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The poem, “Fire and Ice” is by Robert Frost. In the poem, the poet expresses the thought that there are two components that will lead to the end of the world, i.e. ice (hatred) and fire (desire). According to him, both ice as well as fire is just as competent in bringing a catastrophic end to the world.
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 got so hot that it ‘burst’, or grew colder and colder ?
Answer:
I don’t think the world will ever end. It will go on provided man lets it go survive and flourish The sun is already as hot as it can be. Therefore, there is no possibility of its bursting. And to grow as cold as ice, it will take millions and millions of years. Thus both the possibilities are very remote.
Question 2:
For Frost, what do ‘fire’ and ‘ice’ stand for ? Here are some ideas :
Answer:
For Frost, ‘fire’ stands for greed, conflict, avarice, violence, cruelty, intolerance, lust and hatred. ‘Ice’ stands for insensitivity, coldness, indifference and rigidity.
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, bcbcb. The rhyming words are — (fire, desire), (ice, twice, suffice) and (hate, great). Thus the rhyme-scheme brings out the contrast between the fire of desire and the ice of hatred both of which are sufficient to bring about the end of the world.