Comparison: Mending Wall by Robert Frost and The Sounds of Silence by Paul Simon - Essay Example

A. Similarities The theme of the poem Mending Wall is related to the cyclic process of nature, i.e. creation and destruction. In the poem, the narrator’s neighbor shows utmost importance to reconstruct the wall. At the same time, the natural process of destruction is evident in the narrator’s disinterest to reconstruct the wall. The narrator considers that creation and destruction is a cyclic process of nature and the human beings do not have the right to mend the wall. On the other side, the poem The Sounds of Silence deals with the importance of silence and sound in human life.

One can see that silence and sound are interconnected with the natural process of creation and destruction. B. Differences In the poem Mending Wall, the narrator does not like the process of creation because he is totally against the concept of reconstructing walls. To be specific, reconstruction of wall is symbolic of discrimination and marginalization. Besides, walls divide human minds and leads to hatred. In Robert Frost’s work, the narrator in the poem Mending Walls made clear that “We keep the wall between us as we go” (2). . Edwards’ work, the narrator in the poem The Sounds of Silence, stated the importance of silence as “And touched the sounds of silence” (14).

Besides, the narrator considers that silence and darkness improve his creativity. The narrator in this poem admires darkness and silence in his life. To be specific, he enjoys his life in a dreamy world and he does not like to communicate with the realities in life. C. Authors’ gender Robert Frost’s masculine viewpoint of nature is the core element of his work. To be specific, reconstruction or mending a wall can be considered as the masculine attempt to act against the law of nature. One can easily identify that the poet’s masculine identity can be seen in the neighbor’s attempt to reconstruct the wall.

The narrator is aware of the fact that mending a wall is symbolic of masculine power and creativity. Within this context, nature is symbolic of femininity, which is under the control of masculinity. Comparing with Robert Frost, Paul Simon’s work makes use of masculinity as the core element. One can see that Paul Simon’s interest to deal with darkness and silence can be considered as the masculine urge to create a new world. In addition, Paul Simon masculine identity is inherent in the narrator’s outlook of life, which discards femininity. D. The time period Robert Frost’s poem was published in the first half of the 20th century (say, in 1914).

During this period, Frost made use of blank verse as an important literary device in his works. One can see that this work is symbolic of metaphorical poems composed by the poet. The poems composed by Robert Frost during this period deal with the relationship of human beings with nature. Besides, the period of composition is important in this poem because the poet