Compare and contrast the narrative qualities of "Mending Wall" and "Casey at the Bat." Both poems create a tense mood. Quote two examples from each poem that show the development of tension in the plot. Then describe how these lines develop the tension that is in the narrative.

"Mending Wall" "Casey at the Bat"

lines from poem that develop tension

example 1:

"Something here doesn't love a wall, / That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it, / And spills the upper boulders in the sun; / And makes gaps even two can pass abreast."

example 1:

"Then from 5000 throats and more there rose a lusty yell; / It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell; / It knocked upon the mountain and recoiled upon the flat, / For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat."

example 2:

"There where it is we do not need the wall: / He is all pine and I am apple orchard. / My apple trees will never get across / And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him. / He only says, "Good fences make good neighbours."

example 2:

"From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar, / Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stem and distant shore. / "Kill him! Kill the umpire!" shouted someone on the stand; / And it's likely they'd a-killed him had not Casey raised his hand."

how each example develops tension

The first example sets the mood of tension in the poem right away. It draws attention to the fact that the speaker of the poem doesn't really like walls, although the poem is about building a wall. The example continues with the speaker listing ways that a wall may prove disadvantageous.

The second example builds tension by developing the central conflict of the poem. It shows the speaker trying to convince his neighbor that they do not need the wall. He says that their lands are completely different, so there's no way that one neighbor can cause damage to the other. However, the neighbor calmly replies that he feels the wall is essential because "Good fences make good neighbours." This claim reflects a major difference of opinion about the value of creating physical and emotional boundaries between neighbors.

The first example begins with 5,000 people shouting, creating a mood of tension right away. The speaker builds up the tension to Casey's appearance by describing how the shouting echoes through large earthly structures, such as the "valley," "mountain," and the "dell." Finally, Casey makes his grand appearance and takes his position at the plate.

In the second example, the poet creates an atmosphere of tension by showing how the passion of the game is making the crowd unruly. He compares this mob to the "beating of storm-waves" on shore. Waves are wild and unpredictable, much like the behavior of this crowd. One heated fan even calls for the umpire to be killed. The poet juxtaposes the tense and heated reactions of the crowd with Casey's cool and calm gesture of simply raising his hand.