FIRE AND ICE

-By Robert Frost

CENTRAL IDEA

"Fire and Ice' presents the debate about the possible ways in which the world can come
to an end - either by excessive heat or unbearable cold. The poet extends the debate to
speak for human emotions. Like fire, lust and greed can destroy the world. On the other
hand, like ice, hate can freeze all life on earth into extinction.

SUMMARY

Fire and Ice' presents two ideas about how the world will end. One way that it might end
is by fire. The earth could be consumed by its own fiery core, or be incinerated by an
increasingly hot sun. Conversely, it could be frozen to death by the sun growing colder
and colder. The scientific debate too suggested these two possibilities. In the poem,
however, the poet adds an emotional dimension to the debate. He equates fire with greed
and desire, and ice with hate. He thinks the world will be destroyed by overweening
desire. However, if the world were to perish a second time, hate would also destroy it as
unerringly as desire. The poet has experienced both flaming desire and cold, unemotional
hate, and knows that they would both suffice to destroy the world.

THEME

The speaker of this poem expresses his opinion on how he thinks the world will end. He
has heard some people argue in favour of fire, while others think that it will be ice that
brings upon the destruction.

The speaker first takes up the argument for fire. He likens it to desire and decides that
fire is capable of causing annihilation. Then the speaker explains that if the world had to
end twice, ice, which in this context is a metaphor for hatred, will be just as effective as
fire.

The speaker's response to the debate is less about being unable to decide which force is
more harmful than the other. Rather, it seeks to emphasise that all extreme emotions are
the same. Lust and greed grow from desire, while cruelty and jealousy breed from hatred.
They are present in human beings in varying degrees; in excess they can incite us to do
terrible things.
KEY POINTS

• The poem has been written symbolically.

• The poet says that there are mainly two opinions about the end of this world, one by
fire and another by ice.
• The symbols-‘Fire’ and ‘Ice’ have been used for human emotions like desire and
hatred respectively.
• As fire can spread very fast and cause a great destruction in no time likewise our
desires may also prove very destructive if they go out of control.
• Hatred causes slow destruction like ice but it is also very harmful.

POETIC DEVICES

Robert Frost has used some literary devices in this poem. The analysis of some of the
literary devices used in this poem is given below:

• 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”.
• Alliteration: Alliteration is the use of the same letter or sound at the beginning of words
that are close together, consonant such as the sound of /f/ in “I hold with those who
favor fire”.
• 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”.

Allusion : In the poem the speaker uses allusion when he states, “Some say the world
will end in fire, Some say in Ice”(lines 1-2). Throughout history there have been many
scientific theories on how the world will end. One theory is that the world will be
destroyed by heat from global warming. Another theory is that the world will be
destroyed by a nuclear ice storm. The speaker is alluding to these two scientific theories
by using the words ‘fire’ and ‘ice’.

• Gustatory imagery is a type of imagery that aims at a reader's sense of taste.

E g : From what I’ve tasted of desire.

• Symbolism: Symbolism is a use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities, by giving

them symbolic meanings different from their literal meanings. “Fire” is the symbol of
desire and “Ice” symbolizes hatred.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.”

• Paradox: A paradox is a statement that seems to contradict itself, or seems to go against

itself, but may contain a basic or underlying truth when examined more closely. A
paradox may be thought of as working against common sense but seems to be true, or
state a truth. E.g. But if it had to perish twice.
• Antithesis: An antithesis, 'anti' – against; 'thesis' – placing, is a figure of speech in which
one word or idea is set against another with the object of heightening the effect of what
is said by contrast. For example: Fire is the antithesis of ice.
• Metaphor: The poem "Fire and Ice" by Robert Frost is a metaphor for
human perceptions of desires and hatred.

QUESTION ANSWERS

1. There are many ideas about how the world will ‘end’. Do you think the world will
end someday? Have you ever thought what would happen if the sun got so hot that it
‘burst’, or grew colder and colder?
Ans: There are multiple theories about how the world will ‘end’. Yes, I do believe that
the world will end someday as we all know that every particular thing which begins also
has an end to it. This holds true for the world too, that if the Sun gets so hot and it bursts,
the entire life on Earth would perish immediately as the planet would not be able to
tolerate the intensity of heat. On the contrary, if the Sun grew colder and colder, it is
obvious that life will come to an end without sunlight. We are aware of the fact that
sunlight is a rich source of energy to all the planets in the solar system.
2. For Frost, what do ‘fire’ and ‘ice’ stand for? Here are some ideas:

greed avarice cruelty lust

conflict fury intolerance rigidity

insensitivity coldness indifference hatred

Ans: ‘Fire’ stands for greed, avarice, lust, conflict and fury. ‘Ice’ stands for cruelty,
intolerance, rigidity, insensitivity, coldness, indifference and hatred.

3. What is the rhyme scheme of the poem? How does it help in bringing out the
contrasting ideas in the poem?

Ans: The rhyme scheme of the poem is : abaa bcbcb.

This rhyme scheme helps in projecting the contrasting ideas of ‘fire’ and ‘ice’ that are
presented in the poem. The poet Frost mentions both fire and ice as the probable ends of
the planet Earth. He talks about how ‘fire’ represents desire and might be a possible cause
of the end of the world. The poet also mentions ‘ice’ in the poem to symbolize the coldness
and indifference that people might have towards one another, which will be a reason
good enough to end the world. In the second stanza of the poem, the poet says that he
knows enough about hate in this world and is sure that even destruction through hatred
(ice) would be sufficient and adequate to bring about an end to the planet Earth.