ROBERT FROST In this poem, the poet expresses the two ways in which the world may end. Some people say that the world will end by Fire while others say that it will end by Ice. The poet says that he is aware about the “fiery desires” of human emotions, so he will favor those who say that Fire will end the world. Then, the poet rethinks again and imagines, if the world has to die twice, then Ice has the capability, similar to Fire, to destroy the whole world. The poet compares fire and ice with the self-destructive nature of human beings. According to the poet, Fire stands for desire, greed and lust. There is no end to such emotions. The more humans try to fulfill them, the more rapidly these emotions spread, similar to fire. These feelings often engulf human life, and they get trapped in them. As a result, people become egotist, selfish and cruel. On the other hand, the poet describes Ice as the rigid, rough and hateful side of human emotions. People become harsh and do not care about the emotions and feelings of others. They are indifferent to others’ happiness and sorrow. Thus, the poet says that since Ice and Fire both are growing with such rapid speed the world will end soon, either by Fire or by Ice. The poem conveys a beautiful message that human emotions rule over them. If humans don't control their emotions, they | ~ will ruin their life and bring it to the verge of chaos.Explanation of the Poem: The poem expresses the profound idea that the world would end in either of two ways, either by ice or fire. One group is of the opinion that someday the Earth’s core will get so heated up that it would lead to fire destroying the earth's surface. On the other hand, the second group Says that if the temperature goes down to an extent that makes life on Earth impossible, it would have the same catastrophic effect. The poet then compares fire and ice with the destructive features of human emotions; desire and hatred. He says that from what he is aware about “fiery desires”, he would favour the ones who say that it would be fire. By saying so, he brings about the idea that human beings let their emotions rule them and the consequence of unmonitored longing is chaos. Then by not waving off the first option of fire, he considers if the world has to expire twice, ice would be equally competent in ending it. He brings about a contrast between “ice” and “hatred”. The human capability of insensitivity and hatred has the potential for inner destruction. Though slow and Steady, it has the same effect that desire has on us. So if given an option between fire and ice, ice would be just as good as fire to destroy the world.ABOUT THE POEM In the poem ‘Fire and Ice’, Frost explores two different ways in which the world might end. By debating the merits of each argument in a conversational tone, Frost subtly critiques humankind’s destructive nature. CENTRAL IDEA The Cental Idea of the poem of the poem rests on the fact that the world would end and two opinions about the end of the world. One is that the world would end due to ‘fire’ which represents the never ever satiated ‘desires’ of human beings. The poet sides with this opinion. The other opinion is that the world would end due to ‘ice’ which represents ‘hatred’ of the people. If we take the literal meanings then the world would end due to fiery temperature, volcanic eruptions and the likes which would raise the temperature of in the atmosphere. The ‘ice’ means the freezing of the earth due to extremely low temperature. SUMMARY ¢ Some people think fire will end the world; others think it will be ice. « From personal experience, Frost knows that fire, that is, human desire, has the power to destroy the world. « However, if the world has to end twice, then ice, that is, hate will also be enough.THEMES The major themes of this poem are: Humankind's Destructive Nature e Through the symbols of fire (desires) and ice (hatred), Frost comments on humankind’s capability to end the world. ¢ Hate and desires like anger, greed and violence — if allowed unchecked — can spread quickly leading to global wars and possibly extinction. ¢ The descriptions suggest that Frost has had first- hand experience with the consequences of these two destructive forces. Inevitability of the End of the World ¢ By not providing a scenario where the world might be saved, the poet believes that the world will end one way or the other. e He uses phrases like ‘world will end’ and ‘if it had to perish twice’ to further emphasise this.Symbolism e Frost symbolises the words ‘fire’ and ‘ice’. e ‘Fire’ symbolises the destructive nature of human desire. e ‘Ice’, on the other hand, symbolises the hatred that human beings feel for each other. e By symbolising ‘fire’ and ‘ice’, Frost seems to believe that rather than natural disasters, it is human beings who will end up destroying the planet not once but twice. Tone ¢ The tone of the poem is conversational. e This conversational tone seems deliberate so Frost can highlight the destructive nature of human emotions like desire and hate. e The tone also serves to heighten the dramatic nature of the events portrayed in the poem.Rhyme scheme — stanza 1 is abaa while for stanza 2 it is ababa. Symbolism — Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify some ideas by giving them symbolic meaning different from their literal meaning. ¢ Fire — symbolizes desire with human emotions like lust, fury, cruelty, greed etc.. ¢ Ice — symbolizes the hatred with cold feelings of humans such as rigidity, jealousy, indifference, intolerance etc.. Imagery —Imagery is the visualisation of the poetic description through our sensory organs. Here, the reader would visualise the destruction through fire or ice. The imagery formed would depend on how we perceive and imagine in the context being portrayed in the poem. It makes a poem picturesque as images are formed in the minds of the reader. Personification —Personification is to assig human qualities to non-living things. In this poem, ‘fire’ and ‘ice’ are capable to destroy the earth.Anaphora — Anaphora is the repetition of a word or expression at the start of two or more consecutive lines. For example: ‘Some say” is repeated at the start of the lines 1 and 2. Alliteration —Alliteration is repetition of the same sound used at the beginning of the nearly placed words. Example: The sound of ‘s’ in some say, ‘f’ in “Favour fire’, and ‘w’ in “world will”. Assonance - Assonance is the repetition of same vowel sounds in different words in the same line.Enjambment-—It is a line or clause that does not come to an end at a line break, rather it moves over to the next line. This device has been used prominently in the poem. For Example: “From what I've tasted of desire | hold with those who favour fire” Metaphor - It is a literary device that is used to make a covert comparison without using the words ‘like ‘or ‘as Here, the poet has used the terms ‘fire’ and ‘ice’ as metaphors for the human emotions related to desire and hatred. Antithesis — Fire is the antithesis of ice. Two contrasting and directly opposite destructive forces have been the hallmark of this poem; Fire and Ice’.