Theory question 111
Non-African PoetryLiterature 2, Section D: Non-African Poetry
Discuss the dramatic elements in “Mending Wall”
Show the model answer
Model answer
Robert Frost; two characters: the speaker and his neighbour.
Setting: spring, two farms divided by a stone wall.
Conflict: speaker questions the wall; neighbour insists 'Good fences make good neighbours'.
Dialogue and action: walking the wall, replacing stones.
Characterisation: neighbour 'like an old-stone savage armed'.
Ends with repetition of the neighbour's line: unresolved conflict.
Explanation
Identify each dramatic element with an example.