Fire and Ice

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.

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.

                                        ^{ROBERT FROST}

About the author – Robert Frost

Robert Frost was born on March 26^th, 1873 in San Francisco and died in January 29, 1963.  Frost mostly wrote about the life and landscape of New England. He avoided the poetic experiments of his time and was a poet of traditional verse forms and meter.  Frost, one of the best-known and most beloved American poets of the 20th century, won the Pulitzer Prize four times for New Hampshire (1924), Collected Poems (1931), A Further Range (1937), and A Witness Tree (1943).

Fire and Ice was published in his Pulitzer Prize winning magazine ‘New Hampshire’ in 1920. This one of his most anthologized poem and is assumed to have taken inspiration from Dante’s ‘Inferno’. The nine lines of the poem represent the nine rings of hell.

Word meanings: Fire and Ice

Perish: die

Favour – support

Desire – strong emotion to get something

Suffice: be sufficient

Summary of ‘Fire and Ice’

In this symbolical poem Robert Frost ponders about the manner in which the world might come to an end. He says that people are of the opinion that the world may be destroyed due to fire (great passion) or ice (cold hatred).  

He further adds that from his experience of intense passion or great desire, he would say that unbridled emotion definitely has the capacity to bring about the end of the world.

Then he goes on to say that if the world is to be destroyed the second time- the ice cold qualities of hatred and indifference would prove to be equally competent in destroying the world.  The freezing of emotions would freeze relationships, encourage destructive tendencies in humans, which would result in destruction of the world.

Explanation of the poem – Fire and Ice

Some say the world will end in fire

Some say in ice.

The first two lines bring about the debate on the manner in which the world would come to an end. Through contradictory statements the poet says that there are people who say that the world would come to an end due to fire as a result of excessive heating up of the world. Then there is another group of people who hold the opinion that the end of the world would be an outcome of excessive dip in temperatures which would freeze the world and life would cease to exist.

From what I’ve tasted of desire

I hold with those who favour fire.

In the third and fourth line poet gives a metaphorical meaning to the word fire which represents deep passion or uncontrolled emotions in humans. He says that with his knowledge of human emotions he would side with those who say that the world would be destroyed by excessive desire for things which would result in massive destruction.

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.

In the last few lines the poet says that if the world needs to be destroyed a second time; ice, which is the metaphor for cold contempt, disdain, hatred and abhorrence, would be good enough for the task. Animosity would kill off all kind feelings and foster enmity among people. Hatred would lead to large scale destruction, and would be sufficient enough to bring about an end of the world.

Literary Devices in ‘Fire and Ice’

Alliteration – Repetition of same consonant sound in consecutive or nearby words.

I hold with those who favour fire. – ‘f’sound is repeated.

Some say in ice.-                                      ‘s’ sound is repeated

Anaphora– the repetition of a word or expression at the start of two or more consecutive lines

Some say – lines one and two begin with ‘Some say’

Assonance – Repetition of vowel sound in consecutive or nearby words.

I hold with those who favour fire.

Enjambment – continuation of a sentence to the next line. Here the entire poem is a continuous line.

‘From what I’ve tasted of desire

I hold with those who favour fire.’

.

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice.

Irony – use of words in which the superficial meaning is actually opposite to the real or literal meaning.

Is also great

And would suffice.

Paradox–  self -contradictory statement

But if it had to perish twice,

Understatement – use of an expression that is far less important or of lesser strength than it actually is. Opposite of exaggeration.

And would suffice.

Question / Answers of ‘Fire and Ice’

1. There are many ideas about how the world will ‘end’. Do you think the world will end some day? Have you ever thought what would happen if the sun got so hot that it ‘burst’, or grew colder and colder?

Ans.  In the rule of nature everything that has been created will be destroyed.  The world too will definitely come to an end at some point of time or the other. The end might be due to excessive rise in temperatures resulting in fire engulfing everything and bringing about an end of the world. On the other, hand if the temperatures dipped to extremely low temperatures, everything would be frozen and life would cease to exist.  

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.  In the poem ‘Fire’ is the metaphor for -, greed, avarice, cruelty, lust, passion, desire and fury. It stands for emotional intensity.

  ‘Ice’ stands for intolerance, rigidity, insensitivity, coldness, indifference, contempt, disdain, abhorrence, animosity, enmity and hatred. It stands for emotional numbness.

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

The rhyme scheme of the poem is abaa bcbcb.

The poet has used the rhyme scheme to bring forth the paradoxical ideas of different people regarding the manner in which the world would come to an end. The rhyme scheme effectively creates sound effects that leave a lasting effect on the listeners. It also intends to evoke the desired emotions among the listeners. The constant change of rhyming words from ‘ire’ to ‘ice’ has been deliberately used to bring out the two contrasting ideas of desire and hatred which might bring about a catastrophic end to the world.

Extra Questions- ‘Fire and Ice’

Q. What is the message of the poem ‘Fire and Ice’?

Ans. Through the poem the poet gives the message that lack of control over human emotions has the capacity to bring out an apocalypse and a catastrophic end to the world.

Q. What is the theme of the poem ‘Fire and Ice’?

Ans. The theme of ‘Fire and Ice’ is the destructive power of unbridled human emotions which can bring about an end to the world.

Q. What type of poem is ‘fire and ice’?

Ans. The poem is a work of ‘eschatology’ – writing about the end of the world. The poem debates the possible reasons for the catastrophic end of the world. It may be due to fire (desires) or ice (hatred).

Q. What is the tone of the poem ‘Fire and Ice’?

Ans. Frost has used a bleak, pessimistic tone in this poem to discuss the possible ways in which the world would come to an end.