| Fire and Ice |
| This is a very short but compact poem. Using a dry approach, Frost considers the destructive nature of some of man's strongest emotions. He takes two oppesites, fire and ice, and uses them as aymbols. The end jof the world is a symbol for tyhe destruction of things we hold dear: friendship, relationships, happiness, even life itself. |
| Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. |
| The opening lines refer to throries about the end of the world. People envisage the endn of the human race, and even the planet itself. The theories are often based on religious writings--the Bible and sacred books of other religions--and on scientists' predictions. From time to time, groups of people name an actual date and time for the end of the world, and choose a place to prepare for the onlsaught. |
| From what I've tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. |
| Now, the poet starts to use fire and ice as symbols. He is interested in the destructive power of the symbols in the region of human life. Taking fire first, he sees it as 'desire'. 'Desire' suggests a strong wich that is, as yet, unfulfiled. There are all sorts of associations: a craving to have or possess something; sexual belonging' a fixation on something until it is within one's possession. It is passion, barely sontrolled emotion that 'burns' inside you. How is it destructive? We can often look at history andn literature to see examples of desire engilfing chararcters and destroyin gthem. Cleopatra killed herself for love; so did Romeo and Juliet. Revenge often replaces desire when the desired person is lost. |
| But if I had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice. |
| Again, the element becomes a symbol; 'ice' represents 'hate'. 'Desire' must be thwarted before it becomes destructive, but 'hate' is an entiely cold, chilling emotion. The love that goese with fulfilled 'desire' is warm and caring. No such warmth accompanies 'hate'. It is entirely negative, bent on destroying, embrassing, hurting. Frost sayd, 'I think I know enough hate'. He has felt its chill, perhaps been overwhelmed by the emotion himself and horrified by its destruction. He is talking about two emotions embedded deeply in the heart of man, passions that have causecd the poet and all mankind grief and ruin. So Frost has, within nine-line poem, covered a vast area of human ecperience. Taking the two big, basic elements, 'fire' and 'ice', he narrows the focus by using them as symbold of the human emotions 'desire' and 'hate'. His dry, almost singsong approach only breifly disguises the depth of feeling. The poem is a profound statement on how man's emotions can envelop himself and others in disaster. |
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| Referenced: 'Get Smart' study guide--Robert Frost, byMaurice Egan, published by Science Press in 2000. |