II. COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS :
A. Answer briefly the following questions.
1. “Something” in line 1 refers to:
a) natural causes
b) supernatural causes
c) man-made causes.
Answer: supernatural causes
2. How does nature disturb the stones on the wall?
Answer: Nature disturbs the stones on the wall through heavy frost and rain and wind.
3. How do hunters disturb the stones on the wall?
Answer: Hunters can disturb the stones on the wall by allowing rabbits to come out so that their dogs can catch them.
4. Who does “they” in line 7 refer to?
Answers: The word “they” in line 7 refer to ‘hunters’.
5. Who are the two characters in the poem? (Note: the speaker is not the poet)
Answer: The speaker and the neighbour are the two characters in the poem.
6. When does the mending of the wall take place?
Answer: The mending of the wall takes place in early spring, after the winter frosts have damaged the wall.
7. When the poet says, “we have to use a spell to make them balance”
a) he really means that they had to use a magic spell to make the stones stand one above the other
b) he is just saying it humorously
c) he regrets that he did not know magic.
Answer: he is just saying it humorously
8. “I let my neighbour know…” (line 12)
What did the speaker let the neighbour know?
Answer: the speaker lets his neighbor know that he doesn’t need the wall because there are no cows to contain. The speaker also suggests that they might be better off if they stopped repairing the wall altogether.
9. a) What is referred to as just another outdoor game?
Answer: The speaker refers to keeping stones in place as “just another kind of outdoor game”.
b) Why does the speaker call it a game?
Answer: The speaker calls it a outdoor game because there is one opponent on each side and mending the wall serves no purpose.
10. What argument does the speaker give to convince his neighbour that they do not need the wall?
Answer: the speaker argues that a wall is unnecessary between his and his neighbor’s properties because the speaker points out that nature constantly erodes the wall through frost and other natural elements. The speaker also points out that there is no need for separation between their neighbors because they have different fields. The speaker’s property is covered in apple trees, and his neighbor’s is covered in pine trees. Since neither of them raise cattle, there is no fear of cows venturing onto the other’s property.
11. What is the neighbour’s stock reply?
Answer: The neighbor’s stock reply is “Good fences make good neighbours”
12. By building a wall between neighbours, what are we “walling in” and what are we “walling out?”
Answer: By building a wall between neighbours, we are walling in our things stating their ownership and we are walling out so that no one comes in our property. When a wall is built between neighbors, the owner is “walling in” their things and “walling out” anyone who might enter their property.
13. The speaker says, “I rather / he said it for himself”
a) What does “it” refer to here?
Answer: “it” refers to the neighbor’s statement, “good fences make good neighbors”. The speaker and his neighbor have different views on whether to build and maintain a wall between their farms. ‘it” refers to the thing that is destroying the wall.
b) What does the speaker mean by this statement?
Answer: The speaker means that someone doesn’t want the existence of this wall and this is thereason that it is being broken again and again.
14. How does the neighbour carrying a stone in each hand appear to the poet?
Answer: The poet sees his neighbor as a savage from the old stone era when he silently carries stones to place on the wall.
15. Darkness in line 41 refers to
a) darkness in the woods under the shade of tree.
b) a mental darkness, ignorance
c) his “blindness” to see the light in the speaker’s arguments.
Answer: a mental darkness, ignorance
16. Frost says that his poem is a metaphor, saying one thing and meaning another. The wall in the poem is a metaphor. What do you think is the metaphorical meaning of wall?
Answer: The metaphorical meaning of wall is the negativity of the emotions that erupt between humans and as a result it blocks their relationships
17. Why do you think the speaker resents the wall? What does he want?
Answer: The speaker resents the wall because it is broken every time, it gets repaired. Moreover it appears to him as a game as there is no use of it. He doesn’t want this barrier between him and his neighbour.
B. Close Study
Read the following extracts carefully. Discuss in pairs and then write the answers to the questions given below them.
1. “He moves in darkness as it seems to me,
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.”
- Who does “he” in the first line refer to?
Answer: The Neighbour
2. What does “darkness” mean here?
Answer: Neighbour’s mindset. His Ignorance about speaker’s words.
3. Why does the speaker say that “he” moves in darkness?
Answer: The speaker says that The neighbour moves in darkness because he just repeats a sentence his father had told him and doesn’t give any other explanation for maintaining the wall.
2. “Stay where you are until our backs are turned”
a) Who are these words said to?
Answer: The Stones
b) Who does “our” refer to?
Answer: The Speaker and the neighbour.
c) What is the tone of the speaker?
Answer: Uncertainty and questioning
III. PARAGRAPH WRITING :
Discuss in pairs the answers to the following questions. Individually note down the points and then develop the points into one paragraph answer.
- If you were given a chance to live with one of these characters in the poem, whom would you like to live with? Why?
Answer: If I have a chance to live with one of these characters in the poem, I would like to live with Speaker. Because he is very logical and have reasonable thoughts. He doesn’t wants to barriers between human beings.
IV. ACTIVITIES :
1. The two characters, the speaker and the neighbour, have two totally opposing views on having a wall between their fields. Given below are a few statements, opinions and attitudes. Say whom does each apply to? The first two are done for you.
i. “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall” – speaker
ii. “good fences make good neighbours” – neighbour
iii. very conservative – Neighbour
iv. logical and reasonable – Speaker
v. light-hearted, humorous – Speaker
vi playing safe – neighbour
vii. Respects tradition – neighbour
viii. even God and nature seem to be against a wall between men – The Speaker
ix. apple orchard – The Speaker
x. living beyond the hills – The Neighbour
xi. an old stone savage – The Neighbour
xii. cosmopolitan in outlook. – The Speaker
2. Group Discussion
Man has built many walls (barriers) that separate man from man. There are social, cultural, religious, regional, political and other barriers all around us.
- Specify any five of such man-made barriers.
Answer: Religion, Caste, Language, Country, State, Culture, Lifestyle, Gender
2. Are these barriers necessary for a good and happy co-existence?
Answer: These barriers are not necessary for a good and happy co-existence.
3. Why are they bad?
Answer: Because all these barriers divides the human beings.
4. What can you do to break these barriers?
Answer: We can educate the people and spread awareness to break these barriers.
5. Imagine your life without any barriers. What kind of life would it be?
Answer: Our life will happy and peaceful life without any barriers.
NOTE ON THE AUTHOR :
Robert Frost (1874-1963) was born in San Francisco. He is regarded highly for his realistic depiction of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. His work frequently employs settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and philosophical themes. He became one of the country’s best-loved poets. Despite the surface cheerfulness and descriptive accuracy of his poems, he often presents a dark, sober vision of life, and there is a decidedly thoughtful quality to his work. A popular and oft-quoted poet, Frost was honored frequently during his lifetime, receiving four Pulitzer prizes for poetry.
