In the poem “Mending Wall Summary”, the speaker reflects on the age-old tradition of wall-building and its implications on human relationships. Through vivid imagery and thought-provoking metaphors, Frost explores the themes of boundaries, isolation, and the desire for connection. In this article, we will delve into a summary of “Mending Wall,” unraveling the layers of meaning embedded within the poem’s lines. Join us as we navigate the symbolic walls and the deeper messages they convey. Read More Class 10 English Summaries.
Mending Wall Summary
Mending Wall Summary in English
There is something in nature that dislikes a wall. It sends invisible waves under the wall. As a result the upper stones on the wall fall down. It causes big gaps in the wall. The hunters also throw down the entire wall. They do it to get rabbits out of the hiding places under the wall. The dogs tell them where the rabbit is hiding. The wall has to be repaired in spring. The poet informs his neighbour who lives on the other side of the hill.
Both of them jointly reset the wall between them. Each keeps to his own side and walks along the line of the wall. Each one of them picks up the flat or round stones with great difficulty. They balance one above the other. Stones keep falling down again and again since they are irregular in shape. Their fingers perform a rough job. They look like two players playing an outdoor game.
mending wall summary line by line
There is no need to raise the wall. The poet’s apple trees will never get across and eat the cones under his neighbour’s pine trees. However the neighbour says, “Good fences make good neighbours”. The poet doesn’t agree with his neighbour’s views. Through high hearted talk he desires to put one idea in his neighbour’s head. There were no cows to wander into the neighbour’s field and destroy the crop.
mending wall short summary pdf
Moreover, he would like to know what it was that he was walling in or walling out. Whom he would give offence in case there was no wall. There is something in nature that wants the wall pulled down. He is not certain who or what it could be. It could certainly not be elves. The neighbour is bringing stones. The poet wishes that like him his neighbour also was not in favour of raising the wall and mending it every year.
The poet says that his neighbour is moving both in outward darkness (of woods and shades) and inward darkness (of narrow-mindedness). He is still a savage in his ways. He sticks to his ancestral and traditional views.