When it comes to poetry, it is not often that it is studied without reflecting on the famous poet Robert Frost. Robert Frost was a troubled man with a tangled path in life who followed an unexpected path to success. His life was translated into his poetry, always consistent with his roots and his rural lifestyle. “If popularity could be considered the measure of a poet's eminence, Frost would certainly be among the most eminent poets in the English language.” Robert Frost's opinion on society in his poem “Mending Wall” is mixed, but we can see that he considers both his opinion but also that of his neighbor. Society either pushes towards separation or some parts of it allow the possibility of change. Hesitation could be the result of fear, and Frost explores this possibility in “Mending Wall.” Throughout the poem, Frost's use of literary devices such as metaphors, symbolism, and imagery allows us to see that the narrator is struggling with his own beliefs and accepting those of his neighbor. But also his neighbor's obstinacy and ignorance regarding the facts around him. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Frost begins his poem “Mending Wall” with a line that has more meaning behind it than the written words. “There's something that doesn't like the wall” which is then repeated a second time. This is not the only time Frost does this throughout the poem. He also repeats "Good fences make good neighbors" and then ends the poem with this phrase. The repetition of these two lines was a calculated move made by Frost. It matters why Frost chose to do this. This action plan allowed these lines to take root in the public mind. Frost was allowing people to imagine that he was trying to remain impartial about his relationship to the way society should function. That he really wasn't sure whether he believed society should function as a community or as separate units within a community. In reality, however, Frost believed that we should exist together cohesively. “The voice of the poem, belonging to a narrator who is in character, is open and relaxed, yet at the same time internal and meditative; welcomes the reader, involving him at the same time in an enigma that becomes essential to the meaning of the poem." This enigma becomes the reader's enigma making us question whether the wall is really a necessity in our lives and in our society. The narrator is considering this struggle within himself and whether or not his opinions match those of his neighbor. Although the lines above describe both opinions in the discussion of whether or not we should be separated from our neighbor or coexist peacefully and whether or not Frost justified these opinions, there were other parts of "Mending Wall" that obscured Frost's feelings on 'subject. He turned it into an almost comical topic when he personified trees and their ability to move. under his pine trees, I tell him." We can see here the imagery that Frost uses along with personification and, frankly, symbolism as well. The way Frost used imagery, while simplistic, allowed us to imagine an apple tree staggering towards the pine tree and snacking on its pine cones without permission. This is how absolutely absurd the narrator finds the wall he is building. The wall is not something necessary for their survival as farmers, but it is a symbol of his neighbor's stubbornness. “Frost's nature poems make delightful reading for their deft handling ofpoetic devices such as images and personifications. Personification is generally employed to add vitality to descriptions of nature. The Romantic's personifications take the form of short metaphors, while Frost's are almost always extended analogies." Their crops, pine and apple trees, are far enough apart that there would be no way to cross each other's land, unless they grew legs and wondered no further. Frost is implying that his neighbor's ignorance of this fact is what forces him to do this menial work. It could also be that his neighbor is so stuck in his ways that, even considering this logical point about their crops, it doesn't stop him from building the wall. The same can be said of the narrator, even though he understands the absurdity that accompanies the construction of the wall, he doesn't stop either. The narrator's uncertainty is based on his own fear of the unknown, which is actually a possibility that “Good fences make good neighbors.” After a while, Frost's “Mending Wall” takes on a more serious tone. He goes from a happy-go-lucky man who jokes about walking and stealing trees to a more serious man who evaluates the man next to him. The narrator can perceive the importance of the task at hand simply by analyzing the man before him. me,Not only of the woods and the shade of the trees”. This passage is what changes the tone of the poem. Frost's use of imagery here allows us to see the seriousness of this old man doing backbreaking work. It brings a change in the narrator's thoughts. “Eventually the narrator's speculation about what he might not like about a wall turns into a description of the difficulty of repairing the wall and a question about why he and his neighbor met to carry out the task in the first place. His range of tones as he does so ranges from serious to whimsical, from fun to flattering. As usual in Frost, that movement is accentuated by a tension between spoken English and formal meter.” The change in his tone changes the meaning of this poem. We can evaluate how the narrator considers how the building of the wall affects his life. He considers it just a chore, but as he looks at his neighbor he considers the meaning the wall has for his neighbor. Here is this old man doing backbreaking work because he believes in the wall and the meaning behind the wall. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay The wall described in the “Mending Wall” section is a symbol among the poem's characters but also among the poem's readers. “Many critics of Robert Frost's Mending Wall” have seen the poem as a symbolic statement about barriers that men create among themselves. For them the wall is a visual icon of these barriers.” The wall allows them to decrease their fear about what lies beyond home beyond the world and the safety of the fear they hold for the unknown.The wall is Frost's way of expressing how people want to remain separate from their neighbor.Every year they meet to build this symbolic wall. Frost knew that simple objects like walls often allow a person to feeling comfortable, even though the wall doesn't actually protect anything in the physical world but rather protects his subconscious. Robert Frost's perfectly executed use of imagery, personification, and symbolism illustrates how the world works together as a society. Works Cited Chelliah, S. “The poetic art and vision of Robert Frost with a focus on his pragmatic vision of the relationship between man and nature: A brief analysis.” Language in India, vol. 17, no. 11, November 2017, pages 98–112..