Contents: Introduction Author Biography Poem Text Poem Summary Themes Historical Context Critical Overview Criticism Sources For Further Study

Style

“Mending Wall” is written in unrhymed iambic pentameter, or blank verse, a popular form in English. An iamb is a metrical foot containing two syllables, the first of which is unstressed and the second of which is stressed. In iambic pentameter, then, each line will consist of ten syllables. This is easiest seen if a line is diagrammed:

The work / of hunt / ers is / an oth / er thing.

When such lines are read aloud, the rhythm can be clearly heard and the pattern recognized by the ear. The repetition of metrical verse is one of the qualities that make such poetry pleasurable.