The wonders of Frost

Robert Frost

Fire and Ice (1923)

Some say the world will end in fire

Some say in ice.

From what I’ve tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

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

Robert Frost, one of the most influential poets of all time, displays an interesting view of the apocalypse in his poem “Fire and Ice”. Seeming to favor twos, Frost writes various works about pairs of contrasting situations.  One of his most well-known poems, “The Road Not Taken” also demonstrates two opposing circumstances, in this case two paths in the midst of autumn that “both that morning equally lay”. Two paths, two ways to perish, two choices. Frost, a man from the early 1900’s often uses the beauty or fierceness of nature (perhaps because of his last name) along with the power of the choices men make to write brilliant poetry.

                In “Fire and Ice” Frost is not only speaking of the end of the world, but also of the deeper cause behind its destruction. The dichotomy of fire and ice causes us to ponder what the elements represent. Commonly used to symbolize hell, fire can also stand for passion, violence, love, and life, while ice can represent emptiness, fierceness, vastness, and death. Symbols can have a multitude of meanings, depending on each person and their experiences; therefore, while the meaning of the elements in relationship to this poem is particular to each individual reader, I see fire as the embodiment of passion and ice as the lack of it. Frost writes in the third line of his poem,

“From what I’ve tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire”.

This creates the connection between fire and desire, also known as passion. When we think of passion, we think of a passionate love or a person passionate about their views. These are not necessarily “evil”, but they can be-as affairs are the result of passion, and violence the result of passionate views.  Later, Frost also draws a comparison between hatred and ice when he says,

“I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice”.

 

                Frost’s last four lines are significant in the theme he is trying to convey. The tone with which these words come across as is dismal and depressing. The word great is not interchangeable with good in this case, but rather large and formidable. I do not believe Frost is shrugging off the ice’s destruction, but lamenting it. He is saddened by the hate that has plagued the world and the ruin that he has already begun to see taking place.

                “Fire and Ice” speaks of the devastation of the world in two ways that might be the cause of our end, making them symbols of aspects which Frost is criticizing. Desire and hatred, two equally powerful emotions, will be the fuel behind our destruction.