As with most of Robert Frost’s poems, “Mending Wall” can be interpreted both on a literal level and a deeper, symbolic level. On the literal level, the speaker and the neighbor meet for the purpose of maintaining a stone wall that separates their respective properties. The speaker does not seem to truly believe that the wall is necessary, but the speaker engages in the activity because the neighbor believes that, “Good fences make good neighbours."
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As with most of Robert Frost’s poems, “Mending Wall” can be interpreted both on a literal level and a deeper, symbolic level. On the literal level, the speaker and the neighbor meet for the purpose of maintaining a stone wall that separates their respective properties. The speaker does not seem to truly believe that the wall is necessary, but the speaker engages in the activity because the neighbor believes that, “Good fences make good neighbours."
This saying of the speaker’s neighbors is also important for understanding the deeper meaning of the poem. While the wall is the physical object of the work, it is the process of maintaining the wall, and what the wall represents, that is important to both the speaker and the neighbor. Meeting to mend the wall gives them a chance each year to have sufficient contact to ensure they remain “good neighbours.” It gives them a deeper connection – a shared responsibility and goal – beyond merely owning adjoining properties. They meet to maintain the wall, but more importantly they are meeting to renew their connection and maintain their relationships as neighbors.
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