Mending Wall Annotated

Many of the social divisions that have existed for years, and continue to exist are unnecessarily harmful, but we are ignorant, and are too cowardly to change. In “Mending Wall”, the speaker begins to question the necessity of the wall that separates himself and his neighbour- the wall being a metaphor for the divisions between them in their personal lives. He starts off with the same opinion as his neighbour-interact as little as possible, getting angry that the “wall” is being constantly destroyed by both nature and humans. He initiates the contact with his neighbour for what is seemingly their only formal meeting, and even so, “To each the boulders have fallen to each” (16), he doesn’t help his neighbour, he deals with only the rocks that

have fallen on his property. As the poem progressed, the speaker became frustrated at the existence of the wall: “One on a side. It comes to little more: there where it is we do not need the wall.” Although he realizes the differences between himself and his neighbour, he craves contact, and wishes the wall were gone. He has the epiphany that “My apple trees will never get across and eat the cones under his pines,” (25-26); there is no harm in having a friendly relationship with each other. The next spring they meet up, the speaker attempts to introduce the notion of leaving the wall down, however the neighbour doesn’t understand why the speaker would wish to destroy the barrier between them and insists they keep building the wall. The speaker obliges, and although he ponders “what I was walling in or walling out, and to whom I was like to give offence” (33-34), he does not instigate any further attempts to bring the wall down, hence his cowardliness. The neighbour remains ignorant of the harm the division is causing, and hides behind the tradition of the wall which had been around in his father’s time as well.
The mood throughout this poem changes from a slight frustration at “the work of hunters” (5), to a more curious feeling about “What I was walling in or walling out, and to whom I was like to give offence.” (33-34).

The mood contrasts the tone which is very straightforward, and blunt- we know at all times where the poet stands, even if we aren’t sure what the speaker’s opinion is. The poem is a free verse ballad. The first 23 lines is the speaker telling the story of the wall, and the routine he and his neighbour go through each spring. The last 27 lines is the speaker questioning the existence of the wall, and concluding by leaving the wall in place. The language used is elementary, excellent for conversations. The images cast in this poem are of nature. The poet describes the crumbling of the wall as “the frozen-ground-swell under it, and spills the upper boulders in the sun” (2-3). He chalks down the differences between himself and his neighbour to: “he is all pine, and I am apple orchard.”

(24).
“Mending Wall” relies heavily on symbolism, and figurative language. The speaker mentions a physical wall that divides his property from his neighbours, that prevents them from having much contact, but he is alluding to an invisible division, whether it may be social, ethnic, or personal, which has formed a barrier between the two. He calls the people who choose not to have strong barriers, and try to make accepting folks out of other humans “hunters” (5); as if they are wrong-doers who will do anything to destroy the delicate balance of society. The darkness his neighbour seems to move in is the blindness caused by his ignorance, and unwillingness to change; thirst for privacy and desire for everyone to mind their own business is explained in the statement ““Good fences make good neighbours.”” (45). Lastly, spring is a time where life is renewed after the harsh winter; for the neighbours, it is a chance for them to renew their contact and form a friendship- to take down the wall.
Another literary device is assonance, the repetition of the “s” and “n” sound throughout the poem in lines like “one stone on a stone” (7) and “Some are loaves and some so nearly balls we have to use a spell to make the balance” (16-17).

The poem is also completely ironic in the sense that, although the speaker wishes for the wall to be taken down, he will “let my neighbour know beyond the hill” (12); meaning he will initiate the wall building. Also the speaker only makes fruitless attempts to “put a notion in his head” (29). There is some repetition of key words and phrases such as the words “spring” (11, 28), “wall” (1, 14, 15, 23, 32, 33, 34), and the phrase ““Good fences make good neighbours”” (27, 45).There is only one simile in this poem “In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed” (40) which describe the roughness of the neighbour and his insistence on the wall’s existence. There is some imagery, like “I see him there” (38), and “No one has seen them made or heard them

made.”(10).
The combination of irony and symbolism strengthens the poems structure, and is able to better convey the message. The words are short and simple, and the conversational style stops the reader from being intimidated. Also the use of first person and various symbols make the poem more connectable, and less accusatory.