First Flight

Fire and Ice

_I-__--___g@
- by Robert Frost

Notes - By Neetu Sachdeva

(Team Edumantra)
 FIRE AND ICE

Introduction : -

" "
Fire
and Ice is a highly
symbolic poem by
Robert Frost This poem consists of two stanzas
.
-

two possibilities of destruction

dealing with
of world This poem is a
the . meditation about
how the world will end Fire represents
burning .

desires while ice on the other hand depicts ice

cold hatred It tells us about how human beings
.

will end of our own race

Message "
: -

"
The poem Fire and Ice conveys the message that
if human emotions of lust , greed
, jealousy anger , ,

hatred and indifference keep rising , the world will

sooner come to an end Fire here stands for .

desire and greed Ice stands for hatred and rigidity

, ,

According to the poet , desire is powerful and would

be a
quick end .

Stanza -1
Some say the world will end in fire
some say in ice
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favour fire
Explanation → Robert Frost
In this stanza, the poet ,

is analysing about the end of the world The poet says .

that these are two theories held by the people about

 how the world would be destroyed Some people .

are in view that it would end because of intense

heat as there is
global warming It means that earth 's
.

core will heat up which will lead to natural calamities

like volcanoes , earthquakes and tsunamis which will one
day end the earth ,
But there are others who believe
that the sun might lose its heat and the world will
freeze till all the species of flora and fauna ie plants .

and wildlife on earth becomes extinct once and for

all Therefore this theory is based on power of ice which
.

will
change the living conditions on earth .

Word Meaning
i. Desire → wish

2
.
Hold → to take side
3 .
Favour →
Support

Extract Based Ques / Ans stanza -

I

1 .
What is the poet 's opinion of the world ?
Ans → The poet 's opinion the ,
world will end in fire .

2 .
What do people think of the world ?
Ans → The think the world will be destroyed with fire and
people
ice .

'
refers to ?
•
3 .

What does I in the stanza

'
refers to the poet
'
Ans → I in the stanza .

'

symbolic of ?
•
4 .
What is Ice here
Ans → Icesymbolises cold feelings like hatred , jealousy apathy ,

and insensitivity .

"
Explain Some say the world will end in fire
"
5 .

.
Ans → Some people are in the opinion that violent feelings
like anger , cruelty , enmity and fury will bring the world
to an end .

6. which two things will destroy the world ?

Ans → Hatred and Desire will destroy the world ,

stanza -2
But if had to perish twice
I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

is also great
And would suffice .

Explanation → In this stanza the poet is very much scene

of the destruction of the humanity .
He first talks about
the destruction caused by fine and if it fails then ice
,

and freezing temperature will be enough to destroy the

earth The .
poet compares ice with hatred and jealosy .

He thinks that people have lost affection , love kindness

,

and sympathy .
The poet feels that it can be a potential
cause of the destruction of the world The end of the
.

that it doesn't matter which is stronger

poem suggests
-

fire or both carry the destructive

ice - elements which

may destroy the world .

Word Meaning
1- Perish → die
2- Suffice → be sufficient
3. Destruction→ wiping out
 Extract Based Ques / Ans stanza -2

What does it in the first line represent ?

• '
1 .

•
It in the first line represents the world
'
Ans → .

What does the poet mean by if he had to perish

'
2 ^

"
twice ?
Ans → The poet means that the world had to get destroyed
twice , each time by different force .

3- why does the poet feel that ice is also for destruction ?
• ,

enough destroy
• '
Ans → Ice equates with hatred which is to

the world .

4- '
•
What do you mean by Perish ?
Ans → Perish means to die or to be destroyed .

5 '
what would be the cause of destruction ?
Ans → IceFine would
or be the cause of cause of
destruction .

Question /Answers : -

Quest For Frost, what do fire and

' • ' '
stand for
.
Ice
?
Ans → The word fire stands for desire
•

.
In this poem , it
indicates all types of greed and lust Man 's greed is .

the existence of the planet Earth The word

endangering
•
.

in the poem indicates hatred and indifference

'
ice
which is as cold as ice Cold , indifference and hate can .

be
equally destructive .

Ques2 Write down the two different views about the end of
the world ?
Ans → There is a difference of opinion regarding the end of
the world .
People say that the world will end in fire or
 in ice . may burn the world out and
Global warming
excessive cold may spell its doom The world is .

transitory , nothing is permanent in this world .

Ques3. Briefly write about the ideas how the world will end .

Ans → The world will end either by fire or ice Some scientists .

believed that the world would be destroyer from its

fiery core ,
while others were convinced that the coming
ice age would destroy all
living things on the Earth's
surface Frost . introduces a more emotional side ,

associating desire with fire and hatred with ice .

" '

Quest what does Fire signify literally and symbolically ?

.

'
Ans → Literally fire ' implies the burning heat and refers
,

to the global warming which has the power to

turn the earth into a big fire hall . Symbolically ,

fire stands for the heat of desires

• '
,
love and

passion .
It also signifies human violence
,

ruthlessness and cruelty .