Mending Wall Notes

Summary

The poem Mending Wall is written by Robert Frost. It is about two neighbors who meet
every spring to repair the stone wall that separates their farms. Each year, the wall gets
damaged during the winter, and they walk along it together, putting back the fallen stones.

The speaker (the poet) starts the poem by saying, “Something there is that doesn’t love a
wall.” He means that nature itself doesn’t want walls between people. The ground freezes
and swells, making the stones fall. Hunters and animals also break the wall. So, nature
keeps destroying the wall, and people keep fixing it.

The speaker thinks the wall is unnecessary. He says his apple orchard and the neighbour’s
pine trees do not mix. So why have a wall between them? He jokes that the wall might be
useful if he had cows, but he doesn’t. He believes people should question why walls are
needed.

However, the neighbour disagrees. He only repeats, “Good fences make good neighbours.”
He believes that a wall helps keep peace and respects boundaries. He doesn’t want to
change or think differently. The speaker even calls him an “old stone savage armed,”
because he behaves like someone from the old days, blindly following tradition.

The speaker feels playful and mischievous in the spring. He wishes he could make the
neighbor see that the wall is not needed. But the neighbor keeps placing the stones silently,
just like every year.

Robert Frost uses the wall as a symbol. It represents the barriers people build between
themselves—sometimes for no good reason. The poet wants us to think: Do we need these
walls in our lives? Or are we keeping people away just because it’s what we’ve always
done?

Short Notes

Q. 1Who helps the speaker mend the wall?

Ans. The speaker and his neighbor mend the wall together.

Q.2 In which season is the wall repaired?

Ans. The wall is repaired in the spring.

Q.3 What does the speaker own in the poem?

Q3. What type of trees does the neighbour own?

Ans. The neighbour owns pine trees.

Q.4 What does the neighbor repeat about fences?

ANS. The neighbour repeats, “Good fences make good neighbours.”

Q.5 Why does nature create gaps in the wall?

Ans. Nature creates gaps to break down barriers that people build.

Q.6 What does the wall symbolize in the poem?

Ans. The wall symbolizes boundaries, separation, and outdated traditions.

Q.7 What is the speaker’s attitude toward the wall?

Ans. The speaker questions the need for the wall and finds it unnecessary.

Q.8 Who repairs the wall in the poem?

Ans. Both the speaker and his neighbor repair the wall together.

Q.9 What season is the wall repaired in?

Ans. The wall is repaired in spring.

Q.10 What does the phrase “old stone savage armed” suggest about the neighbor?

ANS. It suggests that the neighbor is primitive, rigid, and unthinking, clinging to old
traditions.

Q. 11 What does the speaker mean by “Spring is the mischief in me”?

Ans. The speaker feels playful and wants to challenge the logic behind rebuilding the wall.

Essay type questions

1. What is the central idea of the poem Mending Wall? Explain the theme of Mending
Wall. How does the poet present it?

Ans. The central idea of Mending Wall is that human beings often create unnecessary
barriers—both physical and emotional—between themselves and others, due to tradition
or fear, rather than logic or necessity. Robert Frost uses the metaphor of a literal stone wall
to explore broader themes of isolation, communication, tradition, and resistance to
change.

Every spring, two neighbours come together to repair the stone wall that separates their
properties. The speaker questions the need for the wall: “There where it is we do not need
the wall: He is all pine and I am apple orchard.” This line emphasizes that their properties
do not intrude on each other, so the wall serves no real purpose.

Frost also presents nature as a force against division. He writes: “Something there is that
doesn’t love a wall,” a line that opens and returns later in the poem. This mysterious force is
interpreted as nature's will—or perhaps human nature's deeper desire—to break down
barriers.

The theme of tradition versus reason is highlighted through the contrast between the two
characters. The neighbour insists, “Good fences make good neighbours,” while the speaker
sees fences as unnatural separations. Frost uses irony, imagery, and philosophical
reflection to challenge the blind following of outdated customs.

Thus, the poem explores how walls—literal and figurative—are often maintained not out of
need, but because of an inherited belief in separation, even when openness would bring
people closer.

2. Why does the speaker in Mending Wall question the purpose of the wall? Explain
with examples from the poem.

Ans. The speaker questions the purpose of the wall because it seems unnecessary. He
uses logic and observation to challenge the old custom. He points out that their lands don’t
require boundaries: “My apple trees will never get across / And eat the cones under his
pines.” This playful comparison reveals that the wall doesn’t prevent any actual problem—
it’s simply there because it has always been.

The speaker also observes how nature itself seems to oppose the wall. He describes how
“the frozen-ground-swell under it / And spills the upper boulders in the sun,” and how
hunters tear it down while chasing rabbits. These examples reflect how natural forces
break the wall every year, and yet the neighbours rebuild it out of habit, not necessity.

He even reflects, “Before I built a wall I’d ask to know / What I was walling in or walling out,”
showing that he believes in thinking critically before following tradition. The wall, to him, is
symbolic of unquestioned customs that separate people even when no threat exists.

Thus, the speaker’s questioning stems from a desire for openness, logic, and mutual
understanding, rather than maintaining outdated rituals.
3. How does nature challenge the idea of building walls in the poem?

Ans. Nature in Mending Wall plays a significant symbolic and physical role. It is described
as an opposing force to artificial human divisions. The line “Something there is that doesn’t
love a wall” is repeated, suggesting that there is a mysterious, possibly spiritual, natural
force that resists boundaries.

Frost gives examples of how nature breaks the wall. The frost causes the ground to swell,
displacing the stones. He writes: “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.” Animals like rabbits
being chased by dogs also knock down parts of the wall.

These acts symbolize that barriers are unnatural and temporary, and that the natural world
leans toward freedom and connection rather than restriction. Frost uses this imagery to
imply that human efforts to separate themselves from others are contrary to the natural
order of things.

Therefore, nature in the poem challenges the idea of building walls by persistently undoing
what humans construct, both literally and symbolically.

4. Discuss the difference in perspective between the speaker and the neighbor
regarding the wall.

Ans. The poem centers on the contrast in perspectives between two neighbors. The
speaker is thoughtful, modern, and philosophical, while the neighbor is conservative,
silent, and traditional.

The speaker questions the wall’s purpose. He jokes, philosophizes, and suggests mischief:
“Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder / If I could put a notion in his head.” He feels
that the wall represents an outdated tradition and says, “Good fences make good
neighbors” is a phrase that no longer fits their situation.

On the other hand, the neighbour is reserved and unquestioning. He does not entertain the
speaker’s reasoning and simply repeats: “Good fences make good neighbors.” This shows
he values the tradition passed down from his father, even if it no longer has practical use.

The speaker imagines him as an “old stone savage armed,” which shows that he sees the
neighbour as someone who blindly follows old customs without reflection. This highlights
the generational gap and the tension between tradition and change.

Thus, the poem shows how two people can look at the same wall differently—one sees a
barrier to connection, and the other sees a symbol of respect and order.
5. What does the wall symbolize in the poem? How does it relate to human
relationships?

Ans. In Mending Wall, the wall is a central symbol that carries multiple layers of meaning.
Literally, it is a stone barrier separating two farms. Symbolically, it represents boundaries,
emotional distance, tradition, and resistance to change.

For the speaker, the wall is a symbol of unnecessary separation. It stands between two
people who have no reason to be divided. He views it as a barrier that prevents true
friendship or connection. The act of repairing it each spring becomes a ritual that sustains
an outdated belief, not a practical necessity.

For the neighbour, however, the wall symbolizes order, respect, and privacy. He sees it as
something that maintains peace by keeping boundaries clear.

In the broader context of human relationships, the wall reflects the divisions people create
— whether social, cultural, emotional, or psychological. Frost uses the image of the wall to
suggest that such barriers are often inherited rather than questioned, and they keep people
apart when they could be united.

Hence, the wall is not just a structure of stones, but a metaphor for the things we build
between ourselves and others—sometimes without even knowing why.

6. What role does nature play in Mending Wall?

Ans. Nature in the poem is almost like a third character—one that rejects the artificial
separation created by humans. It constantly acts against the wall: “The frozen-ground-
swell under it / And spills the upper boulders in the sun.” This shows how seasonal
changes, especially in winter and spring, disturb the wall’s foundation.

The poet also mentions the work of animals and hunters, who unintentionally destroy parts
of the wall. These repeated breaches show that nature does not recognize the human
concept of ownership or division.

Symbolically, nature represents freedom, unity, and the natural desire for openness. By
undoing the wall each year, nature seems to be saying that boundaries between people are
unnatural and cannot last.

Frost uses nature to support the speaker’s view—that boundaries are not always needed
and are often forced. Nature prefers flow, movement, and connection, rather than rigid
separation.

7. Why does the speaker question the necessity of the wall?

Philosophically, the speaker sees the wall as a symbol of unthinking tradition. He believes
in understanding and communication instead of separation. His questioning—“Before I
built a wall I’d ask to know / What I was walling in or walling out”—reveals a deeper concern
about the consequences of maintaining emotional and social barriers.

The wall is unnecessary, yet the neighbor insists on fixing it. This reflects how people often
cling to habits passed down from previous generations, without asking if they still make
sense.

Thus, the speaker challenges not just a physical structure, but a mindset that resists
change and discourages openness.

8. How does Robert Frost use the idea of tradition in the poem?

Ans. Frost uses the idea of tradition as both a comfort and a constraint. Through the
character of the neighbor, he shows how people follow customs simply because they have
been taught to, not because they understand them.

The neighbour’s repeated line, “Good fences make good neighbors,” is not his own idea, but
a saying from his father. The speaker observes this and notes: “He will not go behind his
father’s saying.” This reveals that the neighbor is unwilling to question inherited beliefs.

Frost contrasts this with the speaker, who wants to examine these traditions critically. The
poem, therefore, becomes a dialogue between two ways of living: one based on
questioning, openness, and reason, and the other on obedience, repetition, and fear of
change.

By showing how tradition can keep people apart, Frost invites readers to reflect on their
own beliefs: Are we holding onto traditions that divide us rather than unite us?