED)

2. Circle words you don't recognize (YELLOW)

3. Tone and theme (GREEN)

​

Annotate the poem

Lines 24-34

What are these lines saying?

• The narrator tries to tell the neighbor that a wall is not necessary since the type of trees they grow differ and there is no threat to keep them apart

• He tries to convince the neighbor they do not need a wall since there is something in nature that is clearly against it

• However, the neighbor is stubborn and believes that "good fences make good neighbors"

Open Ended

What does "Good fences make good neighbors" mean to you? Do you agree or disagree? Why or why not?

1. Number the lines (RED)

2. Circle words you don't recognize (YELLOW)

3. Tone and theme (GREEN)

​

Annotate the poem

Lines 35-45

What are these lines saying?

• At first the narrator believes a non-human entity is responsible for the gaps in the walls

• But then, he changes his mind to believe it is simply the power of nature working against walls and barriers

• The neighbor seems to get defensive which makes him seem ignorant, however, he does not feel he should go against his father's saying

Open Ended

What is YOUR interpretation of the poem after breaking it down? Are you on the neighbor's side against the wall or the narrator's side in favor of the wall? Explain.

Final Analysis

• The wall acts as a divider of property but also as a metaphorical barrier to friendship and communication

• The barrier represents emotional isolation and loneliness

• It can also represent the need to have boundaries

The meaning behind the wall

The meaning behind the natural world

• The "force" of the natural world that seems to be against the wall represents today's society where man-made barriers are created through discrimination