In his poem ‘Mending wall’, Robert Frost presents the idea to us of the physical labour involved in repairing a wall, and the significance of this, showing the effect it can have between people. This literal idea also hides a double meaning, presented to us through poetic techniques such as metaphors, imagery, structure and humour. The wall is the paradox of the neighbour’s relationship. It keeps them together but also divides them at the same time. The structure of ‘Mending Wall’ is a long one-stanza poem. It is written in blank verse and contains a narrative-like style, also having a natural speech like quality to it.
This is a very different matter in ‘After Apple Picking’, also by Frost, as the form of the poem is bizarre because it weaves in and out of traditional structure. This wandering structure all
...ows Frost to emphasize the sense of drifting from waking, into a dream- like state, just as the speaker does. Repetition is used as a technique to emphasize the main ideas, such as; ‘good fences make good neighbours’ this represents the idea of society, people can be good friends, but there will always be some kind of barrier between them, ‘walling in’ what they do not wish to share with others.
However, the line ‘something there is that doesn’t love the wall’ is mentioned twice, with different meanings. It refers to the main speakers attitudes towards the wall. The speaker does not ‘love the wall’ and feels it unnecessary to repair it. Whereas the ‘something’ mentioned in the first line refers to nature. This technique contrasts with ‘After Apple Picking’ as there are not lines repeated to emphasiz
a thought, but themes instead.
For example, a sense of having an incomplete life, with tasks unfulfilled ‘There’s a barrel I didn’t feel’, ultimately representing regret. Labour functions as a tool for self- analysis and Discovery is Frost’s poetry, and therefore very significant in his poetry. ‘work’ allows his speakers to understand themselves and the world around them through nature; ‘we keep the wall between us as we go’. The two men, keeping a respectful distance as they have realised this is the best way fro a harmonious relationship.
Both ‘Mending Wall’ and ‘After Apple Picking’ have a strong theme of mundane labour, this simple chore has deeper significance with hidden meanings. In ‘Mending Wall’, Robert Frost communicates his opinion regarding the ideas of barriers in-between people, communication, and the sense of security people gain from barriers, through the perspective of the speaker in the poem. Frost shows this with poetic techniques such as imagery, figurative language, irony and the significance of the labour involved in building a wall as a symbolic representation of barriers.
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