POETRY Robert Frost

Biography Robert Frost was born in San Francisco in 1874 but after his father died when he was 11 his family moved to New England, on the east coast where his grandparents lived. Here he attended high school where he was honoured as an exceptional student, with a fellow student Elinor White. Recognising that they were both very bright and adored poetry, they began a relationship and ultimately married.

Biography Frost wished to remove the elitism from poetry and he disliked poetry where lines were only meaningful if you had read obscure books. This feeling most likely stems from the fact that, in spite of his intelligence, Frost was a college dropout who came from an unprivileged background. Frost had not settled into college life. He did not take to fraternity life and hated being apart from Elinor.

Biography Frost supported his family through work on various farms and through teaching. In 1912 Frost and his family moved to England, where, with the money he got from selling his farm, he was able to devote himself entirely to writing. His efforts to establish himself and his work were almost immediately successful. Favourable reviews on both sides of the Atlantic resulted in Frost’s reputation as a leading poet. Frost moved back to America in 1915 where, with the money he got from book sales enabled him to buy a farm in New Hampshire. In 1924 he received a Pulitzer Prize in poetry.

Biography During the 1930’s, as he become ever more honoured as a poet, Frost endured a terrible series of family disasters. In 1934 his youngest and best loved child, Marjorie, died a slow death from a fever she contracted while having her first child. In 1938 his wife Elinor died suddenly of a heart attack. And just as he seemed to be pulling things together once more, his son Carol committed suicide in Another daughter, Irma, suffered from mental disorders and was finally institutionalised.

Biography In his work, Frost found the greatest meaning in the natural world. Shunning the modern world of the city, Frost relied upon the natural surroundings of his various farms to provide him with inspiration and symbols. But he always refused to be classified as a nature poet, insisting his poems contained so much more. However, the appeal of Robert Frost to so many people during his lifetime and afterwards, was the connection he allowed them to an almost forgotten world of nature in a modern world of cities and industry.

The Tuft of Flowers The speaker comes to a field to turn the grass another man has cut. Before beginning his work, the speaker looks for the mower but he is already gone. The speaker resigns himself to the fact that he must get on with his work alone, just as the mower had to do. He is left feeling dejected and comes to the conclusion that we are all ultimately alone. However, just as he thinks this a butterfly goes by and distracts him.

The Tuft of Flowers The speaker watches the butterfly and it brings a tuft of flowers to his attention. He realises that the mower did not cut them down because he thought they were beautiful and they gave him great joy. The flowers inspire the speaker and he begins to think differently about his circumstances. The fact that the mower spared the flowers makes him a kindred spirit. He has made a connection with this man even though he has never met him and this changes his opinion on man’s condition. Now he believes men always work together, whether together or apart.

THEMES Nature This poem celebrates the beauty and power of the natural world. The speaker is inspired and delighted by the beauty of the flowers. In a vivid image he describes the flower’s dramatic colours in terms of flames leaping from the ground: “A leaping tongue of bloom”. The mower too had appreciated the beauty of the natural world. He decided to spare the tuft of flowers because the sight of them made him feel good.

THEMES Nature The natural world consoles the speaker, allowing him to get over his gloomy mood. Before spotting the flowers he had been preoccupied with his own thoughts, thinking about “questions that have no reply”. However, once he sees them he suddenly engages with the world around him and his eyes are opened to all the beauty in nature.

THEMES Nature The natural world also acts a guide for the speaker. The butterfly draws the speaker’s attention to the flowers and is ultimately responsible for the speaker overcoming his sad mood. The tuft of flowers acts as a “message from the dawn”, or a signal that others share his appreciation of beauty. The flowers allow the speaker to overcome his loneliness. They teach him the lesson that nobody is truly alone in this world.

THEMES Isolation and Community The speaker’s initial loneliness and isolation leads to a rather depressing conclusion regarding the human condition, stating that all must be alone. As such, he denies the concept of community, of people working together to enrich each other’s lives and suggests we are solitary beings, concerned with only our own lives. However, the discovery of the flowers changes the speaker’s mind.

THEMES Isolation and Community The mower clearly appreciated the beauty of the flowers, as does the speaker. They experience the same joy. These flowers give the speaker a sense of community and shows him how the actions of others have a bearing on our lives. The mower’s decision to spare the flowers has enriched the speaker’s day and allowed him to overcome his loneliness. In the end, he must acknowledge that we cannot operate independently from others and that all “men work together … Whether they work together or apart”.

Questions 1. Describe the speaker’s view of life as expressed in lines 8 – What effect does the appearance of the butterfly have upon the speaker? 3. “I thought of questions that have no reply”. What sort of questions “have no reply”? What sort of mood is the speaker in? 4. Though he is still the only person in the field, why does the speaker say at the end that he “worked no more alone”?

Mending Wall Where is this poem set? Like many of Frost’s poems ‘Mending Wall’ has a rural setting. The speaker is a farmer and each spring repairs gaps in the wall dividing his property from his neighbour’s.

Mending Wall What causes the gaps in the wall? Freezing conditions cause the ground under the wall to expand: “The frozen-ground-swell under it”. When the frost melts in the sun the ground moves again. This process continues throughout the winter and causes the stones that make up the wall to topple: “spills the upper boulders in the sun”. As a result large gaps appear.

Mending Wall How does the speaker feel about those gaps? Though there seems to be a simple scientific explanation for the appearance of these gaps, the speaker presents them as a weird and almost supernatural phenomenon. He claims there is “something”, some mysterious force that dislikes walls. However, these are not the only gaps that appear in the wall. Hunters accompanied by dogs also make gaps. The speaker fixes those gaps as they appear and differentiates between them and the naturally occurring gaps he plans to repair with his neighbour on this spring day.

Mending Wall How are the naturally occurring gaps repaired? The speaker informs the neighbour that the wall is in need of repair: “I let my neighbour know”. The two men arrange to meet and fix the wall: “And on a day we meet to walk the line/And set the wall between us once again”. Though the men work as a team, each remains on his own property, on his own side of the wall: “we keep the wall between us as we go”. It is important that they respect the boundary between their farms.

Mending Wall What does the speaker suggest? They come to a section of farmland where there are no animals, only trees. Apple trees on the speaker’s side and pine trees on the neighbour’s. The speaker suggests that this part of the wall is unnecessary then. “There where it is we do not need the wall”. There are no animals to cross the boundary and cause tension between the farmers.

Mending Wall How does the neighbour react? The neighbour, however, insists on rebuilding the wall even though it is serving no practical purpose in this area. He quotes an old proverb: “Good fences make good neighbours”. He is guided by this old saying and suggests the boundary lines between people and their property should always be clearly defined and respected. This is the only way good relations can be kept on both sides.

Mending Wall What is the speaker’s attitude to this proverb? The fresh spring air makes the speaker feel mischievous: “Spring is the mischief in me”. He considers challenging the neighbour on the wisdom of this proverb: “Why do they make good neighbours?”. He wants to reiterate how foolish it seems to build a wall that is containing nothing.

Mending Wall What is the speaker’s attitude to this proverb? He wants to tell the neighbour that there is a certain force in nature that “doesn’t love” walls and wants to knock them down whenever it can. He’d like to say how this mysterious force might be offended by the building of unnecessary walls. However, the speaker wants the neighbour to acknowledge the existence of this mysterious force himself: “I’d rather he said it for himself”. These mysterious powers remind the speaker of mischievous elves “but it’s not elves exactly”, this “something” that doesn’t love a wall.

Mending Wall What does the speaker think of the neighbour? The neighbour is guided completely by the proverb handed down to him by his father and seems pleased with himself for remembering it. He has no time for the speaker’s objections to building a wall where there is no need. He has not time for the notion of this mysterious “something”, this force in nature that despises walls. He answers the speaker’s objections by repeating the old proverb.

Mending Wall What does the speaker think of the neighbour? According to the speaker, the neighbour moves not only in the physical darkness of the woods where they work but also in a kind of mental darkness: “He moves in darkness as it seems to me,/Not of woods only and the shade of trees”. This darkness is caused by his failure to question the wisdom of the proverb, by his refusal to even attempt to think for himself: “He will not go beyond his father’s saying”

THEMES Boundaries In some ways this is a poem that emphasises the importance of walls and boundaries. It reminds us that people should have clear and defined boundaries between them if we want to live in peace and harmony together. The idea is presented that a failure to respect these boundaries, even when they serve no practical purpose, would lead to chaos. To some degree, the speaker believes in the importance of boundaries – he repairs the damage caused by hunters throughout the winter and when spring arrives he is the one to initiate the process of mending the wall.

THEMES Boundaries It is also important to the neighbour that the wall between the farms be maintained. He is convinced that “Good fences make good neighbours”. Both the speaker and the neighbour respect the concept of boundaries by staying on their own property even as they work together. Yet the speaker also questions the old tradition and the concept of boundaries. His mischievous mood makes him want to point out the silliness of building a wall where there are no animals to contain. He questions the need for boundaries and seems convinced that there is some force or power in nature that despises walls – as if the idea of man made boundaries and restrictions is against nature.

THEMES Boundaries The speaker is quite critical of the neighbour, presenting him as a simple and unthinking character who behaves almost like a caveman: “an old- stone savage”. The speaker’s irritation stems from the neighbour’s refusal to think for himself or questions the idea of boundaries. The neighbour is wither unwilling or unable to engage the speaker in a proper debate, relying instead on the wisdom passed down from his father. The speaker feels the neighbour should learn to think for himself and questions these old sayings and traditions rather than “move in darkness”. ‘Mending Wall’ provides a good insight in Frost’s own personality. He himself suggested “maybe I was both fellows in the poem … a wall builder and a wall toppler. He makes boundaries and he breaks boundaries. That’s man.”

THEMES Nature The speaker also seems in two minds about the cause of the gaps that appear in the wall. In one sense the speakers offers a valid explanation for them suggesting they are the result of frost, a natural process. On the other hand, he suggests they are caused by a strange and invisible “something”, a force that hates walls. This mysterious power, the speaker suggests, is offended by the existence of walls: “And to whom I was like to give offence”. The poem personifies nature as the force “doesn’t love a wall”. Nature is depicted as resisting man’s attempt to tame and control her, to impose order on her wildness with walls, bridges and boundary lines.

THEMES Isolation and Community An important feature of ‘Mending Wall’ is that walls unite as well as divide. The task of the mending the wall brings the two men together. It is described almost as an annual social occasion – “a kind of out-door game”. Every spring then, the maintenance of the wall brings neighbours together and has them working as a team. Their work is a celebration of community and reaffirms that boundaries are needed for that community to function. The wall, therefore, unites the farmers even as it divides their land.

LANGUAGE The poem features plain, everyday language. However, it has a very definite rhythm because it is written in iambic pentameter. The poet makes interesting use of repetition. He repeats the two key phrases: “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall” and “Good fences make good neighbours” to highlight the two competing viewpoints in the poem. The poem also features several memorable images: the ground swelling under the wall, the farmers using a “spell” to keep the rocks balanced, the neighbour moving like a caveman in the darkness of the trees. There is also the playful image of the speaker’s apple trees sneaking onto the neighbour’s land to eat his pine cones.

LC Style Questions 1. ‘Mending Wall’ is often describes as a mysterious poem. How is this sense of mystery created? What words or phrases give the poem a mystical or other worldly atmosphere? 2. Twice the speaker refers to “something” that dislikes walls and “wants them down”. Based on your reading of the poem suggest what this “something” might be. 3. ‘The speaker of the poem is opposed to the building of walls.’ Detail the arguments both in favour of and against this statement. Refer to the poem in your answer.