Gents,
As promised, excuse the delay...
1. What is the seasonal imagery used in Mending Wall and how do these differ from the seasonal imagery in 'The Road Not Taken', 'Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening' AND 'On a Tree Fallen Across The Road'?
2. What do you think Frost is saying about the differences between the persona and the neighbour?
Post it up ASAP
M
1. What is the seasonal imagery used in Mending Wall and how do these differ from the seasonal imagery in 'The Road Not Taken', 'Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening' AND 'On a Tree Fallen Across The Road'?
ReplyDeleteThe seasonal imagery in mending wall is Spring which is mending time for the wall, where both neighbours meet and fix the wall together. "But at spring mending-time we find them there." The seasonal imagery used in Mending wall differs from the other poems, because is it relating to spring as being a specific time of year when work on the 'mending' of the wall begins. Where in the other poems the seasons are depicted as beautiful seasons rather then just a working period.
2. What do you think Frost is saying about the differences between the persona and the neighbour?
Frost is trying to say that the persona questions what the point is in building the wall. "Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder / If I could put a notion in his head: / 'Why do they make good neighbours? Isn't it/ Where there are cows? / But here there are no cows./ Before I built a wall I'd ask to know/ What I was walling in or walling out," He asks why there is a wall and since their are no animals or cow, what are they trying to wall out. The persona is depicted a younger character where he is free minded and the neighbour is depicted as an old man. "like an old-stone savage armed. / He moves in darkness as it seems to me", Frost presents the neighbour as almost a mindless man from the stone age that just wants to get the job done and does what he has been doing forever, just like his father has told him to continue doing. "He will not go behind his father's saying", but when thinking deeper into the poem about the persona and him wanting to stop building the wall we realise that he is the main person in the building of the wall. "I have come after them and made repair ", this line shows that after every time that the wall is destroyed, the persona comes back and fixes it.
1. What is the seasonal imagery used in Mending Wall and how do these differ from the seasonal imagery in 'The Road Not Taken', 'Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening' AND 'On a Tree Fallen Across The Road'?
ReplyDeleteThe seasonal imagery of spring is used in frosts poem ‘mending wall’. This is because spring is the time of new growth and represents happiness and new beginnings. As frost says ‘spring is the mischief in me’ this represents the good natured style of the poem. It is different from the other poems because they are based around winter where something bad happens.
2. What do you think Frost is saying about the differences between the persona and the neighbour?
Frost compares the persona and the neighbor so we can compare the types of people that he is trying to describe. The neighbor says ‘good fences make good neighbors’ portraying him as a secretive and lonesome person compared to the persona who is more simple as he cannot comprehend the idea of needing a good fence when ‘ there are no cows ‘
1. What is the seasonal imagery used in Mending Wall and how do these differ from the seasonal imagery in 'The Road Not Taken', 'Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening' AND 'On a Tree Fallen Across The Road'?
ReplyDeleteThe seasonal imagery used Mending Wall is spring as it is the time in the poem when they have to mend the wall. It differs from the other poems as they are not set during spring and frost refers to them as being beautiful. Frost uses seasonal imagery as if the spring brings out the mischief in people. “Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder if could put a notion in his head”. Frost uses this quote to show that this time of year really irritates him because he doesn’t reckon they need a wall if they his neighbor has pine trees and he has an apple orchard.
2. What do you think Frost is saying about the differences between the persona and the neighbour?
Frost is trying that the differences between the persona and the neighbor is that they have different opinions on the wall. The protagonist is trying to say is that they do not need a wall. “ There where it is we do not need a wall” The narrator says this because they do not have any cows or animals on there properties and find it point to have the wall there the neighbor has pine trees and he has an orchard. The neighbor shows this by mentioning “Good fences makes good neighbors.” This gets on the protagonist annoyed and says “. Spring is the mischief in me, and if I wonder if I could put a notion in his head”. The protagonist uses seasonal imagery mentioning spring and how it brings the bad side out of him.
Charlie,
DeleteYou've certainly got the understanding of the poem and I quite liked your bit about spring being "the mischief", it's certainly something that shows why he has used humour in the poem (elves, etc).
I also liked how, in your second response, you used the proper academic way of making a point, putting in a quote, analysing it with a language technique. VERY CLEVER. That's the sort of thing that every English essay needs.
While we need to get your language and vocabulary a little more academic, there is good structure here. That's a very good thing - shows you understand what we're trying to do.
Well done champ.
1. What is the seasonal imagery used in Mending Wall and how do these differ from the seasonal imagery in 'The Road Not Taken', 'Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening' AND 'On a Tree Fallen Across The Road'?
ReplyDeleteThe poem ‘Mending Wall’ by Robert Frost represent the storyline as mention in the title. The process of mending is to repair something, which in this case is the wall.
However, the imagery presented in this poem is different from what Frost is used to write. As he always write about the darkness of the snow as seen in ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” (which also represent his name ‘Frost”, which refer to small ice particles) and the ‘new season’ shown in “the road not taken”. This time frost has set his season as spring. This express us with seasoning imagery as spring is the season of a ‘new start’, something new. Like mending a wall ready for a new opening as it has been damage from other season (or reputation of someone).
2. What do you think Frost is saying about the differences between the persona and the neighbour?
In my opinion, what Frost is trying to communicate across to the audience, or can also specific to someone he knows. Firstly, to build a war can also symbolising reputation, trust or maybe royalty which one needs to look after. However, other type of people that doesn’t have any reputation doesn’t need to protected. As “There where it is we do not need a wall”. The quote “Good fences makes good neighbours” can also mean that the friend you can have is those that are good in every expect.
This is what I don’t but don’t really understand the poem :\
1. What is the seasonal imagery used in Mending Wall and how do these differ from the seasonal imagery in 'The Road Not Taken', 'Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening' AND 'On a Tree Fallen Across The Road'?
ReplyDeleteSeasonal imagery is a very alluring technique that is shown by Robert Frost through
multitudinous poems of Frost. Some of the poem that shows Seasonal imagery are " The Road Not Taken'", "Stopping By Woods on a snowing evening" and " a Tree Fallen Across The Road. Through these poems seasonal imagery differs and contrast to the poem Mending wall. The poem "Mending Wall" depicts springtime as "spring is the mischief in me" shows how he is reborn from the winter that follows up. As the persona is reborn again they also change the personality that he has, as " good fences make good neighbours". Through this we can illustrate that spring time is also a time where we fix up the mental problems that use to haunt us and start anew. The wall being built up contrast to the other neighbours emotions as " where it is we do not need a wall" as this other persona doesn’t want a wall being built up as he is not cleansed from himself. Adversely for the other poem Frost uses Seasonal imagery to a different perspective for the other poems to imply, death through winter and summer as hardworking days.
2. What do you think Frost is saying about the differences between the persona and the neighbour?
As Frost tries to convey the Poem to the Audience we are thrown to both sides of the story of what is the difference between the persona and the neighbour. Through the difference of these two neighbours we are thrown out to think for ourselves on what each of these character are characterised by. One neighbour is determined to build the wall as " good fence make good neighbours", implying that without the wall there might be tension about the land .On the other hand the persona is less concerned about the wall and has a more casual perspective casual perspective of the wall .Mending the wall is a figurative image for how two neighbours who are different from each other holds a different perspective. As this definition can be reflected as a religious meaning as through seasonal imagery as one person was not cleansed from the "mischief in me."As the other persona is a person that has been cleansed as he is willing to build up the wall in a metaphorical way of a friendship.
Lets say i didn't judge time carefully , as i was force to make up a quick and rational decision for the question.
Q1
ReplyDeleteWhat is seasonal imagery? Seasonal imagery is the association of moods and emotion according to the season portrayed. A sense of regeneration brought on by the season of spring, is abundant in the Mending Wall, it is even seen in the word mending in the title of the poem. “But at spring mending-time we find them there”, an obvious quote directly pointing to the fact that spring is viewed as the time for new life and regeneration. Poems such as The Road Not Taken, Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening and On a Tree Fallen Across The Road by Frost are all set in different seasons giving a different feel to each. The Road Not Taken “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood”, this is indicative of the season autumn, a time of beauty, decay and change. Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening, the seasonal imagery is very different to that of the Mending Wall as spring is a portrayal of new life and repair, where winter is stongly connected to death. On a Tree Fallen Across The Road is once again set in winter symbolizing the opposite to spring.
1. What is the seasonal imagery used in Mending Wall and how do these differ from the seasonal imagery in 'The Road Not Taken', 'Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening' AND 'On a Tree Fallen Across The Road'?
ReplyDeleteThe seasonal imagery that is used in ‘Mending Wall’ is spring and this is shown when both the persona and the neighbor come together to fix the wall, which divides their properties. The reason this poem is based around the season spring is because spring is the season that represents new life and a fresh beginning. The farmers are fixing all of the broken rocks and small gaps that have formed over the past year and giving the dividing wall a new start and fresh beginning for the year to come. Mending wall differs greatly from these other four poems because they are all based around winter and also the beauty of nature.
2. What do you think Frost is saying about the differences between the persona and the neighbour?
The main thing that Frost is trying to explain about the differences between the persona and neighbor is that they are two completely different people and this is the one time of year they both come together to not only fix the wall but to bond with each other. Another area at which they differentiate is that the neighbor appears as a sort of uptight character whom still needs a fence even though ‘there are no cows’ and also follows by his fathers saying ‘good fences make good neighbors’. As for the persona he is shown as a more sort of free man who feels there is no need for a fence and feels that Spring is the time for new life and fresh start
1. the seasonal imagery in ‘mending wall’ differs from frost previous poems that we have studied in that, the seasonal imagery in used to describe the stetting, scene or the surroundings but to describe the actions of nature and the struggle between man and nature smiler to ‘a tree fallen across the road’ although it does differ from this poem as the season’s change giving a juxtaposition of the two seasons, emphasising the flux from winter to spring and the impact that it has on not only nature but on man and his possessions as well. “but at spring mending time” the seasonal imagery in this is referring to the fluctuation from winter to spring, moving from the season typically related death and sorrow, to the season associated with rebirth and warmth, the act of mending is the act of healing which is very warm act and fall in context with the spring vibe.
ReplyDelete2. the differences between the persona and the neighbour are very core to human nature, the persona and the neighbour are merely just neighbours nothing more nothing less, the acquaintance purely for one reason to rebuild “mend” the wall that has been broken by the thawed winter snow caused by the spring sun. “to each boulder to have fallen to each” this line reemphasis’s the point of the purely lucid relationship between them, they do not help each other they only worry about whats on there side of the wall and marching down the wall as the wall splits them and there properties. though this wall is a metaphor for an opinion that is at the core of every human and that is segregation. this wall is segregating both properties and the persona wishes to have this wall torn down, “he is all pine and i am apple orchard” the persona believes this wall as stupid along with the notion of segregation, its a petty thing that shouldn’t exist. the neighbour on the other hand is straight and narrow “he will not go behind his father’s saying” the neighbour has been taught that keeping this wall is important to keep good neighbours much like segregation is taught, your are not born with it your are taught segregation and the neighbour by “his father”
1. What is the seasonal imagery used in Mending Wall and how do these differ from the seasonal imagery in 'The Road Not Taken', 'Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening' AND 'On a Tree Fallen Across The Road'?
ReplyDeleteWe realise in the other poems written by Frost that all are related with seasons such as "A Road Not Taken" and in "On A Tree Fallen Across The Road." Unlike the others, the poem, 'Mending Wall,' opens up with Frost using the season 'Spring' to indicate a new life or beginning in the poem. In line 27, Frost chooses to use the words 'Good fences make good neighbors' which indicates that the persona had an instant change in his personality and realises that there is no point in hating your neighbour. Frost uses repetition in the very last line which demonstrates the viewers that this line is important throughout the poem as it means if both neighbours mind their own business, nothing will happen. The fact that the line is on the last line is that it represents Spring as both neighbours have a fresh start.
2. What do you think Frost is saying about the differences between the persona and the neighbour?
Frost had distinguished the two neighbours by seperating them with a stone wall. Metaphorically this poem is linked to a Greek Mythology character called Sisyphus, which is known to push a boulder up a hill and push it back down therefore having both neighbours with the characteristics of Sisyphus. But as the poem goes on, the neighbours realise that the point in doing this is useless and has a fresh start just like Spring.
1. the seasonal imagery in Frost’s poem, “Mending wall,” are different to the seasonal imagery in his other poems because he, for the first time, discuses Spring. He expresses new life, fresh starts rather than the sad, melancholy atmosphere portrayed in his previous poems, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” When Frost’s shares with us the thoughts of the persona’s neighbour, “good fences make good neighbours,” it also resembles spring through the fact that once the wall is rebuilt, just as spring starts, the friendship will blossom once again.
ReplyDelete2. Frost explains through the relationship between the protagonist and it’s neighbour that just like any other relationship, there will be differences. In this case, the differences between the persona and his neighbour is that one wants the to continue to rebuild this wall, year after year, and the other doesn’t. The wall is simply a metaphor for segregation, as one wants to be isolated from the other. It is clear that these two characters aren’t close as Frost mentions that the persona’s neighbour lives “far beyond the hill.” The persona finds the idea of the wall humorous and that it would not make a difference whether or not the wall is there or not. “he is all pine and I am apple orchard” meaning to say, they will not affect one another, what is the point? However, the neighbour stands by what he has been taught all these years from his father, that “good fences make good neighbours.”
1. In “Mending Wall”, there are multiple references to seasonal imagery to enhance the image of the poem. As other Frosts poems such as ‘The road not taken’ and ‘On a tree Fallen across the road’ have been described to be set in certain seasons like autumn and winter. Frost uses seasonal imagery in “Mending Wall” differently as he doesn’t directly state which season the poem has been set in, He merely describes the effect of more than one seasons on the subject of the poem which is the ‘Wall’. We see this when the persona describes what kind of effect the season of winter has had on the wall “frozen-ground-swell under it”. The persona immediately talks about how the sun has then made “gaps even two can pass abreast.” . The sun being mentioned suggests that the persona is then giving reference to the season of Spring and possibly Summer.
ReplyDeleteIn ‘The Road Not Taken’, Stopping By the woods on a Snowy Evening’ and ‘On a Tree Fallen Across The Road” the seasons are described as such that in each poem, the persona is almost showing affection towards the season whereas in ‘Mending Wall’, it is because of the seasons, that the persona must build this wall, but we see that the persona does not enjoy doing this
2. The persona and the neighbor in ‘Mending Wall’ are shown as both having different views on the idea of segregation which is being created by the wall. Near the beginning, the persona states that he needs to let his “Neighbour know beyond the hill”. Whenever the image of neighbour appears in our minds, we think that a neighbour is someone who lives right next door and lives pretty close to you. The persona states that he has to go beyond the hill to let his neighbour know about the wall. This line immediately suggests that ‘The neighbour’ lives quite far away physically, but as we go further into the poem we notice that not only is the geographic location of the neighbours house far away, but the relationship between him and the persona is also ‘far away’ they both have different views on why they should/shoudn’t build the wall.
In The poem, the persona gives several allusions to the fact that he is segregated from his neighbour and how his thoughts on the wall are different.