Mending Wall : summary

In the poem Mending Wall by Robert Frost (1874-1963), the poet has highlighted the necessity of walls. Here, the poet refers to two types of walls.

Physical – Visible.
Emotions – which can only be felt.

At the beginning of the poem, a young man and an old neighbour are talking about repairing a wall. The old neighbour thinks that there is something in nature that does not like this wall. The old neighbour preserves the old mentality, and the young neighbour the modern mentality. According to the young neighbour, there is really no need for this wall to divide their property. He has an apple orchard. On the other hand, the elderly neighbour has a pine garden.

Since there is no chance of apples and pines mixing, this wall is not really necessary. But old and experienced neighbours think the wall is definitely needed. Every spring, they actually repair this wall. As the years go by, this wall crumbles. So, the youth and neighbours think that there is no need for this wall. But the old neighbour says A good wall is necessary to maintain good relations with the neighbours. Here, he says like that, “Good fences make good neighbours.”