Traditions have always had a substantial effect on the lives of human beings, and always will. Robert Frost uses many unique poetic devices in his poem "Mending Wall," as well as many shifts in the speaker's tone to develop his thoughts on traditions. The three predominant tones used are those of questioning, irony and humor.
             The speaker questions many things in relation to the wall that is being rebuilt. For example, "Something there is that doesn't love a wall" (ll. 1, 35), is used to question what despises the wall's presence. The speaker goes on to discuss the earth's swells that make gaps in the wall (l. 2), as well as the hunters, (l. 5) "not leaving a stone on a stone," (l. 7) merely to please the yelping dogs with a rabbit. In line thirty, the speaker questions, "Why do they make good neighbors" because he believes that the wall is interfering with a possible relationship with his neighbor. Another key question asked is "What I was walling in or walling out," (l. 33) to show that there is no difference when the wall is construct or not, both neighbor's tasks are completed and no harm is done.
             Frost develops irony through his shifts in tone within the "Mending Wall." The irony is most dramatic in lines fourteen and fifteen, "And set the wall between us once again We keep the wall between us as we go." The speaker now realizes that the wall separates the neighbors, but also unites them at mending time, for the purpose of placing themselves apart once again. Other ironical situations are developed by the speaker's tone of questioning and his/her ability to initiate thoughts. It is rather apparent that in the early stages of the poem, the speaker does not comprehend the wall's existence; eventually, the speaker begins to think for himself and express his feelings about the wall.
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