Mending wall意思

"Mending Wall" is a poem by the American poet Robert Frost, first published in 1914. The title refers to the act of repairing a stone wall between the speaker's property and his neighbor's in rural New England. The poem explores the themes of boundaries, community, and the human impulse to maintain and repair the physical structures that define our lives and relationships.

The poem is written in blank verse and is divided into 12 stanzas, each containing four lines (quatrains). The speaker reflects on the annual tradition of repairing the wall, which has been damaged by winter storms. The speaker and his neighbor meet to repair the wall, but the speaker is ambivalent about the need for the wall, questioning its purpose and the need for boundaries between them.

The poem is also a meditation on the nature of change and the human desire to hold onto the past. The speaker notes that "good fences make good neighbors," a phrase that has become famous, but he is not convinced that the wall serves any real purpose beyond tradition. He wonders if the wall is necessary at all, or if it is simply a relic of the past that no longer serves a useful function.

Overall, "Mending Wall" is a complex and nuanced poem that invites readers to consider the ways in which we define ourselves and our relationships with others through the physical and metaphorical boundaries we create.