PERFORMANCE

TASK

BY: ASHLEY B. LAGUMBAY

 “FIRE AND ICE”
Robert Frost

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 it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
 “FIRE and ICE”

Fire and Ice, is end of the world possible? There are many questions
about the end of the world, but we all don’t know when it will happen,
or it will end with fire or ice. Countless ways that people have predicted
the earth will end, ranging from a magnificent second coming of Christ
to some more scientific terminations such as a great meteor striking the
planet or global warming flooding the earth. However, Robert Frost give
an imaginative poem “Fire and Ice” about the end.

The poem is very brief, but there is much to think about in each line.
Frost simply starts the poem by stating that “some says the world will
end in fire, some says in ice”. Frost is probably trying to give the us the
thought that no one truly knows how the world will end and people have
varying views on the matter. He also believes that the world will end in
one of these two fates. He feels that an ending with fire would be much
more passionate and dramatic than an ice. Fire is a very mystifying
phenomenon, on the other hand, ice is simply cold and uninteresting.
Frost also makes his preference of fire over ice very clear with his
tactful words. The use of the world desire in relation to an ending
involving fire gives the reader an outstanding image. While the ice is
much duller and more boring than discussing the fire.

The poem also shows that man has no control over nature. The
outward theme is, we will end from desire or hate. A sort of inward
theme could be man's lack of control over nature. I think that is why this
is one of Frost's poems where he does not come to a definitive
conclusion or ending.
About the author:
Robert Frost or Robert Lee Frost

 Robert Frost was an American poet who depicted realistic New England life through
language and situations familiar to the common man. He won four Pulitzer Prizes
for his work and spoke at John F. Kennedy's 1961 inauguration.
 Famous works include “Fire and Ice,” “Mending Wall,” “Birches,” “Out,Out”
“Nothing Gold Can Stay” and “Home Burial.” His 1916 poem, "The Road Not
Taken," is often read at graduation ceremonies across the United States.
 Frost became a poetic force and the unofficial "poet laureate" of the United States.
 He died of complications from prostate surgery on January 29, 1963.
 Frost was born on March 26, 1874, in San Francisco, California. He spent the first
11 years of his life there, until his journalist father, William Prescott Frost Jr., died
of tuberculosis.
  Frost moved with his mother and sister, Jeanie, to the town of Lawrence,
Massachusetts. They moved in with his grandparents, and Frost attended Lawrence
High School.
 Frost met his future love and wife, Elinor White, when they were both attending
Lawrence High School. She was his co-valedictorian when they graduated in 1892.
 In 1894, Frost had his first poem, "My Butterfly: an Elegy," published in The
Independent, a weekly literary journal based in New York City.
 Two poems, "The Tuft of Flowers" and "The Trial by Existence," were published in
1906. He could not find any publishers who were willing to underwrite his other
poems.
 In 1912, Frost and Elinor decided to sell the farm in New Hampshire and move the
family to England, where they hoped there would be more publishers willing to take
a chance on new poets. Within just a few months, Frost, now 38, found a publisher
who would print his first book of poems, A Boy’s Will, followed by North of
Boston a year later.
 Some of Frost’s most well-known poems include:
“The Road Not Taken”
“Birches”
“Fire and Ice”
“Mending Wall”
“Home Burial”
“The Death of the Hired Man”
“Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening”
“Acquainted with the Night”
“Out, Out”
“Nothing Gold Can Stay”

Question about the author:

1. When was Robert Frost Born?
2. Where was Robert Frost born?
3. What is the name of Robert Frost father and what was his
profession?
4. What is the name of Robert Frost wife?
5. In what country did Frost work first became famous?
6. When and where Robert Frost die?
7. What is the central idea of the poem Fire and Ice?
8. What happened to Robert Frost father?
9. What’s the first Robert Frost poem?
10. What is the symbolism of Fire and Ice?
11. What is the rhyme scheme of the poem? How does it help in
bringing out the contrasting ideas in the poem?

Tentative Thesis Statement and Drafts:

 Subject: Fire and Ice by Robert Frost
Specific topic: Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice.
Statement: Robert Frost believes that the world will end in one of these two fates, fire or ice.
For me the poem shows no one has in control over nature, that we all don’t know how or when
the world was ending. That’s why in his poem where he does not come to a definitive
conclusion or ending. Because no one knows how it will end.

Question:
1. Is it possible the world will end with fire and ice?
2. What is the impact of the poem in the people?
3. Is the world end with fire?
4. Is the world going to end with ice?
5. Which do you prefer the world will end, fire or ice?
6. What do you think about the end of the world?

Answer:
1. No one knows if the world will end whether its fire or ice.
2. For me the mean message or impact of the poem is we are not in control of nature, we all
don’t know what will happen tomorrow or either it’s the end or not.
3. Fire is painful it hurts a lot when you get burn. If the world end in fire all living things end
with shouting in pain.
4. Ice is also painful, its like the world froze to death. If you die in ice, you will die in silence
for trying to warm up yourself.
5. For me I don’t have preference because both have a painful ending.
6. I think end of the world will happen not now, not tomorrow maybe in centuries if we
didn’t try to preserve our world for future generation.

Credible Sources:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44263/fire-and-ice
https://www.biography.com/writer/robert-frost
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Frost
https://literarydevices.net/robert-frost/