Name:
Date:
Robert Frost, Mending Wall
Close Reading
First read:
Follow along as I read the poem aloud. As I read, mark any areas in the text that stand
out to you, for any reason.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
If I could put a notion in his head:
And spills the upper boulders in the sun;
"Why do they make good neighbors? Isn't it
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.
Where there are cows? But here there are no
The work of hunters is another thing:
cows.
I have come after them and made repair
Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
Where they have left not one stone on a stone,
What I was walling in or walling out,
But they would have the rabbit out of hiding,
And to whom I was like to give offence.
To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean,
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
No one has seen them made or heard them made,
That wants it down." I could say "Elves" to him,
But at spring mending-time we find them there.
But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather
I let my neighbor know beyond the hill;
He said it for himself. I see him there
And on a day we meet to walk the line
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
And set the wall between us once again.
In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.
We keep the wall between us as we go.
He moves in darkness as it seems to me,
To each the boulders that have fallen to each.
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.
And some are loaves and some so nearly balls
He will not go behind his father's saying,
We have to use a spell to make them balance:
And he likes having thought of it so well
"Stay where you are until our backs are turned!"
He says again, "Good fences make good
We wear our fingers rough with handling them.
neighbors."
Oh, just another kind of out-door game,
One on a side. It comes to little more:
There where it is we do not need the wall:
He is all pine and I am apple orchard.
My apple trees will never get across
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
He only says, "Good fences make good
neighbors."
Second Read: Follow along as we re-read the poem section by section.
After each section, answer the corresponding questions.
Text
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun;
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.
Targeted Task
1. What might the first line
mean?
The work of hunters is another thing:
I have come after them and made repair
Where they have left not one stone on a stone,
But they would have the rabbit out of hiding,
To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean,
No one has seen them made or heard them made,
But at spring mending-time we find them there.
I let my neighbor know beyond the hill;
And on a day we meet to walk the line
And set the wall between us once again.
2. What is the setting of the
poem? Underline words and
phrases that help you know.
We keep the wall between us as we go.
To each the boulders that have fallen to each.
And some are loaves and some so nearly balls
We have to use a spell to make them balance:
"Stay where you are until our backs are turned!"
3. What is going on in the
poem so far? Who are the
characters? What do we
know about their
relationship so far?
We wear our fingers rough with handling them.
Oh, just another kind of out-door game,
One on a side. It comes to little more:
There where it is we do not need the wall:
He is all pine and I am apple orchard.
My apple trees will never get across
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
4. Why is it strange that the
narrator states, “…we do not
need the wall”?
Answer
He only says, "Good fences make good neighbors."
Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head:
"Why do they make good neighbors? Isn't it
Where there are cows? But here there are no cows.
5. Why does the speaker point
out that “…here there are no
cows”? What is the speaker
questioning?
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 offence.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That wants it down." I could say "Elves" to him,
But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather
He said it for himself. I see him there
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.
6. Why does the author repeat
the line, “Something there is
that doesn’t love a wall”?
He moves in darkness as it seems to me,
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.
He will not go behind his father's saying,
And he likes having thought of it so well
He says again, "Good fences make good neighbors."
7. The speaker’s neighbor
moves in darkness “Not of
woods only…”. If not the
woods and shade from trees,
what “darkness” might the
neighbor be in?
8. What does the last phrase
mean? Why does the poet
repeat this phrase?
Third Read: Re-read the poem for a third time, this time to yourself.
After you read, answer the following questions.
1. What is going on in the poem, literally (surface-level)? Give a brief summary of the poem’s storyline.
2. What is going on in the poem, figuratively (below the surface)?
3. What is the main purpose of a physical wall?
4. What other kinds of walls are there?
5. Why might a person build one of these types of walls (from question 4)?
6. What does Frost mean when he writes, “Before I build a wall I’d ask to know / What I was walling in or walling out”?
7. What is the overall theme or message of this poem?
Fourth (and FINAL  ) Read:
Re-read the poem one last time, keeping in mind its theme. Where does this theme first become
evident in the poem? Use the graphic organizer below to help you trace the development of the theme throughout the poem. Please write
the lines in CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER! You should choose a MINIMUM of 7 lines that help you trace the theme’s development.
Line
Copy the line EXACTLY from the text
How does this line help to develop the poem’s theme?
Number
Final Assessment Task:
Respond to the following prompt on a separate sheet of notebook paper. Make sure to use sufficient
evidence to support your argument. Remember to use proper paragraph writing structure, including topic sentences, closing sentences,
textual evidence, and transitions.
What is the theme of the poem Mending Wall? How is this theme developed over the course of the entire poem? Use evidence from
the text to support your discussion.