Fire and Ice (Poem)

A. About the Poet - Robert Frost

Robert Frost was a famous American poet. He was born in San Francisco
on March 26, 1874. His father belonged to New
England, and his mother was a Scottish
emigrant from Edinburgh. By 1920s, Frost was
the most celebrated poet in America. His
poetical works ‘A Boy’s Will’ (1913), ‘North of
Boston’ (1914), `New Hampshire’ (1923), ‘A
Further Range’ (1936) ‘Steeple Bush’ (1947)
and ‘In the Clearing’ (1962) increased his fame
and honour. The poem ‘Dust of Snow’ was
published in ‘New Hampshire’ in 1923. This collection gave him the Pulitzer
Prize.

B. Introduction

‘Fire and Ice’ is a highly symbolic poem by Robert Frost. This poem is
a meditation about how the world will end the poet says that the fire
of lusts and endless desires and ice of hatred among human beings
will put this world to an end one day.

C. Plot/ Theme / Central Idea of the Lesson/ Literary Analysis

Central Idea

`Fire and Ice’, is an extremely compact little lyric. Not a syllable is

wasted. The theme of the poem is the age-old question. The question is
whether the world will end in fire or in ice. The poet decides that any of
the two options would achieve its purpose sufficiently well. The poet
shares the common belief that everything that exists will have its end
too. People are divided on this issue. Some think that the natural
element of fire will cause the destruction of this world. Others believe
that ice will be the cause of the end. Putting in terms of human
 emotions, the element of ‘fire’ stands for passions, desires and love.
Unbridled passions and desires can cause the end of the world. The
poet has experienced both these emotions. It doesn’t matter how the
world will end. Even hate born out of cold and icy reason is sufficient to
cause destruction and the end of the world.

D. SHORT SUMMARY

‘Fire and Ice’ is a symbolic poem by Robert Frost. The poet wants to aware
the humanity that everything will end one day as a result of human
misdeeds’. The poet says that both fire and ice are destructive. Fire of
violent desires will put the world to an end. If the world had to perish twice
then it will be-perished by-. The hatred between man and man. Ice has
been presented as a symbol of hatred.

E. Detailed Summary

1. End of the World: It is certain that this world will come to an end. The
poet shares the belief of the people that everything that exists now will
end sooner or later. The poet deals with a very sublime subject — the
end of the world.

2. Two Different Beliefs: The poet talks about the two different beliefs
regarding the end of this material world. Some say that this world will
‘end in the fire’. The world will be reduced to a fireball in the end. There
are others who think that this world will end in ice, freezing all kinds of
life into death and destruction.

3. Poet’s View: The poet sides with those who believe that this world
will end in fire. The poet links these two very powerful elements of
nature to human emotions and human behaviour. ‘Fire’ is a symbol of
human passions.

The fire also stands for unbridled desires. Uncontrolled passions of

love and desire will be the cause of the destruction of this world.
Uncontrolled fire and untamed passionate desires will certainly bring
an end of this world. The poet confesses that he himself has ‘tasted
 of desire’. So, he is quite aware of the potential of unbridled passions
and fire of the love of causing death and destruction.

4. ‘Ice’ Represents ‘Hate’ or ‘Cold’ Reason: No doubt, ‘fire’ can

bring an end of this world. But if this world has to be destroyed twice,
then Ice’ can serve that purpose `Ice’ represents a dialectical emotion
that is opposite to ‘fire’. It represents ‘hate’. This ‘hate’ is not the
product of an outburst for revenge. On the other hand, it stands for
cold and ice reasoning. The poet compares the nature of ice with
hatred. Ice benumbs. So is cold and calculated reasoning. ‘Hate’ born
of cold reasoning, makes a man insensitive to feelings. Hatred can
make our minds numb. Cold thoughts and reasoning make us,
insensitive and cruel. So, the poet thinks that ‘ice’ or ‘hate’ can be a
great and strong cause for the destruction of this world. ‘Ice’ or hatred
will ‘suffice’ to bring an end of this world.

F. Poetic Devices:

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.

i. Assonance- Prominent sound of a single vowel throughout the

sentence.

Example- The prominent sound of ‘o’ in “I hold with those who

 favour fire.”

ii. Alliteration- It is the repetition of a letter at the start of closely

placed words.

Example- 1. Letter ‘f’ in “favour fire”

2. Letter ‘w’ in “world will”

iii. Imagery- It is used to make readers perceive things that involve

their senses. Throughout the stanza we imagine things because of
the strong visual elements. The speaker also used words like – some
say; tasted desire, which again use our senses.

iv. Anaphora- It is the repetition of a word at the start of two

or more consecutive lines.

Example – “Some say” is repeated at the beginning of lines 1 and 2.

v. Personification- It means to give human qualities to

inanimate objects. In this poem, the poet portrays that fire
is capable of destruction. Thus, the poet is personifying fire
by giving it power to destroy anything and everything.

vi. Enjambment- It is defined as a clause that does not come

to an end at a line break and keeps moving over to the next
line.

Example- From what I’ve tasted of desire

I hold with those who favour fire

vii. Antithesis – The poet has used two words opposite in

meaning in the stanza – fire and ice.

viii. Symbolism –
 1. The Word fire has been used as a symbol of desire.

2. The phrase end of the word is here a symbol for self-destruction of

humans. The poet mentions that fire is enough for the world to end that
simply means that desire is enough for self destruction of a human.

Ix. Metaphor – The poet compares fire with desire.

Stanza 2

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.

i. Imagery- It is used to make readers perceive things that involve

their senses. Throughout the stanza we imagine things because of
the strong visual elements. Example- To say that for destruction
ice Is also great, here the poet has used the word say, which
again involves our sense of speaking.

ii. Personification- It means to give human qualities to inanimate

objects. In this poem, the poet portrays that ice is capable of
destruction. Thus, the poet is personifying ice by giving it power to
destroy anything and everything.
 iii. Symbolism – The word “ice” has been used as a symbol of
hatred.

iv. Metaphor – The poet compares ice with hatred.

G. Thinking about the Poem

Question 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 gets so hot that it ‘bursts’ or grows colder and colder?
Answer:
There are definitely many ideas about how the world will ‘end’. I do believe
that the world will end some day as anything that has a beginning will have
an end. This stands true for the world also, if the Sun got so hot that it
burst, the whole of the Earth would perish immediately as no part of the
Earth can bear the heat of that intensity. But if the Sun grew colder and
colder, everything will come to an end as without sunlight, life will end.

Question 2.

For Frost, what do ‘fire’ and ‘ice’ stand for?

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

Question 3.

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

Answer:
The rhyme scheme of the poem is- abaa ababa

This rhyme scheme helps in bringing out the contrasting ideas of ‘fire’ and
‘ice’ presented in the poem. The poet mentions that both fire and ice are
probable ends of this world. He talks about how fire represents desire and
can therefore be a cause of the end of the world. Frost also mentions ice in
between to symbolise that the coldness and indifference towards one
another will be enough to end the world. In the second stanza, he says that
he knows of enough hate in the world to be sure that even destruction
through ice . would be sufficient to bring about the end of the world.

H. MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. What will the world end in?
(A) fire (B) ice
(C) both (A) and (B) (D) none of the above
Ans. (C) both (A) and (B)
2. What does violent desire refer to?
(A) fire (B) ice.
(C) both (A) and (B) (D) none of the above
Ans. (A) fire

3. What does ‘ice’ symbolizes?

(A) love (B) hatred
(C) violent desire (D) all of the above
Ans. (B) hatred
4. What do some people think, the world will end in?
(A) fire (B) sun
(C) moon (D) rain
Ans. (A) fire

5. What does the poet think, the world will end in?
(A) love (B) ice
(C) both (D) none of the above
Ans. (B) ice
6. Can hatred destroy the world?
(A) yes (B) no
(C) maybe (D) may not be
Ans. (A) yes
7. According to Robert Frost, what will end one day
(A) fire (B) ice
(C) both (A) and (B) (D) the world
Ans. (D) the world

8. Who is the poet of the poem ‘Fire and Ice’?

(A) Robert Frost (B)William Cowper

© Ben Jonson (D) William Blake

Ans. (A) Robert Frost

I. Extract Based Questions and Answers

Read the extracts and answer the questions that follow.
a. 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.
(a) What do people think of the world?
(b) What is the poet’s opinion about the world?
(c) Which two things will destroy the world?
(d) What is the prediction of the people about how the world will come to
an end?
Ans. (a) The world will be destroyed with fire and ice.
(b) The poet thinks that we should check our growing desires and love our
fellow-beings.
c) Hatred and Desire.
d) Some people say that the world will come to an end in a fire while others
say it will come to an end in ice.

b. 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.
(a) Why does the poet feel that ‘ice’ is also great for destruction?
(b) What is the rhyme scheme of this stanza of the poem?
(c) The two things that the poet thinks are good enough for destruction
are
(d) What does ‘it’ stand for in the first line?

Ans. (a) Ice equates with `hatred’, which is enough to destroy the world.
(b) a b a b a.
c) fire and ice which means ‘hatred’ and `desire’
d) `it’ here stands for the world.

J. Short Answer Type Questions

Answer the following questions in 30-40 words :
1. What do you think would be enough to destroy the world? Can
Fire and Ice contribute to it?

Ans. Our desires and hatred would be enough to destroy the world.
According to the poet, `fire’ represents ‘desire’ and `ice’ represents
`hatred’. Desires like fire spread rapidly and engulf one’s whole life.
Similarly, ‘hatred’ fills life with poison.
 2. What is the underlying idea of the poem `Fire and Ice’?

Ans. The poet equates fire with `desire’ and ice with ‘hatred’. Both of
these are growing with enormous speed. If we don’t check them from
growing, the world will perish. So we must restrain our desires and love
our fellow-beings.
3. Which two ideas about how the world will end have been
mentioned in the poem? Which idea does the poet support
more?
Ans. The two ideas mentioned are that the world will end in fire or in ice.
Though the poet thinks both are great for destruction, yet he seems to
favour the idea of the destruction of the world in a fire a little more than in
ice.
4. What does ‘fire’ and ice’ stand for and what is the general opinion
regarding the world?
Or
4. According to the poet, what do ‘fire’ and ‘ice’ represent? Do you
agree with him?
Ans. According to the poet, ‘fire’ represents desire and ‘ice’ represents
hatred. I do agree with the poet. Desires like fire spread rapidly and engulf
one’s whole life. Similarly ‘hatred’ fills the whole life with poison. It makes
one hard-hearted and cruel.

5. What do people think about the ending of the world? What does
the poet think?

Ans. Some people think that someday the world will end in fire. On the
other hand. Some people say. That it will end in ice. The poet has tasted
both the fire and the ice. He thinks that the world will end in fire. Here
fire stands for the tire of desire.

6. How will the world end twice?

 Ans. The poet says that both fire and ice are destructive. Here fire
stands for the heat of desire and ice stands for hatred He thinks that our
violent desires will end the world. If it survives, it will be ruined by hatred.

Q7. What is the main idea of the poem?

Ans. The main idea of the poem is that there are violent passions in the
world. They are destructive. But mare distinctive Mail those violent
desires is the hatred between man and man. The poet thinks that one
day this hatred will destroy the world.

8. Will this world come to an end? What does the poet say in this
regard?
Ans. Everything that has a beginning or origin, does have an end. It is the
eternal law of nature. The existing world will come to an end, someday. The
poet believes as many people believe that either ‘fire’ or ‘ice’ will be the
cause of the end of the world.

Q9. What do people think about the end of the world? Who does the
poet side with and why?
Ans. People are divided over the cause of the end of this world. Some
people think that ‘fire’ symbolised by unbridled passions, desires and fury
will destroy this world. Others believe that ‘ice’ symbolised by cold
reasoning, indifference and hatred will be the cause of destruction. The
poet sides with those who believe that ‘fire’ or unbridled passions and
desires will result in the destruction of the world.

Q10. Why does the poet say, ‘I’ve tasted of desire/I hold with those
who favour fire?
Ans. The poet is familiar with the fire of passions and desires in love. He
knows it quite well that are uncontrolled desires, passions and fury lead to
our destruction. Similarly, he sides with those people who believe that ‘fire’
symbolised by unbridled passions and desires with be the real cause of the
end of the world.

Q11. What will be the cause of the end of the world if it has to perish
twice?
Ans. This world is not eternal. Its end is certain. The poet sides with those
people who think that ‘fire’ will cause the end of the existing world. But if
this world has to perish twice then ‘ice’ is as strong to bring the end of the
world as ‘fire’ is. Icy reasoning devoid of human love and sympathy and
hatred is sufficient to bring an end of this world.

Q12. How does the poet ‘know enough of hate’? Where will this ‘hate’
lead to?
Ans. ‘Icy’ or cold reasoning can lead to rigidity, indifference and
insensitiveness. This can take away all warmth of human feelings, love and
sympathy. The result can be disastrous. ‘Hatred’ born out of cold and ‘Icy’
reasoning can lead to the destruction of the world.

Q13. How will ‘ice’ be as ‘great’ and ‘suffice’ for causing the end of
this existing world? Do you agree with the poet?
Ans. There is no need for ‘fire’ to destroy the world. Even ‘ice’ is sufficient
and ‘strong’ enough to cause the destruction of this world. If this world has
to ‘perish twice’, then there is no need for fire to destroy it twice. ‘Ice’ is as
‘strong’ and ‘great’ a cause that can cause the end of this world.

Q14. What is the message of the poem ‘Fire and Ice’?

Ans. The metaphors of ‘fire’ and ‘ice’ are used very effectively to convey a
definite message to the readers. ‘Fire’ here stands for our unbridled,
uncontrolled and unchecked passions, desires, lust and fury. Such
passions are disastrous for human beings. Similarly cold reasoning devoid
of all human warmth, love, sympathy will bring insensitivity, cruelty and
rigidity. This hatred will lead to the end of this world.

Q15. From when I have tasted of desire

I hold with those who favour fire.
Why does the poet hold with those who favour fire?
Ans.The poet sides with those who believe that the world will be destroyed
by fire. ‘Fire’ is a symbol of desire. The poet has already experienced
desire. On the basis of his experience, he knows that excessive desire will
destroy the world. That is why he holds with those who favour fire.

Q16. But if it has to perish twice

I think I know enough of hate.
What does ‘it’ refer to? How will it perish twice?
Ans. ‘It’ here refers to the world. The poet says that people hold different
opinions about the end of the world. Some say ‘fire’, which stands for
‘desire’, will destroy the world. Secondly, ‘ice’, which stands for ‘hatred’ can
also destroy the world.

Q17. To say that for destruction ice

Is also great
In the poem what does ‘ice’ stand for? How is it sufficient to bring
destruction?
Ans. ‘Ice’ stands for ‘hatred’. Hatred may be religious, communal or of any
other type. According to the poet, there is enough hatred in the world which
will destroy the external, physical world one day.

K. Long Answer Type Questions.

Answer the following questions in 100-120 words :
1. How does the poem depict the two contrasting ideas— ‘Fire’ and ‘Ice’?
Can hatred destroy us and the world? Explain bringing out values which
can make this world a better place to live in.
Ans. (i) In this poem, Robert Frost refers to two contrasting ideas—Fire
and Ice as predictions of how the world will end. According to him, some
people to say that the world will end in a fire while some others hold that
this will end in ice. The poet equates desire with fire and hatred with ice.
Both the desire and hatred are growing with such a rapid speed that the
world will come to an end either of the ways.
(ii) Yes, hatred can destroy us and the world. Intolerance in behaviour
creates hatred that leads to fury and cruelty. One becomes hard-hearted
and insensitive to the feelings of others.
(iii) Love, brotherhood, tolerance, peace, contentment, sensitivity,
benevolence, generosity among people can make this world a better place
to live in.

2. 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 in the first stanza is a, b; a, band in
the second stanza it is – a, b, a, b, a.
The lines ending with the same rhythm have the same idea but the line that
ends with a different note has the contrasting idea. In the first stanza, the
first, third and fourth lines end with the words fire, desire, fire – same
rhythm but the second line ends with the word ‘ice’, a different note, also it
contrasts with ‘fire’.
Thus the poet has brought out the contrasting ideas in the poem by using
different rhythm.

Q3. There are many ideas about how this world will come to an ‘end’.
What are they? Do you agree with the poet and his understanding of
the poet and his understanding of the issue in this regard?
Ans. Almost all think that this world will end at one time or the other. It is
true that everything that has a beginning or origin will come to an end too.
There are many ideas about how this world will come to an end. Some
think that ‘fire’ will be the cause of the ‘end’ of the world. Others believe that
‘ice’ will bring the end of the world. Both of these ideas have their valid
reasons. The poet sides and stands with those who believe that ‘fire’ will be
the cause of the ‘end’. The poet is well aware of how the ‘fire’ of unbridled
passions, desires, lust and fury can lead to the destruction of humanity and
the world. But the other view is equally convincing. Cold and ‘icy’ reasoning
can create insensitiveness, rigidity, frigidity, and indifference in man.
Ultimately, it breeds ‘hatred’ and contempt. This kind of ‘icy’ reasoning
which is devoid of all human warmth, sympathy, love and understanding
will only bring destruction and death of this world.
I believe that both ‘fire’ and ‘ice’ have strong potentialities to bring disasters
and destruction to the world.

Q4. What do the metaphors of ‘ice’ and ‘fire’ convey to the readers?
Don’t they represent the two extremes of human behaviour that can
lead to the destruction and death of this world? What is the message
that the poet wants to give to the readers?
Ans. The poet has touched the universal issue of the ending of this existing
world. He gives a message as well as a warning to human beings. Man is
swaying between two extremes — ‘fire’ and ‘ice’. Sometimes he is torn by
his unbridled fire of passions, desires, lusts, longings and fury. This results
in greed, avarice and passionate love. All such extremes can lead to
unavoidable conflicts and disasters. If not controlled, they can help in
bringing an early end of this world.
The other extreme behaviour of human beings is born out of cold and ‘icy’
reasoning. When our cold reasoning becomes completely devoid of human
warmth, feelings, love and sympathy, it breeds hatred. Hatred born out of
cold indifference, insensitivity and rigidity are strong enough to cause the
end of this world. Humanity can redeem itself and possibly save or delay
the end of the world by giving up such extremes of thinking and behaviour.