The real strength and effectiveness of the poem Mending Wall arises from the contradiction and clash of opposite it portrays.

Explain giving the opposites as stated in the poem.

The mending wall is an outstanding landmark in the field of poetry Robert Frost has made the best use of an ordinary event of mending a wall between the properties of two neighbours. On the surface level, the poem is an ordinary story of a simple event but underlying it is the bigger theme of universal brotherhood and friendliness . The poet has made this theme very strong by presenting the contradictions and clash of opposites.

The first contradiction that we come across in the poem is to be found between views of the narrator and those of his neighbour. There is a wall made up of stones boulder between the property of narrator and his neighbour . Every year it happens that soil under the wall swells up by the force of some power of nature and boulders of the wall are disjoined from each other and fall down on the ground making a big gap in the wall. Therefore both narrator and his neighbour reach the wall on appointed day to mend it. Taking this event into consideration the narrator expresses his view that there is some power in nature that does not like a wall at all and therefore the wall gets damaged every year having a big gap in it.

His opinion is contradicted by his neighbour saying “good fences make good neighbours”. This was the saying that was handed over to him by his forefathers and therefore he follows it without knowing why he is favouring the existence of the wall. The effect of this wall is that it is creating a lack of communication between the poet and his neighbour . It is isolating them and making them lonely.

The other example of contradiction that we have in the poem is between the two opinions of the poet himself. One of his opinions opposes the other. Earlier he says that wall is not required at all therefore some power of nature damages the wall every year but later on he says that walls are needed where there are cows.

When we study both the opinions of poet we understand that there are two types of walls which are being referred to as- the wall of caste, creed, religion, language, nationalism and regionalism and the other wall refers to the wall of rules, regulations and laws . In this way the poet seems to suggest his readers that our society should not be fragmented by the man made walls of caste ,creed , religion , nationalism, linguicism and regionalism. But at the same time he makes them realize that the wall of rules , regulations and laws is necessary because it determines the rights of an individual and prevents people to intrude the rights of each other.