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    The poem discusses different ideas about how the world will end. Some believe it will end in fire while others say ice. The poet sides with fire, as he has experienced desire. The second stanza notes that if the world had to end twice, ice or hatred could also be sufficient for destruction. Frost uses the rhyme scheme to contrast the ideas of fire and ice representing desire and hatred, both of which could destroy the world.

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    fire-and-ice

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    The poem discusses different ideas about how the world will end. Some believe it will end in fire while others say ice. The poet sides with fire, as he has experienced desire. The second stanza notes that if the world had to end twice, ice or hatred could also be sufficient for destruction. Frost uses the rhyme scheme to contrast the ideas of fire and ice representing desire and hatred, both of which could destroy the world.

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    393 views3 pages

    Fire and Ice

    Uploaded by

    Ram
    The poem discusses different ideas about how the world will end. Some believe it will end in fire while others say ice. The poet sides with fire, as he has experienced desire. The second stanza notes that if the world had to end twice, ice or hatred could also be sufficient for destruction. Frost uses the rhyme scheme to contrast the ideas of fire and ice representing desire and hatred, both of which could destroy the world.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    of 3

    Fire and Ice

    COMPREHENSION OF STANZAS
    Read the following stanzas and answer the questions that follow :
    STANZA 1
    Some say the world will end in fire [H..B.S.E. March 2017 (Set-A)]
    Some say in ice.
    From what I’ve tasted of desire
    I hold with those who favour fire.
    Questions :
    (a) What do people think about the ending of the world?
    (b) What is the poet’s opinion?
    (c) What does ‘desire’ mean here?
    (d) What is the rhyme scheme of this stanza?
    (e) Name the poem and the poet.
    Answers :
    (a) Some people think that the world will end in fire. Others say that it will end in ice…
    (b) The poet thinks it right that the world will end in fire.
    (C) Here ‘desire’ means man’s passions and violence.
    (d) The rhyme scheme of this stanza is a, b. a. a.
    (e) Poem: Fire and Ice
    Poet: Robert Frost
    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.
    Questions :
    (a) What does ‘it’ refer to here?
    (b) How is ‘ice’ sufficient for destruction?
    (C) What is the main idea of these lines?
    (d) What is ice a symbol Of?
    (e) What Is the rhyme scheme of this stanza?
    Answers :
    (a) Here ‘it’ refers to the ‘world’.
    (b) ‘Ice’ symbolises hatred. So hatred is sufficient for the world’s destruction.
    (c) The main idea of these lines is that hatred can destroy the world.
    (d) Ice is a symbol of hatred.
    (e) The rhyme scheme of this stanza is ‘Ababa’.
    Extract Based / comprehension test Questions and Answers of Fire and Ice
    Read the extracts and answer the questions that follow.
    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.
    (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.
    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.
    (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.

    VERY SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS


    [Answer in one sentence each ]
    Q.1, What is ‘fire’ a symbol of?
    Ans. ‘Fire is a symbol of lust and endless desires.
    Q.2.What is ‘Ice’ a symbol of?
    Ans. ‘ice is a symbol of hatred.
    Q..3. What will fire do to the world?
    Ans. Fire will put the world to an end.
    Q.4. What will the world end in?
    Ans. The world will end in the fire as well as ice.
    Q.5. Why does the poet hold with those who favour fire?
    Ans. The poet holds with those who favour fire because the lust for material things is increasing fastly.
    Q.6. Why do some people say that the world will end in ice?
    Ans. They say so because hatred among people is increasing fastly.
    Q.7. Who is the poet of the poem ‘Fire and Ice’?
    Ans. Robert Frost.

    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?
    Ans: Yes I believe that this world will end some but when nobody knows. Whether the sun gets
    hot or it gets colder in both the situations end of this world is sure.
    2. For Frost, what do ‘fire’ and ‘ice’ stand for? Here are some ideas:
    Greed Avarice Cruelty Lust

    Conflict Fury Intolerance Rigidity

    Insensitivity Coldness Indifference Hatred


    Ans: ‘Fire’ stands for greed, avarice, lust, conflict and fury. ‘Ice’ stands for cruelty, intolerance,
    rigidity, insensitivity, coldness, indifference and hatred.
    3. 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 is: a, b, a, a; b. c, b, c, b.
    The contrasting ideas of ‘fire’ and ‘ice’ are presented using this rhyme scheme. He mentions that
    both fire and ice are probable ends of this world. While he talks about how fire represents desire
    and can therefore be a cause of the end of the world, he also mentions ice in between to
    symbolise that the coldness and indifference towards one another will also 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.

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