Mending Wall Questions

Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.

  1. Robert Frost describes writing poetry as "an act of clarification" (source). What do you think he means by this, and what do you think he clarifies in "Mending Wall?" Can you clarify this for us, please?
  2. If you have to live in this poem, would you be the speaker or the neighbor? Why?
  3. Let’s say you have to create a soundtrack for this poem, what song or songs would you choose?
  4. If someone asks you to create a five minute film version of "Mending Wall," what would your film entail?
  5. Are you a fan of walls? Gates? Fences?
  6. Why do you think our speaker rebels against the wall? What does he or she want?
  7. Robert Frost says, "People forget and poetry makes you remember what you didn't know you knew" (source). Does this poem make you remember what you did not know? What didn’t you know that you now know, you know?