Fire and Ice

Ans. Robert Frost

Ans. According to the poet, the world will end in fire

Ans. The contradictory opinion of public is the debate whether the world will end in fire or ice.

Ans. Both ice and fire are similar in the in the sense that both of them would destroy everything in the world

Ans. ‘It’ refers to the world.

Ans. Perish means to die or to be destroyed.

Ans. Ice stands for coldness or hatred.

Ans. Ice or fire would be the cause of destruction.

Ans. The poem revolves around the age old question of whether the world will end in fire or in ice. People are divided in this issue. Some believe that fire will become the cause of the end and others think that ice will end the world. Here, fire symbolizes human desire and ice symbolizes hatred.

Ans. The poet takes side with those who believe that the world will be destroyed by fire. Frost connects fire with desire. According to the poet, desire is powerful and would be a quick end. Moreover, the fact that he has had personal experience with desire leads him to first conclude that the world will end in fire.

Ans. Ice symbolizes hatred. Hate is just as powerful as desire. While desire consumes quickly, hate can occur and linger in people‘s minds and hearts for years and sometimes even lifetimes. Hate can, thus, be very destructive and sufficient to bring destruction.

Ans. Frost presents the two of the darkest traits of humanity; the capacity to hate and the capacity to be consumed by lust or desire. Of the two, he attributes the greater of the two evils, is desire. In giving desire the foremost position with regard to the destruction of the world, Frost is providing a powerful statement on the subject of greed and jealousy, saying that above all trait of humanity that is most likely to lead to its demise. Desire represents the greatest problem that attributes to the cause of the war. Frost then attributes hatred with the same capacity to do harm. However, he lessens the relative importance of hatred but still presents it as having the ability to lead to the destruction of the world if it were to happen for a second time.

Ans. The poem is written shortly after the end of the first world war and is greatly influenced. The war proved it right how men’s technological, economic and intellectual progress led to self-destruction. The speaker is worried about the survival of the world.

Ans. “Overdevelopment sometimes lead to self-destruction”
“If you ignore nature, nature will ignore you”
“Self-satisfaction is mandatory to avoid self-destruction”
“Show empathy towards nature”

Ans. The speaker is presenting his personal opinion about the possibilities of the end of the world which is a serious matter. But the speaker’s tone is casual and conversational. He talks with the reader as if they are his friend. He is using casual words like, ‘some say’, ‘I hold with’, ‘I think I know’ etc.

Ans. The poet links human desire to be the reason for the possible extinction of the world. The poem tries to imply that humanity should not try to innovate and develop new weapons. It projects a pessimistic outlook by suggesting that following dreams and passion by humankind may lead to catastrophic destruction on the earth.

Ans. There have been incidents of natural disasters that created havoc on earth. Every year forest fires, volcanic eruptions account for a huge loss of flora and fauna and even humans. Fires due to meteor collisions cause measurable effects on life. Loss of person and property in Uttarakhand, India (Kedarnath temple) could be attributed to the melting ice caps.

Ans.

10 May 1994,

Tuesday 10 p.m.
Today, when I am the President of South Africa, I can’t help recalling Robert
Frost’s Fire and Ice. As Frost said if the world had to perish twice ice would suffice. I agree that hatred and indifference are sharper than any weapon to end the world. Half of the population of South Africa was forced to bear the tortures of apartheid.
Today, we are free but humanity needs real independence from hatred and partiality. People of any colour and caste is no less than the other. The world seems beautiful only when you have beautiful eyes. Everyone has to be empathetic towards the less privileged people and a life-supporting natural environment. All should try to make a strong foundation based on equality and empathy to sustain life on earth.

Ans. Speech (Fire and Ice)
Good morning teachers and my friends! I do not believe in the pessimistic view of Sir Robert Frost that our desires can take the world near to destruction. I feel that this fire and ice can be tamed to cultivate a harmonious relationship among people.
“Necessity is the mother of invention”. A man without desire is no more than an animal. Human has added comfort to his life by keeping passions and desires alive. I agree that unchecked aspirations sometimes turn harmful. However, by making strict rules and staying vigilant, this fire can be kept under control. Fire adds taste to food but burns the house as well if left uncontrolled.

Today, we are more concerned about nature that got depleted due to the indifferent attitude towards the environment. Until our actions are controlled we need not worry about the end of the world.