Irony and Imagery Explored in Essay

The image of the two farmers on either side of the wall is also powerful because even while they are together, they are separated. This physical setting sets the tone of the poem, as the wall serves as an image of safety for the neighbor, who feels it necessary to have the wall, even if for his own peace of mind. The speaker, however, sees things differently, He states, "Before I built a wall I'd ask to know / What I was walling in or walling out, / and to whom I was like to give offense" (33-5). When the two are working to "set the wall between us once gain" (14), we understand that the wall is much more important to the neighbor than it is to the speaker.Frost delves into the psyche of the human heart with this poem. What appears to be an ordinary event prompts the reader to consider the differences we have with out fellow men. We all have opinions and it is the speaker's opinion that walls or fences are not necessary for any purpose and even believes them to be of no real purpose. He states, "My apple trees will never get across / and eat the cones under his pines, I tell him" (25-6). Here we see how the wall divides the neighbors in that it separates them on an emotional level. The physical separation is obvious but beneath the surface, we discover the complexity of humanity.

Works Cited

Frost, Robert. "Mending Wall." Robert Frost's….....