Poem – 08
MENDING WALL
Robert Frost
Comprehension Questions
A. Answer briefly the following questions.
1) “Something” in line 1 refers to:
a) natural causes b) supernatural causes c) man-made causes
Ans: a) natural
causes
2) How does nature disturb the stones on the wall?
Ans: Water freezes,
wind and rain would disturb the stones on the wall.
3) How do hunters disturb the stones on the
wall?
Ans: Hunters pull
down the wall in search of rabbits and remove stones from the wall.
4) Who does “they” in line 7 refer to?
Ans: “they” is the
hunters in line 7 refers to.
5) Who are the two characters in the poem?
(Note: the speaker is not the poet)
Ans: The speaker
and his neighbor are the two characters in the poem.
6) When does the mending of the wall take
place?
Ans: The mending of
the wall takes place during spring time.
7) When the poet says, “we have to use a
spell to make them balance”
a) he really means that they had to use a
magic spell to make the stones stand one above the other
b) he
is just saying it humorously
c) he regrets that he did not know the magic
Ans: b) he is just
saying it humorously.
8) “I let my neighbour know…” (line 12) What
did the speaker let the neighbour know?
Ans: The speaker let
the neighbor to know that the wall between them had broken and it needed repair.
9) a) What is referred to as just another
outdoor game?
Ans: Mending the
wall is referred to as just another outdoor game.
b) Why does the speaker call it a game?
Ans: The speaker
calls it a game because wall would be destroyed by nature and they have repair
now and then.
10) What argument does the speaker give to
convince his neighbour that they do not need the wall?
Ans: The speaker
says that he has apple trees and his neighbour has pine trees, those trees won’t
walk in each other properties. Thus, the speaker gives argument to convince his
neighbour that they do not need the wall.
11) What is the neighbour’s stock reply?
Ans: “Good fences
make good neighbours” is the neighbour’s stock reply.
12) By building a wall between neighbours,
what are we “walling in” and what are we “walling out?”
Ans: Here “walling
in” represents detachment, doubt and seclusion and “walling out” represents
love and friendship.
13) The speaker says, “I rather / he said it
for himself”
a) What does “it” refer to here?
Ans: “it” refers to
something that didn’t like the wall and wanted to break it.
b) What does the speaker mean by this
statement?
Ans: The speaker wants
his neighbhour to realize that wall is not needed among them and nature will
destroy when they build it.
14) How does the neighbour carrying a stone
in each hand appear to the poet?
Ans: The neighbour
is carrying a stone as a savage in each hand.
15) Darkness in line 41 refers to
a) darkness In the woods under the shade of a
tree.
b) mental darkness, ignorance
c) his ‘blindness’ to see the light in the
speaker’s arguments.
Ans: c) his ‘blindness’
to see the light in the speaker’s arguments.
16) Frost says that his poem is a metaphor,
saying one thing and meaning another. The wall in the poem is a metaphor. What
do you think is the metaphorical meaning of a wall?
Ans: The metaphorical
meaning of “The wall” is the space, distrust and seclusion that created between
neighbours.
17) Why do you think the speaker resents the
wall? What does he want?
Ans: The speaker’s
neighbour wants to maintain distance as the speaker resents the wall. The speaker
doesn’t want any wall between him and his neighbhour and he wants to friendly with
him.
II. Close Study
Read the following extract carefully. Discuss
in pairs and then write the answers to the questions given below them.
Not
of woods only and the shade of trees.”
a) Who does “he” in the first line refer to?
Ans: The neighbour
is “he” in the first line refers to.
b) What does “darkness” mean here?
Ans: The neighbhour’s
sightlessness is “darkness” means here.
c) Why does the speaker say that “he” moves
in darkness?
Ans: The speaker says
that “he” moves in darkness because the speaker’s neighbour doesn’t want to be flexible
and sociable.
2) “Stay where you are until our backs are
turned”
a) Who are these words said to?
Ans: Stones are
these words said to.
b) Who does “our” refer to?
Ans: The speaker
and his neighbour is “our” refers to.
c) What is the tone of the speaker?
Ans: Humorous is
the tone of the speaker.
III. Paragraph Writing
Discuss in pairs the answers to the following
question. Individually note down the points and then develop the points into
one paragraph answer.
Ans: If I get
chance to live with one of these characters in the poem, then I would like to
live with the speaker. As the speaker’s nature was totally opposite of his
neighbour. The friendly nature, open minded and humorous tone attract anyone
towards him and no one wants stay away from him. The speaker is more consistent
and realistic and has good sense for everything. Here the speaker tries many
times to convince his neighbour that they no need wall between them but his
neighbour was not open mind as the speaker. The speaker doesn’t want to keep
any physical and mental walls between them. Thus, this nature of the speaker
makes everyone be neighbour of the speaker.
