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Frost: go behind his father's saying

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Marius Hancu

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Feb 25, 2010, 5:44:35 AM2/25/10
to
Hello:

Now, does
"like an old-stone savage armed"
mean
"armed like an old-stone savage"
or
"like an old-stone armed savage?"

Also, does:
"He will not go behind his father's saying"
mean
"He will not look for a hidden meaning in his father's saying"
or:
"He will not disrespect/avoid his father's saying?"


---
MENDING WALL

...

I see him there
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.

...

He will not go behind his father's saying,
And he likes having thought of it so well
He says again, "Good fences make good neighbors."

Robert Frost, p. 33
http://writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88/frost-mending.html
---
Thanks.
Marius Hancu

Mike Lyle

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Feb 25, 2010, 6:48:40 AM2/25/10
to
Marius Hancu wrote:
> Hello:
>
> Now, does
> "like an old-stone savage armed"
> mean
> "armed like an old-stone savage"
> or
> "like an old-stone armed savage?"

I think he means "an armed savage from the old stone age".


>
> Also, does:
> "He will not go behind his father's saying"
> mean
> "He will not look for a hidden meaning in his father's saying"
> or:
> "He will not disrespect/avoid his father's saying?"

Both, in my opinion: it's quite a rich expression. It includes the ideas
of deceitfully "going behind his father's back", of finding another
route, and perhaps looking at the saying's origins rather than simply
taking it at face value.


>
>
> ---
> MENDING WALL
>
> ...
>
> I see him there
> Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
> In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.
>
> ...
>
> He will not go behind his father's saying,
> And he likes having thought of it so well
> He says again, "Good fences make good neighbors."
>
> Robert Frost, p. 33
> http://writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88/frost-mending.html


--
Mike.


Derek Turner

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Feb 25, 2010, 7:05:57 AM2/25/10
to
On Thu, 25 Feb 2010 02:44:35 -0800, Marius Hancu wrote:

> Hello:
>
> Now, does
> "like an old-stone savage armed"
> mean
> "armed like an old-stone savage"
> or
> "like an old-stone armed savage?"

I read it as palaeolithic rather than neolithic.

Marius Hancu

unread,
Feb 25, 2010, 7:56:34 AM2/25/10
to
On Feb 25, 6:48 am, "Mike Lyle" <mike_lyle...@REMOVETHISyahoo.co.uk>
wrote:

> > Now, does
> > "like an old-stone savage armed"
> > mean
> > "armed like an old-stone savage"
> > or
> > "like an old-stone armed savage?"
>
> I think he means "an armed savage from the old stone age".
>
>
>
> > Also, does:
> > "He will not go behind his father's saying"
> > mean
> > "He will not look for a hidden meaning in his father's saying"
> > or:
> > "He will not disrespect/avoid his father's saying?"
>
> Both, in my opinion: it's quite a rich expression. It includes the ideas
> of deceitfully "going behind his father's back", of finding another
> route, and perhaps looking at the saying's origins rather than simply
> taking it at face value.

Thank you both.
Marius Hancu

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