Walking Along Robert Frost's "The Mending Wall" Robert Frost was not just a writer. Frost was, more importantly, an American writerwhose works epitomized the Modernist literary movement, and in turn represented the moodand minds of a nation. Frost remains emblematic of a specific time in our country. Through thewords of the poet, readers of his day could see a real-time reflection of themselves - visible inFrost's verses were the hopes and apprehensions that marked the first half of the twentieth-century. However, in his ability to express this unlikely mixture of cynicism and sentiment,Frost did more than capture the attention of his contemporaries he captured "the times" for alltimes. A modern reader of Frost is a reader of American history; not in days and dates, but infeeling and thought. While any of the works from Frost's prolific collection could be used tovalidate this thought, it is upon "...a road less travelled" in the lines of "The Mending Wall" that we will venture to explore and understand the power and importance of one man's talents.Robert Frost was a lecturer, poet, and teacher. When he was nineteen and working in amill in Lawrence, Massachussetts, the Independent accepted and published "My Butterfly, anElegy". This poem began Frost's career as one of America's great poets. Rugged New Englandfarm life was the inspiration for many of his poems. Like much of Frost's poetry, "The MendingWall" appears on the surface to be simple and plain. However, a closer study will revealsubtleties and depth. In the opening lines the speaker is true to this prosaic tone,"Something there is that doesn't love a wall/That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it/Andspills the upper boulders in the sun/And makes gaps even two can pass abreast." Upon firstexamining these lines, it seems no more than a group of matter-of-fact statements pertaining tothis deteriorating stone wall. Yet, under scrutiny these lines of seeming simplic...
