POEMS GRADE 10 FAL

Mending Wall – Robert Frost

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 outdoor 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 offense.
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.'
 POEMS GRADE 10 FAL

Notes:

A stone wall separates the speaker’s property from his neighbor’s. In spring, the
two meet to walk the wall and jointly make repairs. The speaker sees no reason
for the wall to be kept—there are no cows to be contained, just apple and pine
trees. He does not believe in walls for the sake of walls. The neighbor resorts
to an old adage: “Good fences make good neighbors.” The speaker remains
unconvinced and mischievously presses the neighbor to look beyond the old-
fashioned folly of such reasoning. His neighbor will not be swayed. The speaker
envisions his neighbor as a holdover from a justifiably outmoded era, a living
example of a dark-age mentality. But the neighbor simply repeats the adage.

The image at the heart of “Mending Wall” is arresting: two men meeting on
terms of civility and neighborliness to build a barrier between them. They do so
out of tradition, out of habit. Yet the very earth conspires against them and
makes their task Sisyphean. Sisyphus, you may recall, is the figure in Greek
mythology condemned perpetually to push a boulder up a hill, only to have the
boulder roll down again. These men push boulders back on top of the wall; yet
just as inevitably, whether at the hand of hunters or sprites, or the frost and
thaw of nature’s invisible hand, the boulders tumble down again. Still, the
neighbors persist. The poem, thus, seems to meditate conventionally on three
grand themes: barrier-building (segregation, in the broadest sense of the word),
the doomed nature of this enterprise, and our persistence in this activity
regardless.

But, as we so often see when we look closely at Frost’s best poems, what begins
in folksy straightforwardness ends in complex ambiguity. The speaker would
have us believe that there are two types of people: those who stubbornly insist
on building superfluous walls (with clichés as their justification) and those who
would dispense with this practice—wall-builders and wall-breakers. But are
these impulses so easily separable? And what does the poem really say about
the necessity of boundaries?

The speaker may scorn his neighbor’s obstinate wall-building, may observe the
activity with humorous detachment, but he himself goes to the wall at all times
of the year to mend the damage done by hunters; it is the speaker who contacts
the neighbor at wall-mending time to set the annual appointment. Which person,
then, is the real wall-builder? The speaker says he sees no need for a wall here,
but this implies that there may be a need for a wall elsewhere— “where there
are cows,” for example. Yet the speaker must derive something, some use, some
satisfaction, out of the exercise of wall-building, or why would he initiate it
 POEMS GRADE 10 FAL

here? There is something in him that does love a wall, or at least the act of
making a wall.

This wall-building act seems ancient, for it is described in ritual terms. It

involves “spells” to counteract the “elves,” and the neighbor appears a Stone-
Age savage while he hoists and transports a boulder. Well, wall-
building is ancient and enduring—the building of the first walls, both literal and
figurative, marked the very foundation of society. Unless you are an absolute
anarchist and do not mind livestock munching your lettuce, you probably
recognize the need for literal boundaries. Figuratively, rules and laws are walls;
justice is the process of wall-mending. The ritual of wall maintenance highlights
the dual and complementary nature of human society: The rights of the
individual (property boundaries, proper boundaries) are affirmed through the
affirmation of other individuals’ rights. And it demonstrates another benefit of
community; for this communal act, this civic “game,” offers a good excuse for
the speaker to interact with his neighbor. Wall-building is social, both in the
sense of “societal” and “sociable.” What seems an act of anti-social self-
confinement can, thus, ironically, be interpreted as a great social gesture.
Perhaps the speaker does believe that good fences make good neighbors— for
again, it is he who initiates the wall-mending.

Of course, a little bit of mutual trust, communication, and goodwill would seem
to achieve the same purpose between well-disposed neighbors—at least where
there are no cows. And the poem says it twice: “something there is that does
not love a wall.” There is some intent and value in wall-breaking, and there is
some powerful tendency toward this destruction. Can it be simply that wall-
breaking creates the conditions that facilitate wall-building? Are the
groundswells a call to community- building—nature’s nudge toward concerted
action? Or are they benevolent forces urging the demolition of traditional,
small-minded boundaries? The poem does not resolve this question, and the
narrator, who speaks for the groundswells but acts as a fence-builder, remains a
contradiction.

Many of Frost’s poems can be reasonably interpreted as commenting on the

creative process; “Mending Wall” is no exception. On the basic level, we can find
here a discussion of the construction-disruption duality of creativity. Creation
is a positive act—a mending or a building. Even the most destructive-seeming
creativity results in a change, the building of some new state of being: If you
tear down an edifice, you create a new view for the folks living in the house
across the way. Yet creation is also disruptive: If nothing else, it disrupts the
status quo. Stated another way, disruption is creative: It is the impetus that
leads directly, mysteriously (as with the groundswells), to creation. Does the
 POEMS GRADE 10 FAL

stone wall embody this duality? In any case, there is something about “walking
the line”—and building it, mending it, balancing each stone with equal parts skill
and spell—that evokes the mysterious and laborious act of making poetry.

On a level more specific to the author, the question of boundaries and their
worth is directly applicable to Frost’s poetry. Barriers confine, but for some
people they also encourage freedom and productivity by offering challenging
frameworks within which to work. On principle, Frost did not write free verse.
His creative process involved engaging poetic form (the rules, tradition, and
boundaries—the walls—of the poetic world) and making it distinctly his own. By
maintaining the tradition of formal poetry in unique ways, he was simultaneously
a mender and breaker of walls

Questions:

1. Why does the poet say that there is something that doesn’t love, a wall?
2. Why does the poet meet his neighbour beyond the hill at spring?
3. How does the poet and his neighbour mend the gaps in the wall?
4. Why does the poet argue that there is no need of a wall in between his
estate and that of his neighbour?
5. How does the neighbour justify the need for waits or fences?
6. Why does the poet consider the spring season mischievous?
7. What are the contrasting views presented in the poem?
8. Elaborate the idea in the following line in a paragraph:
“Good fences make good neighbours.”
9. Discuss the central idea of the poem.
10. Discuss the significance of the wall in the poem.
 POEMS GRADE 10 FAL

Answers:

1. Why does the poet say that there is something that doesn’t love, a wall?
Answer:
The poet says that there is something that does not love the wall because
nobody sees or hears anybody breaking the wall. But every spring season,
the poet finds the wall is broken. So it is obvious that there is something
that does not love a wall and wants to see it broken. It is this ‘something’
that makes the ground under the wall swell causing the stones of the wall
to fall down on to either side.
2. Why does the poet meet his neighbour beyond the hill at spring?
Answer:
The poet meets his neighbour beyond the hill at spring so that they can
fix one day and walk along the wall to mend it by picking up the fallen
stones and fixing them back.
3. How does the poet and his neighbour mend the gaps in the wall?
Answer:
The poet and his neighbour mend the gaps in the wall by walking along the
wall on either side and picking up the fallen stones and placing them back
on the wall in an effort to mend it.
4. Why does the poet argue that there is no need of a wall in between his
estate and that of his neighbour?
Answer:
The poet argues that there is no need of a wall in between his estate and
that of his neighbour because his area is covered with pine trees and the
poet’s area is full of apple trees. The poet’s apple trees will never go to
his area to eat the cones of his pines.
5. How does the neighbour justify the need for waits or fences?
Answer:
The neighbour justifies the need forwalls offences by saying that good
fences make good neighbours.
6. Why does the poet consider the spring season mischievous?
Answer:
The poet considers the spring season mischievous because it is in that
season gaps are found in the walls. He thinks that Spring Season makes
the frozen ground under the wall expand. Because of this expansion, the
wall gets cracks, making the upper stones of the wall fall down on to the
sides.
7. What are the contrasting views presented in the poem?
 POEMS GRADE 10 FAL

Answer:
The poet has one view but his neighbour has a different view. The poet
thinks there is no need for a fence orwall between neighbours, especially
when the author’s area has apple trees and the neighbour’s area has pine
trees. There is no way that the apple trees will trespass into the
neighbours estate and eat the cones of the pines. But the neighbour
thinks that good fences make good neighbours.
8. Elaborate the idea in the following line in a paragraph:
“Good fences make good neighbours.”
Answer:
Good fences make good neighbours means it is good to have some limits
between neighbours so that their relations will remain healthy at all
times. If there is unlimited freedom between neighbours, trouble will
soon start.
9. The central idea of the poem:
The central idea of the poem is that nature does not like separation and
that is why it tends to destroy the walls. But for healthy relations walls
or fences are necessary. If there are no boundaries between neighbours,
their relation will not last long. Good fences make good neighbours.
10. Symbolic significance of wall in the poem:
The ‘wall’ symbolizes the restrictions between neighbours. Even if you
love your neighbour dearly, you can’t give him unlimited freedom in your
house. Wall symbolizes such boundaries.
 POEMS GRADE 10 FAL

No man is an island – John Donne

No man is an island,
Entire of itself;
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea,

Europe is the less,
As well as if a promontory were:
As well as if a manor of thy friend's
Or of thine own were.

Any man's death diminishes me,

Because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.

Notes:
The speaker opens “For Whom the Bell Tolls/No Man is an Island” with a direct
and memorable statement. “No man is an island,” he asserts. Nobody is
completely isolated from the rest of the world. Every person is a component of
the human race. Donne then shifts into one of his well-known figurative
conceits. He likens the connection between people and the rest of the planet to
that between continent-sized land masses. All of them are “part of the main.”

The notion is continued in the following quatrain. He continues by claiming that

anything the continent lost, from a “promontory” to a “clod” or a “manor,” would
make it less. This is related to people and how each loss or death harms society
as a whole. Because of our interconnectedness, we cannot afford to be careless
with one another’s lives.

Donne builds on the points he established earlier by stating that “thine

friends'” loss is just as important as “yours” in the sestet, the sonnet’s final six
lines. When one person is hurt, everyone is hurt. The poet then addresses
himself and his relationship to “mankind” in the first person of the poem. He
claims that “Each man’s death” makes him less than.
 POEMS GRADE 10 FAL

He is “engaged” in how people function. The final three sentences deal

specifically with death and what it implies when a fresh death occurs. He
represents death with the sound of a church bell. He tells the listener not to
inquire “For whom” it tolls because it “tolls for” you when it rings. It is as if
everyone has passed away whenever somebody dies.

Questions:

1. How does Donne employ metaphorical language to convey the idea that
"No man is an island"?

2. Explore the specific imagery used in the poem to depict the

interconnectedness of humanity.

3. Analyze Donne's use of repetition in certain phrases and how it

contributes to the overall impact of the poem.

4. Discuss the significance of the choice of words in the line "each man's
death diminishes me."

5. Examine the role of figurative language, such as similes or metaphors, in

conveying the poet's message.

6. How does Donne use language to create a sense of unity and shared
experience among individuals?

7. Explore the poetic devices, such as alliteration or assonance, employed by

Donne in "No Man is an Island."

8. Discuss the impact of the poem's rhythmic and sonic qualities on its
overall tone and meaning.

9. Analyze the connotations of specific words or phrases that contribute to

the emotional depth of the poem.

10. How does Donne's use of paradoxical language enhance the complexity of
the poem's central theme?
 POEMS GRADE 10 FAL

Answers:

1. Donne uses the metaphor of an island to convey that individuals are not
isolated entities but interconnected parts of a larger whole, emphasizing
the idea of communal humanity.

2. The imagery in the poem, including phrases like "each is a piece of the
continent," illustrates the interconnectedness of individuals and the
shared human experience.

3. Repetition, such as in the line "No man is an island," serves to emphasize

and reinforce Donne's central message about human interconnectedness.

4. The phrase "each man's death diminishes me" underscores the poet's
belief that every individual's death has a personal impact, highlighting
the shared nature of human existence.

5. Donne employs similes and metaphors, like comparing individuals to "a

clod" and "a part of the main," to vividly illustrate the interconnectedness
he describes.

6. The use of language creates a sense of unity by emphasizing the

collective experiences and emotions that bind individuals together.

7. Poetic devices like alliteration or assonance contribute to the poem's

musicality and help convey its emotional resonance.

8. The rhythmic and sonic qualities of the poem, including its meter and
rhyme, contribute to the overall tone and enhance the impact of Donne's
message.

9. The connotations of words like "island" and "entire" contribute to the

emotional depth of the poem by evoking ideas of isolation and unity.

10. Donne's use of paradoxical language, such as "every man is a piece of the
continent, a part of the main," adds complexity to the poem and highlights
the tension between individuality and interconnectedness.