Questions:
1) What is the major metaphor in “Mending Wall”? Is the wall necessary? Is there an irony that the two neighbors meet to separate themselves with a wall? Why does the neighbor keep repeating “Good fences make good neighbors”? What does this imply? What does it say about him? Finally, and most importantly, what is “it” that does not “love a wall” and “wants it down”? What larger idea is Frost getting at with this statement?
2) Discuss the major symbols of “After Apple-Picking”? What is the harvest a metaphor for? What about the apples, the cider and the empty buckets? Why does the poem take place in the fall? Finally, how does sleep function in the poem?
Answers:
1. The major metaphor in the Mending Wall is the separations the human beings have build up in their lives[1]. The wall is not necessary as far as the neighbors are concerned. Similarly, the wall is not necessary in the lives of the human beings.
It is the biggest irony that the neighbors do not hold any grudge against each other, yet they are separated by a wall. They can easily remove the wall but they meet just to mend the wall that is separating them. The neighbor of the speaker keeps repeating that good fences make good neighbors and it shows that the neighbor is not modern in the thoughts. According to him, to maintain good relationship, two neighbors should have a wall in between them.
The love of the speaker for the neighbor does not love a wall and wants it down. However, with the phrases, Frost was trying to portray a bigger concept. He is implying the world as a whole. The countries build borders between them and the author is not able to find any reason behind building those borders. Not all countries hold a grudge against each other, that they separate themselves with the border. Every country has a army force, which is looking after the border. However, the armies are like the stones, which help in building the border. The countries meet to discuss about the border security force, when there is no problem between the countries. The speaker feels that the border or the wall should be removed between the countries.
2. The major symbols in “After Apple Picking” are the ‘picking of the apples’ and the ‘sleep’[2]. Robert Frost symbolizes life and death thought the phrases. The symbols get extended in the harvest. The metaphor that is related to the harvest is the result a man will get after working throughout his life. If the man works hard in life, the harvest will be good. Similarly, a man will reap poor results if the person does not work hard.
The apples symbolize the work that is assigned to a man in his lifetime. The empty buckets represents that there is still a lot more work to do for the man before he takes rest permanently. The cider is the result of the work. The more apples the person will be able to gather, the more cider will be harvested. Hence, the man does not want to any apple to fall on the ground because the apple will be of no use then.
The poem takes place in the fall to give an implication of the end of the life of a human being. Winter has been compared to death and hence fall is the last stage in the life of the person. Similarly, sleep has been compared to the death or the forever sleep. The man has worked in his entire life and now he is tired, hence, he is planning to take rest and the ‘rest’ will be the ultimate rest of his life.
References
Frost, Robert. “Mending wall.” North of Boston (1914).
Frost, Robert. After Apple-Picking. World Book, 2011.
