Mending Wall - Poem Analysis Worksheet

Read the following lines from the poem: "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." What image is being painted in the following lines, and what does it have to do with the title, "Mending Wall"?

• This imagery is describing a stone wall that, over the course of the seasons passing, has "gaps even two can pass abreast." This is the wall from the title, and it must be mended.

• This imagery is describing a wooden fence that sits between the property of two neighbors and "makes gaps that even two can pass abreast." Fixing the wooden fence has "mended" the relationship of the two neighbors.

• This imagery is describing the wall of a house that has been destroyed recently in a winter storm from the "frozen-ground-swell." The wall needs to be mended to stop the cold from getting in, thus becoming a "mending wall."

• This imagery is describing a mountain in the narrator's backyard that "spills the upper boulders in the sun." The neighbor views the mountain as being like a "wall" between him and the rest of the world.

Does "wall" have a literal or figurative meaning, or does the poem make use of both in these lines?

• It has a literal meaning, describing a wall that separates the property of the two neighbors.

• It has a figurative meaning, symbolizing a personal rift that exists between the two neighbors.

• It has a literal and figurative meaning; literally, it symbolizes the many boundaries that separate the neighbors and figuratively, it describes a stone wall that exists between the two neighbors.

• It has a literal and figurative meaning; literally, it describes a stone wall that exists between the two neighbors and figuratively, it symbolizes the many boundaries that separate the neighbors.

The neighbor says, "Good fences make good neighbours." What do fences symbolize for the neighbor?

• To the neighbor, fences are an annoyance that create boundaries among people who could otherwise be friends.

• To the neighbor, fences are his favorite way of decorating his own property.

• To the neighbor, fences allow him to maintain the distance he prefers from his neighbor.

• To the neighbor, fences are a useful way to keep the farm animals on his property contained.

How does this passage create imagery? How does it connect to the symbolism of the poem?

• Imagery is created by the depiction of the narrator as an apple tree that is in full bloom for the spring. This connects to the symbolism of the poem because the narrator favors apple trees over pine trees, showing how he only cares about himself.

• Imagery is created by the depictions of a pine tree and an apple tree sitting along the fence, and cones and apples falling from them. This connects to the symbolism of the poem because each neighbor is compared to a different tree, showing the vast difference between them.

• Imagery is not created in this passage. However, the apple tree and pine tree symbolize the farm-like setting that the narrator and his neighbor inhabit.

• Imagery is created through the depiction of a pine tree. This does not significantly connect to the symbolism of the overall poem, which is about fences rather than trees.

What image does this passage paint of the narrator's neighbor? Does he differ from the narrator, and what significance does this play in the poem's symbolism?

• An image is painted of the neighbor as an outgoing, friendly individual, playing around with a "stone grasped firmly" in his hand. This is different from the narrator, who wants to quickly and efficiently finish the work of mending the stone wall. Their differences while mending the wall symbolize the figurative wall that exists between the two neighbors.

• An image is painted of the neighbor as a violent, cruel person, who "moves in darkness." This is much like the narrator, who is similarly unable to see the beauty of the stone wall between their properties. This symbolizes that people often cannot appreciate the beauty and strength of the natural world.

• An image is painted of the neighbor as a serious, gloomy person, compared to the darkness in the "shade of trees." This differs from the narrator, who tries to have fun while mending the wall. Their different approaches to mending the wall show the literal difference in their personalities, creating a figurative wall between them as well.

• An image is painted of the neighbor as a fun-loving, kind person, worthy of being compared to the beautiful "woods" and "trees." This is similar to the narrator, and the two are able to have fun together while mending the wall between their properties. Their similarities show that even though the wall exists between their properties, there is no wall between their ability to form a friendship.

What word or phrase from this opening stanza allows the reader to know that the narrator faces a difficult decision?

• "Yellow wood"

• "Undergrowth"

• "Long I stood"

• "One traveler"

What is the literal and figurative meaning of the narrator's deliberation?

• Literally, the narrator has approached the woods. Figuratively, he must choose which path to walk down.

• Literally, the narrator's choice of paths represents the choices that humans make each day. Figuratively, the narrator is simply someone on a walk who must choose between two walking paths.

• Both literally and figuratively, the narrator represents someone on a walk who has a difficult choice to make about which pathway to walk down.

• Literally, the narrator must choose which of two paths to take a walk down. Figuratively, the two paths represent the narrator's indecision regarding important life choices.

How do the descriptions in these lines shape the image of the diverging roads? How are they similar or different?

• The two roads are very different to look at, with one of them described as "grassy and wanted wear" and the other with "leaves no step had trodden black."

• The two roads are equal, as shown by the description that the people passing through had "worn them really about the same."

• The two roads are very different to walk, as shown by the narrator's assertion that one has a "better claim" than the other.

• The two roads are personified differently, with one characterized as having "leaves no step had trodden black" and the other being "grassy" and "fair."

Consider the phrase "ages and ages." Is this phrase being used literally or figuratively? What effect does this have on the text? "I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference."

• The phrase is being used literally to describe the narrator aging, which will feel like many, many years as the narrator learns to ponder his life choices.

• This phrase is being used literally to describe hundreds of years passing and people in the future pondering why the narrator made the choices he did.

• This phrase is being used figuratively to reflect the narrator growing older and looking back on the choices he made in his life and the effect they had.

• This phrase is being used figuratively to reflect the passage of time and how, one day in the future, the woods will no longer exist and the narrator's choice of which path to take will no longer matter.

How does the description the narrator gives here compare or contrast with the image previously painted of the yellow wood? How does this affect the symbolism in the poem?

• The narrator did not actually take the road less traveled by—in the description of the roads, he initially describes them as "really about the same" regarding how often they have been traveled. This contrasting description symbolizes the skewed view that people often take when looking back on their life choices.

• As the narrator describes here, he did take the path in the "yellow wood" that had been less trod upon. To take the road "less traveled by" symbolizes following your own individual path in life even when it diverges from that of others.

• The initial description of the woods showed that the path the narrator chose to take was an offbeat path that was difficult to traverse, but he downplays that fact in this passage. This affects the symbolism because it shows that taking the road "less traveled by" means to show courage when traveling down a path that does not have a clear walkway.

• The path the narrator took was just the same as the other path, unlike what he describes here. However, this does not significantly affect the symbolism present in the poem.