105k views
5 votes
What ideas about land ownership and boundaries does “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost express?

2 Answers

1 vote
That ownership and boundaries are irrelevant.
User Daniel Rehner
by
8.4k points
2 votes

"Mending Wall" is a poem by Robert Frost. The poem depicts the different ideas that the speaker and his neighbour have about community and borders. The speaker's neighbour is intent on building a wall between their houses. He seems to desperately want a boundary between the two of them, even though he has no particular problem with the speaker. Simply, the neighbour is convinced that "good fences make good neighbours." On the other hand, the speaker does not seem to mind whether there is a clear boundary between the two of them or not. He does not seem to care for walls, and instead appreciates community and company. The poem shows how these two opinions are ultimately two different ways of understanding the world and the ideas of privacy and boundaries.

User Adrian Hall
by
8.6k points