In lines 12-17, Frost allows us to feel the pressure and tightness that transpires when the farmers are rebuilding and narrowing gaps during spring mending-time. We read these lines quickly and with considerable ease. We also sense a remarkable balance occurring, not only in the repairing of the wall but in the lines themselves. For example, lines 14-17 read: “And set the wall between us once again. We keep the wall between us as we go. To each the boulders that have fallen to each. And some are loaves and some are nearly balls.” It is significant that Frost chose the ancient and primitive form of blank verse in creating this poem. He very likely was attempting to make us see that living our lives as the neighbor involves foolish blind acceptance, an out of date way of living.Perhaps the most important element that enables us to come to a deep understanding of the poem as well as ourselves is symbolism. The wall itself is a representation of our natural tendencies to build barriers and unnatural divisions in order to defend ourselves from others and to give ourselves privacy and space. It describes how we selfishly wall ourselves in, not realizing the individual and wondrous experiences we may be walling out. Although Frost’s character, through questioning, comes to realize the pointlessness of the wall, he does not yield in mending the fence. Therefore, the ritual itself is a powerful representation of humans’ determination to hold fast to these divisions. The neighbor, who clings blindly to his father’s beliefs and will not even consider a new Barker 4way of thinking, represents a narrow-minded, ancient genre of people. The neighbor refuses to test the validity of his beliefs and appears to take pleasure in this. He is the type of person who thoughtlessly creates unnecessary boundaries between himself and others.As the speaker, Frost creates himself as a character that everyone can rela...
