Read the excerpt from Robert Frost's "Mending Wall" on the left. Which line indicates that it is a narrative poem? Something the
re is that doesn't love a wall, That sends the frozen-grounds-swell under it, The work of hunters is another thing: I have come after them and made repair Something there is that 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. The work of hunters is another thing: I have come after them and made repair Where they have left not one stone on a stone, But they would have the rabbit out of hiding, To please the yelping dogs. from "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost
A narrative poem is one that requires that the narrator voice the story. These poems, therefore, include first person and also third person voices. Without the repeated line about what the narrator did, this poem could not be considered narrative.
The act of narration can be very complex, and can be told from the point of view of the author in his or her own reality or in the created reality of a main character.
