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MENDING WALL - Class 10 1st Language English Textbook Solutions

ENGLISH FIRST LANGUAGE
POEM: - MENDING WALL

ROBERT FROST

Robert  Frost  was  born  on  March  26,  1874,  in  San Francisco, where his father, William Prescott Frost Jr., and  his  mother,  Isabelle  Moodie,  had  moved  from Pennsylvania shortly after marrying. After the death of his  father  from  tuberculosis  when  Frost  was  eleven years old, he moved with his mother and sister, Jeanie, who  was  two  years  younger,  to  Lawrence, Massachusetts.  He  became  interested  in  reading  and writing  poetry  during  his  high  school  years  in Lawrence,  enrolled  at  Dartmouth  College  in  Hanover, New  Hampshire,  in  1892,  and  later  at  Harvard University in Boston, though he never earned a formal college degree. Robert Frost lived and taught for many years  in  Massachusetts  and  Vermont,  and  died  in Boston on January 29, 1963.

V. Question & Answers  

1. What is the reason for the poet to say „something there  is  that  doesn‟t  love  a  wall‟  in  Robert  Frost‟s poem Mending Wall?
Ans:
- The speaker of the poem says so because he has experienced  that  „something‟  is  there  that  causes  the cold  ground  under  the  wall  to  swell  and  burst.  The ground bursts in a way that the boulders come spitting out from within to the outside automatically.  This  „something‟  is  the  unseen  force  of  nature. According  to  the  speaker,  the  nature  breaks  the  wall because it does not like it to stay there.  

2. Ho
w would you describe the speaker and his tone in Mending Wall?
Ans: 
-  The  poet  was  of  friendly  nature  and  open minded,  so  he  took  the  wall  as  barrier  between friendship.  He  even  tried  to  convince  his  neighbour about  the  ill-effects  of  wall  in  maintaining  a  healthy relationship.  His  tone  is  pensive  (sad)  due  to  the  wall.  He  is practical  and  wistful.  He  always  talks  about  the importance of friendship.  

3.  Why  does  the  poet  meet  his  neighbour  beyond the hill at spring?  
Ans:
- The poet meets his neighbour beyond the hill at spring  because  he was  looking  forward to meeting his neighbour to break his isolation and to make friendship with him.   

4.  How  do  the  poet  and  his  neighbour  mend  the gaps in the wall?  
Ans: 
-  The  author  and  his  neighbour  try  hard  to balance the broken wall. They  make use of stones and repair  it.  Meanwhile  handling  the  stones,  they  even injure their fingers.   

5. Why does the poet argue that there is no need of a  wall  in  between  his  estate  and  that  of  his neighbour?  
Ans: -
The speaker points out that they have adjoining fields that will not affect the other's crop because there are  only  pine  trees  and  apple  trees  in  his  estate  in  his neighbour's  estate  and  cows  can  do  no  harm.  In  fact the  wall  could  be  an  insult  to  their  friendship  as neighbours.  

6.  Why  does  the  poet  say  that  there  is  something that doesn't love a wall?  
Ans:  - 
The  expression  literally  means  that  there  is something in nature that seems to dislike walls. But in the poem "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost, we also get the  impression  that  the  author  is  talking  about  things other  than  Nature  alone.  With  the  words  "Something there  is.  He  means  that  there  is  something  in  human nature that doesn't like walls.   Frost is here revealing his own attitude. He goes on to say that there are people who believe that good fences make  good  neighbours.  But  there  are  others  also  who believe that there is no need for such a wall. What the poet  really  means  is  that  there  should  not  be  any barrier that separates man from man  

7. How does the neighbour justify the need for walls prefences?  
Ans:  - 
The  neighbour  justifies  the  need  for  walls  or fences  saying  that  'Good  fences  make  good neighbours. This  is perhaps the  most important line of the  poem  and  is  repeated  at the  end  of  the  poem.  The neighbour  here  states  that  there  is  a  moral  principle behind  mending  the  walls.  There  seems  to  be  a contradiction  within  this  principle.  The  neighbour believes  that  separation  is  the  best  means  for  the neighbours to get on. It's  like  saying they  should  keep their  distance,  so  they  can  be  good  neighbours.  This type  of  relationship  is  based  on  respect  rather  than friendship.   

8.  Why  does  the  poet  consider  the  spring  season mischievous?  
Ans:  - 
The  spring  season  due  to  its  colours  and vibrance  and  energy  brings  out  the  child  in  the  poet. The  poet  remains  in  a  playful  mood.  Hence  the mischievous  mood  of  the  poet  is  attributed  to  the season.   

9.  What  are  the  contrasting  views  presented  in  the poem?  
Ans:  - 
The  poem  presents  two  different  people  with two different views. While one person sticks on to the necessity  of  building  walls  to  sustain  good  relations, the  other  disagrees  with  this  argument.  The  views  are contrasted  through  the  ideals  of  the  author  and  his neighbour. The speaker thinks that there is no need for walls.  He  notes  that  nature tries  to  knock them  down. But  the  neighbour  keeps  insisting  that  "good  fences make good neighbours."
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