Frost's Tuft of Flowers and Mending Wall

A detailed Summary of Frost's Tuft of Flowers and Mending Wall

A Look at the Theme of Separation in the Poetry of Robert Frost

The creation of borders and boundaries has been around since the beginning of civilization. The division of property and possessions among individuals establishes a sense of self-worth. The erection of fences and walls keeps property separate. Walls also serve as a means of separating worlds. Modern society demands the creation, and maintenance of these boundaries. In his poems, "The Tuft of Flowers," and "Mending Wall," Robert Frost explores the role that walls play in our lives. He examines how the lives of men are both separated, and drawn together by walls.

In " The Tuft of Flowers," Frost shows how men work alone. In contrast, Frost then shows how men can work together through their separation. Frost describes how a simple, uncut tuft of wild flowers can unite two separate people. The appreciation of natures beauty has an effect on the mower, leading him away from cutting the flowers. The man that follows the mower feels a special kinship to him because he also likes the flowers. The beauty of a simple patch of flowers brings the narrator to realize that although he may work by himsel

Frost, Robert. A Boy's Will and North of Boston. Mineola, NY: Dover, 1991.

to realize that life and beauty unite all things. Frost writes, " The butterfly and I had lit upon, Nevertheless a message from the dawn" (19). By directing the man to the flowers, the butterfly becomes an important character in this poem.

The poem's central moment occurs when the narrator's tone shifts from playful to dark. This is apparent when Frost writes, "I see him there bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top in each hand, like and old-stone savage armed. He moves in darkness as it seems to me, not of woods only and of shade of trees" (29). At this point, the speaker sees the distance between himself and his neighbor. He also sees darkness in the neighbors acceptance of the simple phrase, "Good fences make good neighbors". The neighbor hides behind the repetition of this phrase. The speaker also hides, but behind his teasing questions. Patricia Wallace writes, "He realizes that it seems to him the neighbor is surrounded and enclosed by something like darkness, a darkness perceptible to the speaker who must know his own separateness more full" (227). The wall separates th

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Approximate Word count = 794
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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