Major Themes

Nature
Frost places a great deal of importance on Nature in all of his collections. Because of the
time he spent in New England, the majority of pastoral scenes that he describes are inspired
by specific locations in New England. However, Frost does not limit himself to stereotypical
pastoral themes such as sheep and shepherds. Instead, he focuses on the dramatic
struggles that occur within the natural world.Frost also presents the natural world as one
that inspires deep metaphysical thought in the individuals who are exposed to it (as in
"Birches" and "The Sound of Trees"). For Frost, Nature is not simply a background for
poetry, but rather a central character in his works.
Communication
Communication, or the lack thereof, appears as a significant theme is several of Frost's
poems, as Frost presents it as the only possible escape from isolation and despair.
Unfortunately, Frost also makes it clear that communication is extremely difficult to achieve.
For example, in "Home Burial," Frost describes two terrible events: the death of a child and
the destruction of a marriage. The death of the child is tragic, but inability of the husband
and wife to communicate with each other and express their grief about the loss is what
ultimately destroys the marriage. Frost explores a similar theme in "Acquainted with the
Night," in which the narrator is unable to pull himself out of his depression because he
cannot bring himself even to make eye contact with those around him. In each of these
cases, the reader is left with the knowledge that communication could have saved the
characters from their isolation. Yet, because of an unwillingness to take the steps necessary
to create a relationship with another person, the characters are doomed.
Everyday Life
Frost is very interested in the activities of everyday life, because it is this side of humanity
that is the most "real" to him. Even the most basic act in a normal day can have numerous
hidden meanings that need only to be explored by a poetic mind. For example, in the poem
"Mowing," the simple act of mowing hay with a scythe is transformed into a discussion of
the value of hard work and the traditions of the New England countryside. As Frost argues
in the poem, by focusing on "reality," the real actions of real people, a poet can sift through
the unnecessary elements of fantasy and discover "Truth." Moreover, Frost believes that the
emphasis on everyday life allows him to communicate with his readers more clearly; they
can empathize with the struggles and emotions that are expressed in his poems and come
to a greater understanding of "Truth" themselves.
Isolation of the Individual
This theme is closely related to the theme of communication. The majority of the characters
in Frost's poems are isolated in one way or another. Even the characters who show no sign
of depression or loneliness, such as the narrators in "The Sound of Trees" or "Fire and Ice,"
are still presented as detached from the rest of society, isolated because of their unique
perspective. In some cases, the isolation is a far more destructive force. For example, in
"The Lockless Door," the narrator has remained in a "cage" of isolation for so many years
that he is too terrified to answer the door when he hears a knock. This heightened isolation
keeps the character from fulfilling his potential as an individual and ultimately makes him a
prisoner of his own making. Yet, as Frost suggests, this isolation can be avoided by
interactions with other members of society; if the character in "The Lockless Door" could
have brought himself to open the door and face an invasion of his isolation, he could have
achieved a greater level of personal happiness.
Duty

Duty is a very important value in the rural communities of New England, so it is not
surprising that Frost employs it as one of the primary themes of his poetry. Frost describes
conflicts between desire and duty as if the two must always be mutually exclusive; in order
to support his family, a farmer must acknowledge his responsibilities rather than indulge in
his personal desires. This conflict is particularly clear in "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy
Evening," when the narrator expresses his wish to stay in the woods and watch the snow
continue to fall. However, he is unable to deny his obligation to his family and his
community; he cannot remain in the woods because of his "promises to keep," and so he
continues on his way. Similarly, in The Apple Picking, he expresses his desires of picking
some more apples and to fill the barrel. He needs to keep his responsibility even if the spell
of winter sleep is on.
Rationality versus Imagination
This theme is similar to the theme of duty, in that the hardworking people whom Frost
describes in his poetry are forced to choose between rationality and imagination; the two
cannot exist simultaneously. The adults in Frost's poetry generally maintain their rationality
as a burden of duty, but there are certain cases when the hint of imagination is almost too
seductive to bear. For example, in "Birches," the narrator wishes that he could climb a birch
tree as he did in his childhood and leave the rational world behind, if only for a moment.
This ability to escape rationality and indulge in the liberation of imagination is limited to the
years of childhood. After reaching adulthood, the traditions of New England life require strict
rationality and an acceptance of responsibility.
Rural Life versus Urban Life
This theme relates to Frost's interest in Nature and everyday life. Frost's experience growing
up in New England exposed him to a particular way of life that seemed less complicated and
yet more meaningful than the life of a city dweller. The farmers whom Frost describes in his
poetry have a unique perspective on the world as well as a certain sense of honor and duty
in terms of their work and their community. Frost is not averse to examining urban life in
his poetry; in "Acquainted with the Night," the narrator is described as being someone who
lives in a large city. However, Frost has more opportunities to find metaphysical meaning in
everyday tasks and explore the relationship between mankind and nature through the
glimpses of rural life and farming communities that he expresses in his poetry. Urban life is
"real," but it lacks the quality and clarity of life that is so fascinating to Frost in his work.

CRITICAL SUMMARY MENDING WALLS

The image at the heart of Mending Wall is arresting: two men meeting on terms of civility and
neighborliness to build a barrier between them. They do so out of tradition, out of habit. Yet the very
earth conspires against them and makes their task Sisyphean. Sisyphus, you may recall, is the
figure in Greek mythology condemned perpetually to push a boulder up a hill, only to have the
boulder roll down again. These men push boulders back on top of the wall; yet just as inevitably,
whether at the hand of hunters or sprites, or the frost and thaw of natures invisible hand, the
boulders tumble down again. Still, the neighbors persist. The poem, thus, seems to meditate
conventionally on three grand themes: barrier-building (segregation, in the broadest sense of the
word), the doomed nature of this enterprise, and our persistence in this activity regardless.
But, as we so often see when we look closely at Frosts best poems, what begins in folksy
straightforwardness ends in complex ambiguity. The speaker would have us believe that there are
two types of people: those who stubbornly insist on building superfluous walls (with clichs as their
justification) and those who would dispense with this practicewall-builders and wall-breakers. But
are these impulses so easily separable? And what does the poem really say about the necessity of
boundaries?
The speaker may scorn his neighbors obstinate wall-building, may observe the activity with
humorous detachment, but he himself goes to the wall at all times of the year to mend the damage
done by hunters; it is the speaker who contacts the neighbor at wall-mending time to set the annual
appointment. Which person, then, is the real wall-builder? The speaker says he sees no need for a
wall here, but this implies that there may be a need for a wall elsewhere where there are cows,
for example. Yet the speaker must derive something, some use, some satisfaction, out of the
exercise of wall-building, or why would he initiate it here? There is something in him that does love a
wall, or at least the act of making a wall.
This wall-building act seems ancient, for it is described in ritual terms. It involves spells to
counteract the elves, and the neighbor appears a Stone-Age savage while he hoists and transports
a boulder. Well, wall-building is ancient and enduringthe building of the first walls, both literal and
figurative, marked the very foundation of society. Unless you are an absolute anarchist and do not
mind livestock munching your lettuce, you probably recognize the need for literal boundaries.
Figuratively, rules and laws are walls; justice is the process of wall-mending. The ritual of wall
maintenance highlights the dual and complementary nature of human society: The rights of the

individual (property boundaries, proper boundaries) are affirmed through the affirmation of other
individuals rights. And it demonstrates another benefit of community; for this communal act, this
civic game, offers a good excuse for the speaker to interact with his neighbor. Wall-building is
social, both in the sense of societal and sociable. What seems an act of anti-social selfconfinement can, thus, ironically, be interpreted as a great social gesture. Perhaps the
speaker does believe that good fences make good neighbors for again, it is he who initiates the
wall-mending.
Of course, a little bit of mutual trust, communication, and goodwill would seem to achieve the same
purpose between well-disposed neighborsat least where there are no cows. And the poem says it
twice: something there is that does not love a wall. There is some intent and value in wall-breaking,
and there is some powerful tendency toward this destruction. Can it be simply that wall-breaking
creates the conditions that facilitate wall-building? Are the groundswells a call to communitybuildingnatures nudge toward concerted action? Or are they benevolent forces urging the
demolition of traditional, small-minded boundaries? The poem does not resolve this question, and
the narrator, who speaks for the groundswells but acts as a fence-builder, remains a contradiction.
Many of Frosts poems can be reasonably interpreted as commenting on the creative process;
Mending Wall is no exception. On the basic level, we can find here a discussion of the
construction-disruption duality of creativity. Creation is a positive acta mending or a building. Even
the most destructive-seeming creativity results in a change, the building of some new state of being:
If you tear down an edifice, you create a new view for the folks living in the house across the way.
Yet creation is also disruptive: If nothing else, it disrupts the status quo. Stated another way,
disruption is creative: It is the impetus that leads directly, mysteriously (as with the groundswells), to
creation. Does the stone wall embody this duality? In any case, there is something about walking
the lineand building it, mending it, balancing each stone with equal parts skill and spellthat
evokes the mysterious and laborious act of making poetry.
On a level more specific to the author, the question of boundaries and their worth is directly
applicable to Frosts poetry. Barriers confine, but for some people they also encourage freedom and
productivity by offering challenging frameworks within which to work. On principle, Frost did not write
free verse. His creative process involved engaging poetic form (the rules, tradition, and
boundariesthe wallsof the poetic world) and making it distinctly his own. By maintaining the
tradition of formal poetry in unique ways, he was simultaneously a mender and breaker of walls.