Someth ing thereis that doesn’tloveawall,
That sendsthe frozen-ground-swellunderit
And spills the upperboulde rs in the sun,
And makesgaps even two can pass abreas t.
The work of hunter s is anothe r thing: 5
I have come afterthem and made repair
Wherethey have left not one stoneon a stone,
But they wouldhave the rabbit out of hiding,
To please the yelpin g dogs. The gaps I mean,
No one has seen them made or heardthem made, 10 But at spring mendin g-time we find them there.
I let my neighb or know beyond the hill;
And on a day we meet to walk the line
And set the wall betwee n us once again.
We keep the wall betwee n us as we go. 15
To each the boulde rs that have fallen to each.
And some are loaves and some so nearly balls
We have to use a spellto make them balanc e: “Staywhereyou are untilour backsare turned!”
We wear our finger s roughwith handli ng them. 20 Oh, just anothe r kind of outdoo r game,
One on a side. It comesto little more:
Therewhereit is we do not need the wall: He is all pine and I am appleorchar d.
My appletreeswill neverget across 25
And eat the conesunderhis pines, I tell him.
He only says, “Goodfences make good neighb ors.”Spring is the mischi ef in me, and I wonder
If I couldput a notion in his head:
“Whydotheymakegoodneighb ors?Isn’tit30
Wherethereare cows? But here thereare no cows. Before I builtawallI’dasktoknow
What I was wallin g in or wallin g out,
And to whom I was like to give offens e.
Someth ing thereis that doesn’tloveawall,35
That wantsit down.”Icouldsay“Elves”tohim,
Butit’snotelvesexactl y, andI’drather
He said it for himsel f. I see him there,
Bringi ng a stonegraspe d firmly by the top
In each hand, like an old-stonesavage armed. 40
He movesin darkne ss as it seemsto me,
Not of woodsonly and the shadeof trees.
He will not go behind his father’ssaying,
And he likeshaving though t of it so well公公太大了
He says again,“Goo d fences make good neighb ors.”45
有一点什么，它大概是不喜欢墙，ous
它使得墙脚下的冻地涨得隆起，特殊韵母是哪一个
大白天的把墙头石块弄得纷纷落：
使得墙裂了缝，二人并肩都走得过。
士绅们行猎时又是另一番糟蹋：
他们要掀开每块石头上的石头，
我总是跟在他们后面去修补，
但是他们要把兔子从隐处赶出来，
讨好那汪汪叫的狗。我说的墙缝
是怎么生的，谁也没看见，谁也没听见
但是到了春季补墙时，就看见在那里。
我通知了住在山那边的邻居；
有一天我们约会好，巡视地界一番，
在我们两家之间再把墙重新砌起。
我们走的时候，中间隔着一垛墙。
我们走的时候，中间隔着一垛培。
落在各边的石头，由各自去料理。
有些是长块的，有些几乎圆得像球．
需要一点魔术才能把它们放稳当：
“老实呆在那里，等我们转过身再落下！”
我们搬弄石头．把手指都磨粗了。
啊！这不过又是一种户外游戏，
一个人站在一边。此外没有多少用处：
在墙那地方，我们根本不需要墙：
不可枚举他那边全是松树，我这边是苹果园。
我的苹果树永远也不会踱过去
吃掉他松树下的松球，我对他说。
他只是说：“好篱笆造出好邻家。”
春天在我心里作祟，我在悬想
能不能把一个念头注入他的脑里：
“为什么好篱笆造出好邻家？是否指着
有牛的人家？可是我们此地又没有牛。
我在造墙之前．先要弄个清楚，
新鲜猪肝怎么保存圈进来的是什么，圈出去的是什么，
并且我可能开罪的是些什么人家，
有一点什么，它不喜欢墙，
它要推倒它。”我可以对他说这是“鬼”。
但严格说也不是鬼．我想这事还是
由他自己决定吧。我看见他在那里
搬一块石头，两手紧抓着石头的上端，
像一个旧石器时代的武装的野蛮人。
我觉得他是在黑暗中摸索，
这黑暗不仅是来自深林与树荫。
他不肯探究他父亲传给他的格言
他想到这句格言，便如此的喜欢，
于是再说一遍，“好篱笆造出好邻家”。
Summar y
A stonewall separa tes the speake r’sproper ty from his neighb or’s. In spring, the two meet to walk the wall and jointl y make repair s. The speake r sees no reason for the wall to be kept—thereare no cows to be contai ned, just appleand pine trees. He does not believ e in wallsfor the sake of walls. Th
e neighb or resort s to an old adage:“Goodfences make good neighb ors.”Thespeake r remain s
unconv inced and mischi evous ly presse s the neighb or to look beyond the old-fashio ned follyof such reason ing. His neighb or will not be swayed. The speake r envisi ons his neighb or as a holdov er from a justif iably outmod ed era, a living exampl e of a dark-age mental ity. But the neighb or simply repeat s the adage.
Form
Blankverseis the baseli ne meterof this poem, but few of the linesmarchalongin blankverse’scharac teris tic lock-step iambs, five abreas t. Frostmainta ins five stress ed syllab les per line, but he varies the feet extens ively to sustai n the natura l speech-like qualit y of the verse. Thereare no stanza breaks, obviou s end-rhymes, or rhymin g patter ns, but many of the end-wordssharean assona nce (e.g., wall, hill,balls,wall, and well sun,thing,stone,mean,line, and againor game,them, and him twice). Intern al rhymes, too, are subtle, slante d, and concei vably coinci denta l. The vocabu laryis all of a piece—no fancywords, all short(only one word, anothe r, is of threesyllab les), all conver satio nal—and this is perhap s why the wordsresona te so consum matel y with each otherin soundand feel.
Commen tary
I have a friend who, as a younggirl, had to memori ze this poem as punish mentfor some now-forgot ten misbeh avior. Forced
memori zatio n is neverpleasa nt; still, this is a fine poem for recita l. “Mendin gWall”issonoro us, homey, wry—arch, even—yet serene; it is steepe d in levels of meanin g implie d by its well-wrough t metaph oricsugges tions. Theseimplic ation s inspir e numero us interp retat ionsand make defini tivereadin gs suspec t. Here are but a few things to thinkaboutas you reread the poem.
The imageat the heartof“Mendin gWall”isarrest ing: two men meetin g on termsof civili ty and neighb orlin ess to builda barrie r betwee n them. They do so out of tradit ion, out of habit. Yet the very earthconspi res agains t them and makestheirtask Sisyph ean. Sisyph us, you may recall, is the figure in Greekmythol ogy condem ned perpet ually to push a boulde r up a hill, only to have the boulde r roll down again. Thesemen push boulde rs back on top of the wall; yet just as inevit ably, whethe r at the hand of hunter s or sprite s, or the frostand thaw of nature’sinvisi ble hand, the boulde rs tumble down again. Still, the neighb ors persis t. The poem, thus, seemsto medita te conven tiona lly on threegrandthemes: barrie r-buildi ng (segreg ation, in the broade st senseof the word), the doomed nature of this enterp rise, and our persis tence in this activi ty regard less.
But, as we so oftensee when we look closel y at Frost’sbestpoems, what begins in folksy straig htfor wardn ess ends in comple x
ambigu ity. The speake r wouldhave us believ e that thereare two typesof people: thosewho stubbo rnlyinsist on buildi ng superf luous walls(with clichés as theirjustif icati on) and thosewho woulddispen se with this practi ce—wall-builde rs and wall-breake rs. But are theseimpuls es so easily separa ble? And what does the poem really say aboutthe necess ity of bounda ries?
The speake r may scornhis neighb or’sobstin ate wall-buildi ng, may observ e the activi ty with humoro us detach ment, but he himsel f goes to the wall at all timesof the year to mend the damage done by hunter s; it is the speake r who contac ts the neighb or at wall-mendin g time to set the annual appoin tment. Whichperson, then, is the real wall-builde r? The speake r says he sees no need for a wall here, but this implie s that theremay be a need for a wall elsewh ere—“wherethereare cows,”forexampl e. Yet the speake r must derive someth ing, some use, some satisf actio n, out of the exerci se of wall-buildi ng, or why wouldhe initia te it here? Thereis someth ing in him that does love a wall, or at leastthe act of making a wall.
This wall-buildi ng act seemsancien t, for it is descri bed in ritual terms. It involv es“spells”tocounte ra
ctthe“elves,”andtheneighb or appear s a Stone-Age savage whilehe hoists and transp ortsa boulde r. Well, wall-buildi ng is ancien t and enduri ng—the buildi ng of the firstwalls, both litera l and figura tive, marked the very founda tionof societ y. Unless you are an absolu te anarch ist and do not mind livest ock munchi ng your lettuc e, you probab ly recogn ize the need for litera l bounda ries. Figura tivel y, rulesand laws are walls; justic e is the proces s of wall-mendin g. The ritual of wall mainte nance highli ghtsthe dual and comple menta ry nature of humansociet y: The rights of the indivi dual(proper ty bounda ries, proper bounda ries) are affirm ed throug h the affirm ation of otherindivi duals’rights. And it
demons trate s anothe r benefi t of commun ity; for this commun al act, this civic“game,”offers a good excuse for the speake r to intera ct with his neighb or. Wall-buildi ng is social, both in the senseof“societ al”and“sociab le.”Whatseemsan act of anti-social
self-confin ement can, thus, ironic ally, be interp reted as a greatsocial gestur e. Perhap s the speake r does believ e that good fences make good neighb ors— for again, it is he who initia tes the wall-mendin g.
Of course, a little bit of mutual trust, commun icati on, and goodwi ll wouldseem to achiev e the same
purpos e betwee n well-dispos ed neighb ors—at leastwherethereare no cows. And the poem says it twice:“someth ing thereis that does not love a wall.”Thereis some intent and valuein wall-breaki ng, and thereis some powerf ul tenden cy toward this destru ction. Can it be simply that wall-breaki ng create s the condit ionsthat facili tatewall-buildi ng? Are the ground swell s a call to commun ity- buildi ng—nature’snudgetoward concer ted action? Or are they benevo lentforces urging the demoli tionof tradit ional, small-minded bounda ries? The poem does not resolv e this questi on, and the narrat or, who speaks for the ground swell s but acts as a fence-builde r, remain s a contra dicti on.
Many of Frost’spoemscan be reason ablyinterp reted as commen tingon the creati ve proces s; “Mendin gWall”isnoexcept ion. On the basiclevel, we can find here a discus sionof the constr uctio n-disrup tiondualit y of creati vity. Creati on is a positi ve act—a mendin g or a buildi ng. Even the most destru ctive-seemin g creati vityresult s in a change, the buildi ng of some new stateof being: If you tear down an edific e, you create a new view for the folksliving in the houseacross the way. Yet creati on is also disrup tive: If nothin g else, it disrup ts the status quo. Stated anothe r way, disrup tionis creati ve: It is the impetu s that leadsdirect ly, myster iousl y (as with the ground swell s), to creati on. Does the stonewall embody this dualit y? In any case, thereis someth ing about“walkin gtheline”—and buildi ng it, mendin g it, balanc ing each stonewith equalpartsskilland spell—that evokes the myster iousand labori ous act of making poetry.
On a levelmore specif ic to the author, the questi on of bounda riesand theirworthis direct ly applic ableto Frost’spoetry. Barrie rs confin e, but for some people they also encour age freedo m and produc tivit y by offeri ng challe nging framew orkswithin whichto work. On
princi ple, Frostdid not writefree verse. His creati ve proces s involv ed engagi ng poetic form (the rules, tradit ion, and bounda ries—the walls—of the poetic world) and making it distin ctlyhis own. By mainta ining the tradit ion of formal poetry in unique ways, he was
simult aneou sly a mender and breake r of walls.
Interp retat ion of Robert Frost’s“Mendin gWall”
ZHAO Xin-li
(School of Foreig n Langua ges, Langfa ng Teache rs Colleg e, Langfa ng 065000, China)
Abstra ct: Robert Frostis skillf ul at adopti ng symbol ism and images in his poems.“Mendin gWall”,oneof
Frost’swell-knownpoems, had been analyz ed in differ ent approa ches, such as psycho analy tical approa ch, social
approa ch and struct uralapproa ches, etc. By explor ing the symbol and images applie din“Mendin gWall”, it draws
the conclu sionthat“thewall”, symbol izing conven tion, is set as a barrie r in humancommun icati on.
Key words:symbol; image;“Mendin g Wal l”; conven tion
1. Introd uctio n
Robert Frostis adeptat applyi ng symbol ism and images in his poetry. One aspect of Frost’stheoryis“his
unders tandi ng of symbol ism and how it functi onsinapoem”(Parini, 1993, p. 265). He classi fiedhimsel f as a
poet who was a synecd ochis t and stated that he prefer red synecd ochein poetry—that figure of speech we use a
part for the whole. In his poetry, one imageafteranothe r is unfold ed gradua lly. It is rather easy for reader s to catch
the surfac e meanin g of his poetry. Howeve r, the ulteri or meanin g, whichis the valueof his poetry, worths our life
time of contem plati on.
In“Mendin g Wall,”Robert Frostdepict s a common place occurr encethat a wall separa tinga farmer’sland
from that of his neighb or’shascrumbl ed down and awaits repair s. Such is a scenetypica l in Robert Frost’spoems,
whichalways take on an easy-unders toodappear anceand is imbued with profou nd signif icanc e. “Itwouldbe a
mistak e to imagin e that Frostis easy to unders tandbecaus eheiseasytoread”(Elliot t, 1988, p. 944). You“begin
in deligh t, end in wisdom.”Aswemaymendastonewall, pick up apples, watcha spider, and mow the lawn in his
poems, we also acquir e enligh tenme nt and inspir ation toward s life. As it explor esin“Mendin gWall”thatthe
wall—the symbol of conven tion—someti mes is set as a barrie r in humancommun icati on.
2. The Wall as the Symbol of Conven tion
The poem starts with the crumbl ing down of the wall.
拉组词Someth ing thereis that doesn’tloveawall,
That sendsthe frozen-ground-swellunderit,
And spillthe upperboulde r in the sun,
That makesgaps even two can pass abreas t.
Assoonas“I”findthetop pli ng wall, “Ilettheneighb or know beyondthehill”andprepar e to mend the wall.
To the speake r, erecti ng a wall is a conven tiona l concep t, deeply ingrai ned in the mind. It is out of instin ct that the
speake r acknow ledge s the neighb or to repair the wall togeth er. The wall standi ng betwee n the landsof two
ZHAO Xin-li (1980- ), female, B.A., teachi ng assist ant of School of Foreig n Langua ges, Langfa ng Teache rs Colleg e; resear ch field: Britis h and Americ an litera ture.
Interp retat ion of Robert Frost’s“Mendin gWall”
72
famili es has become a tradit ion, inheri ted from ancest ors. “Thespring mendin gtime”eachyearisaregula r
activi ty of farmer s in New Englan d, reveal ing the powerf ul predom inanc e of tradit ion on people’smind. Withou t
medita tingon its ration ality of existe nce, people observ e it as a strict rule.
The neighb or’srepeti tionof“Goodfences make good neighb ors”manife sts that he is a conven tionuphold er.
Residi ng in the conven tion-domina ted world, he regard s the prover b as an unques tiona ble univer sal truth.When“I
try to put a notion in his head,”hismereuttera nce is the prover b. His respon se is short, full of coldne ss and
obstin acy. He assert s it with such a blinddeterm inati on toward s the existe nce of the wall in betwee n that an
invisi ble wall has been instal led betwee n them. Withou t ponder ing on whethe r or not thereis the necess ity to build
a wall, he sticks to dogged rulesof conven tionand refuse s to any kind of change. To some degree, he is the
repres entat ive of conven tion.
The neighb or’smindisalsoexempl ified in his behavi or.
I see him there
Bringa stonegraspe d firmly by the top
In each hand, like an old-stonesavage armed.
The shiftin voice, a slowin g down and steady ing of rhythm, the contem plati venes s previo uslyabsent, does
not simply mime the slow action s of the neighb or. The neighb or likene d to the old-stonesavage, is consid ered
backwa rd and uncivi lized. The imageis also a hint of conven tion, whichhas been lastin g ever sincethe primit ive
age and has an irresi stibl e domina nce on people. Furthe rmore, a seemin gly appare nt evolve mentof humanbeings
turnsout to be the lack of commun icati on. With the econom ic develo pment, howeve r, people aliena te one from
anothe r by instal lingwallsin betwee n. “Frosthimsel f realiz ed that such neighb ors on nearby farmswere
increa singin number”(Averev, 1976, p. 255). Only underthe harbor of thosephysic allyexisti ng wallscan they
develo p a senseof securi ty and safety. They, repres ented by the neighb or in the poem, hold a suspic iousopinio n
toward s others and refuse to conduc t genuin e commun icati on with each other. As time goes by, they are confin ed
to theirown world. Thereis nothin g left in theirpsycho logic al worldexcept the tremen douspowerof conven tion.
Anothe r influe nce of conven tionon people is the“darkne ss”shroud ing the neighb or as is depict ed in the
poem. “Hemovedin darkne ss as it seemsto me, / not of woodsonly and the shadeof trees.”Itreflec ts a revisi on
in the speake r as he imagin es the neighb or and acknow ledge s how far from him—how otherfrom him—the
neighb or is, a distan ce whichis metaph orica l and render ed here and tempor allythroug h“likeanoldsavage.”The
neighb or, dwelli ng in the shadeof conven tion, separa tes others from him by enclos ing himsel finhis“solid
fortre ss.”Thespeake r, who realiz es the darkne ss surrou nding the neighb or and others, is also awarethat the
distan ce is not transg ressi ble and nor is genuin e recipr ocity possib le. “Asheconfro nts that darkne ss and distan ce,
he can consid er what barrie rs, if any, he wouldwant down, what barrie rs he simply cannot cross, and what such an
act mighttake.”
The respon se toward s the crumbl ing wall and the proces sof“Mendin gWall”implie s that conven tionhas
exerte d a tremen dousdomina nce on people’smindandbehavi or.
Therearises a confli ct betwee n the neighb or and the speake r on whethe r thereis a need to mend the wall. The
speake r insist s that thereis no need to builda wall, becaus e
He is all pine and I am appleorchar d.
My appletreeswill neverget across,
And eat the conesunderhis pines.
Interp retat ion of Robert Frost’s“Mendin gWall”
73
Influe ncedby the conven tiona l ideasas well, it dawnson the speake r that thereis no necess ity to keep a wall
in betwee n at this time. And thereis no such livest ock in the speake r’slandas“cows”thattheneighb or’slandwill not suffer from any possib le destru ction. The speake r, in a teasin g and childl ike way, p
uts forwar d his doubtabouttradit ional concep t that a wall should be therein betwee n. He is uncons cious that he is taking side with
unconv entio nal ideas. The neighb or, howeve r, is convin ced that the wall should be mended by citing the old saying. Set ideasand habits, forged by conven tion, have influe ncedhim so much that his mind is restri ctedand become s a mere spokes man of conven tion. Lackin g enthus iasmfor the speake r, the neighb or refuse s to talk with the speake r on that issue. In his mind, the prover b is the author itari an truth. The confli ct is aboutwhat is
conven tiona l and what is unconv entio nal. Standi ng in betwee n the speake r and his neighb or is a solidwall of conven tion, whichserves as an invisi ble wall, barrin g the commun icati on amongpeople.
Not only does the neighb or hold firmly the idea that a wall should be instal led, but also the speake r takesan ambiva lentattitu de toward the wall. On the one hand, the speake r doubts the necess ity of a wall and triesto persua de the neighb or from keepin g a wall there. On the otherhand, the speake r and his neighb or wear their
finger s roughto mend the wall and the speake r enjoys the activi ty by regard in gitas“anothe r kind o
f outdoo r game.”Heisnotdeterm inedwith his own convic tionand swaysfrom side to side. Confro ntedwith awfulpowerof conven tion, he is a little confus ed and hesita nt. His though t flashe s in the darkne ss of conven tion, but very soon it is devour ed by the endles s latter and disapp ears.
The speake r’smedita tionon the wall—“Before I builta wall, I’dasktoknowwhat’sIwaswallin g in or
what’sout”—indica tes the real essenc e of a wall. People shut themse lvesin theirown worldand shut others out underthe disgui se of conven tion. A wall may protec tone’sdignit y and proper ty, but hinder s commun icati on at the same time. Afterthe wall has been builtand the concep t has been set up in people’smind, an invisi ble wall erects theresepara tingone from anothe r. “Thedesire to fenceonesel f off from others, to shut onesel foffinone’sown little world, is a notion quitealiento the people”(Averev, 1976, p. 255).
When the speake r’ssobrie ty of the issueis ignore d by the neighb or, he winces and retrea ts to his own world.
The poem ends with the prover b“Goodfences make good neighb ors,”showin g the predom inanc e of the speake r’s voiceand that of the conven tion. With everyo ne enclos ed in theirown world, the speake r is with no except ion. The issuewhethe r or not to mend the wall is left thereunsolv ed. The r
eal purpos e of the poem is not to provid e a soluti on to the humanproble m. The greatsignif icanc e of Frost’spoemliesinitsawaren ess and exposi tionof humanproble m. The answer is left for reader s to contem plate our dailylife.
3. OtherImages
Nevert heles s, Frostemploy s severa l imagesin“Mendin gWall”torev eal his tenden cy toward the proble m of “Mendin gWall”. He adopts the imagesof“someth ing”, “Elves”and“spring”toconvey his attitu de. “Frost
discov ers a comple telydiffer ent aspect in the motif-someth ing thereis that does not love awall.”Thepoem begins with the line—“someth ing thereis that doesn’tloveawall”, foregr oundi ng the promin enceof the “someth ing”. Later, he emphas izesthis imageby repeat ing the same line. Withou t pointi ng out what kind of thingthis “someth ing”is, Frostleaves a spacio us room for the reader s to exertthe imagin ation to the utmost. It is someth ing unknow n to us, someth ing myster iousto all of us. Maybeitis“Elves”, whichdislik es the wall
separa tinghumanbeings from one anothe r and crumbl es down the wall mischi evous ly. The thirdimageis “spring”. As we all know, spring is the time of rebirt h and the symbol of a new beginn in
g. The farmer s in New Interp retat ion of Robert Frost’s“Mendin gWall”
74
Englan d in the very season, noneth eless, mend the wallsin betwee n to protec t theirproper ty. With the wall beingstreng thene d, the relati onshi p is not mended but distan ced farthe r instea d. Poetry once was define das“thebest wordsin the best order.”Itisnotamerecoinci dence that Frostselect s“spring”inthepoem. He is fullyconsci ous of the denota tionof“spring”andadopts it to highli ght the themethat it is high time to elimin ate all the barrie rs. Spring is the time for people to breakthroug h the confin ement of archai c conven tionand develo p new ideas.
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