Fire and Ice Poem by Robert Frost: Analysis and Stucture
The point of Fire and Ice (Poem) appears to be that debating over how the world’s end will neither postpone or extend the event’s arrival. Let us see through the poet’s looking glass into the future.
Fire and Ice Poem
The speaker of the poem, presumably in the voice of Robert Frost, doesn’t care whether it’s one thing or another that causes things to go wrong.
What counts is how the heat or cold is dealt with. The poem was written and published in 1920, and it was later included in Frost’s 1923 collection, New Hampshire.
It was reputedly heavily influenced by Dante’s Inferno, notably in the depictions of Hell (which is strangely depicted in the novel as having nine tiers or circles — and Fire and Ice is a poem of nine lines).
Fire and Ice
By: Robert Frost
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
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Fire and Ice Summary and Analysis
This poem was clearly the result of considerable contemplation. Fire and Ice are composed of nine lines that alternate between three rhyming sounds – the rhyming summary for Fire and Ice is ABA ABC BCB. It is primarily basic and contains a narrator recounting the end of the world in their own view.
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
These first few words represent the general public’s dispute over how the world would end. In today’s parlance, “fire” and “ice” may easily stand-in for “nuclear tragedy” and “climate change.” Frost’s usage of “fire” and “ice,” on the other hand, is mostly a metaphorical choice that gives the poem up to several interpretations.
Of course, ice and fire are diametrically opposed, implying that most people have diametrically opposed opinions on the apocalypse – after all, the world cannot end in ice and fire at the same moment.
Ice and fire are also two extremes that, on a large enough scale, may do enormous devastation, and are appropriate metaphors for harbingers of death.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
The speaker expresses their own viewpoint here, equating fire with desire, implying that it is synonymous with emotions, greed, and fury. Fire is utilized as a metaphor for powerful, devouring emotions like passion.
It’s an apt analogy: fire shows a person the path in a candle or a fireplace. It is both warm and light. Small wants, on the other hand, are not a problem and can lead a person to the things they seek in life. However, on a big scale, the fire eats and destroys, as does desire.
The speaker remembers their experiences with a strong yearning and believes that it is these types of emotions and impulses that drive the world down an unreversible road. The world will end in fire, according to the speaker.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
The speaker is concerned about the ice, which is the polar opposite of the speaker’s burning aspirations. They think the globe will burn, in one form or another, and that will be the end of it — but if it doesn’t end, and the fire isn’t enough, the rest of the poem continues, they believe the ice can do it as well.
A freezing sheen of ice indicates hostility to the speaker, as opposed to a scorching flame. They imagine it as something that would cool the planet, slow everything down, and isolate each individual to the point that the human species would perish.
The potential for ice “would suffice,” and while they believe in the destructive force of desire, they find no reason to assume that hatred couldn’t just as quickly kill the planet.
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Form and Structure
The poem is composed in a single nine-line stanza that narrows dramatically in the last two lines. The meter of the poem is an unusual blend of iambic tetrameter and dimeter, and the rhyme structure (ABA ABC BCB) implies but differs from Dante’s terza rima.
”Fire and Ice” Theme
The catastrophic powers mentioned in “Fire and Ice” operate on two levels. Fire and ice may be devastating forces in the literal sense. The thoughts that the poem plainly relates fire and ice to (desire and hatred, respectively) may, on the other hand, be as all-consuming.
Hatred and want are not destructive forces in the same way that the elemental elements are. The poetry, on the other hand, shows that when individuals are driven by an obsession, whether it is motivated by hatred or desire, disaster can occur.
Aside from symbolic metaphors, Frost employs additional complex but equally, obvious language to emphasize the poem’s message. The speaker cites “destruction,” the possibility of dying twice, and the notion that “the world will end” in the opening sentence.
Analysis of Literary Devices in “Fire and Ice”
Literary Devices are used by writers and poets to add distinctiveness and complexity to plain works. They also allow for a variety of readings of the passages. In this poem, Robert Frost also employs several literary tricks. The following is a study of some of the literary strategies utilized in this poem.
1. Assonance:
Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the long sound of /o/ in “I hold with those who favor fire”.
2. Alliteration:
Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /f/ in “I hold with those who favor fire”.
3. Imagery:
Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example,
Some say the world will end in fire
and
To say that for destruction ice, is also great
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4. Symbolism:
Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities, by giving them symbolic meanings different from their literal meanings. “Fire” is the symbol of desires and “Ice” symbolizes hatred. Similarly, “green” and “gold” are the symbol of beauty and happiness.
5. Anaphora:
It refers to the repetition of a word or expression in the first part of some verses. For example,
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
6. Personification:
Personification is to give human qualities to inanimate objects. In this poem, “Fire” and “Ice” are capable of destruction. Therefore, the poet personifies fire and ice by giving them a mind which is capable of destroying almost anything.
7. Enjambment:
It is defined as a thought or clause that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it moves over the next line. For example,
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
This might not be an all inclusive meaning and can be totally unrelatable but with faith on the poet’s foresight, we stick to what is logical and then succumb to the beauty of his creativity.
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