In separate 250 word posts, respond to two of the following:
A) What is the major metaphor in “Mending Wall”? Is the wall necessary? Is there an irony that the two neighbors meet to separate themselves with a wall? Why does the neighbor keep repeating “Good fences make good neighbors”? What does this imply? What does it say about him? Finally, and most importantly, what is “it” that does not “love a wall” and “wants it down”? What larger idea is Frost getting at with this statement?
B) Discuss the major symbols of “After Apple-Picking”? What is the harvest a metaphor for? What about the apples, the cider and the empty buckets? Why does the poem take place in the fall? Finally, how does sleep function in the poem?
C) There are different explanations for the bended look of the trees in “Birches”. What are the different explanations and which does the narrator prefer? What is the “Truth” that he refers to in line 21? What does he mean when he states “One could do worse than be a swinger of birches”?
D) “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening” is a ballad. Research the aspects of a ballad and demonstrate how this poem follows that form. Also, what is the difference between what literally happens in the poem and what the images symbolize? This poem is often considered a metaphor for death – what details would be given to support that argument? Why is the last line repeated?
