Final answer:
The setting in 'The Rainy Day' is characterized by a dreary and antagonistic weather, contrasting with the neutral backdrop of routine farm maintenance in 'Mending Wall'. Both set in rural areas, these settings contribute to the overall mood and themes of the poems.
Step-by-step explanation:
The setting in a literary work comprises the location, time, and conditions in which the plot unfolds. In comparing settings between 'The Rainy Day' and 'Mending Wall,' we find that the area and atmosphere depicted play crucial roles in establishing the mood and themes of the poems.
In 'The Rainy Day,' the atmosphere is described as dreary with a focus on a 'threatening' climate that personifies the weather as an antagonist. The imagery used evokes a feeling of suffocation and gloom. This contrasts starkly with the setting in 'Mending Wall,' which is more neutral, focusing on a routine activity of fixing a boundary wall in a rural farmland during spring. The tone here does not imbue the weather with emotional qualities, instead, the poem reflects on interpersonal relationships and boundaries.
While both poems are set in rural areas, they differ greatly in the emotions they provoke through their settings: one highlighting the oppressive aspect of nature, and the other emphasizing mundane human activities within it.