In "Mending Wall", by Robert Frost, why is the poet considered mischievous?

Question

How could one explain how he is mischievous in the poem?

"Spring is the mischief in me..."

I'm a bit lost :P

Thanks!

Answer 1

It's because he wants to ask his neighbor all the questions that follow - they both have tree orchards - pines and apple trees and fences are made to keep things out, such as Frost says, "cows."

Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head: (here are the questions)
1. 'Why do they make good neighbors?
Isn't it Where there are cows? But here there are no cows.

Before I built a wall I'd ask to know

1. What I was walling in or walling out,
2. And to whom I was like to give offence.

Something there is that doesn't love a wall, That wants it down.'

I could say 'Elves' to him, But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather He said it for himself. (and of course there aren't such things as elves...)

I see him there
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.
He moves in darkness as it seems to me~
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.

He will not go behind his father's saying,
And he likes having thought of it so well
(but he's not thinking for himself...)

He says again, "Good fences make good neighbors."

Answer 2

It refers to his use of figurative language and imagery.

One of the poetic techniques that Robert Frost uses in 'Mending Wall' to convey his ideas, is imagery. In the first eleven lines of the poem, it is used to describe the degradation of the wall, creating a visual image for the reader. The sentence structure of the first line of the poem places emphasis on 'something'. This, compound with the use of personification, makes 'something' appear alive and even human-like. Animate qualities have been given to 'something' through the use of the words 'love', 'sends', 'spills' and 'makes gaps' (lines 1-4), illustrating a vivid impression of the degradation of the wall. Nature, in the form of cold weather, frost and the activities of small creatures, gradually destroys the wall. The narrator seems to believe that walls are unnatural and suggests that nature dislikes walls. This is portrayed through the phrase 'sends the frozen ground swell under it' (line 2). The poem describes nature making holes in the wall large enough that 'even two can pass abreast'. Literally, this refers to the size of the holes. However, it can also be interpreted that nature wishes the men to 'walk together', side by side, living in harmony where there is no barrier in their friendship that separates them.

Figurative expressions are used in 'Mending Wall' to describe the relationship between the neighbours. Many phrases contain both a literal and metaphoric meaning. For example, the phrases 'to walk the line' and 'set the wall between us' (lines 13,14) refers to the building of a tangible wall that marks the boundary of the neighbours' properties. These phrases are also figurative and represent the setting of a barrier in the neighbours' friendship. When they meet to repair the wall, it could be metaphorically interpreted as repairing their friendship and resolving disputes. 'To each the boulders have fallen to each' (line 16) shows that faults lie on the behalf of both neighbours. The metaphor in line seventeen compares their disputes to loaves and balls - some are small and some are large. Figurative language has been used to convey the meaning and significance of building the wall.


thanks

Answer 3

The questioning of why a good fence makes a good neighbor is the kind of mischief he's referring to here. Here they are working on a project separately, but together, and he's questioning a statement his neighbor thinks is worthy of the ages.

We used to call that ornery.