Fire and Ice

Q1. According to the poet, what do ‘ice’ and ‘fire’ symbolise? [CBSE
QB, 2020-21]
Ans. According to the poet ‘ice’ symbolizes hatred, coldness and rigidity
and these human cold emotions and lack of love are destructive enough to
remove the warmth of fire and destroy the world. Fire symbolises
unlimited wishes and desires of human beings like violent feelings of
anger, cruelty, brutality, etc., that might end the world.

Q2. What is the message of the poem ‘Fire and Ice’?

Ans. The poem ‘Fire and Ice’ is short but encompasses the entire
humanity in its targeted message. The metaphor of ‘Fire and Ice’ are used
very effectively to solidly convey a clear message to the readers. The
poem acts like a moral-mirror for readers to assess their own standing in
the world. ‘Fire’ stands for our uncontrolled passions which are disastrous
for human beings. Similarly cold reasoning devoid of human love will
bring insensitivity. Both the aspect of human thinking and resulting
behaviour embedded with desire and hatred will lead to the end of this
world and it may also happen more than once.

Q3. The tone of the speaker contrasts with the seriousness of the
subject matter. Justify. [CBSE QB, 2020-21]
Ans. ‘Fire and Ice’ is a symbolic poem by Robert Frost with a message to
reveal the gravity of the violent and cold human emotions. These
emotions, if not controlled, may lead to destruction of the world. The poet
wants to make humanity believe that everything will end one day as a
result of human misdeed. His aim is aphorism-brevity for Frost truth
remains ambiguous as to how specific the world is going to end. That’s
why the tone contrasts with the seriousness of the subject matter with
people favouring both ‘fire’ and ‘ice’.

Q4. Evaluate the line- Some say the world will end in fire/Some say in
ice- in the context of volcanic eruptions, forest fires, meteor collisions,
melting ice caps etc. [CBSE QB, 2020-21]
Ans. In the poem ‘Fire and Ice’ the poet considers the age-old question of
whether the world will end in fire or in ice. The threat of global warming
may lead to severe volcanic eruptions and forest fires that may end the
world or there might be a meteor collision, the melting of ice caps or
glaciers etc, that may also end the world.
So, either option is enough to achieve its purpose sufficiently may be in
storm of volcanic eruptions, forest fires or melting ice caps.

Q5. Fire and Ice projects a pessimistic outlook. Comment. [CBSE QB,
2020-21]
Ans. According to me, ‘Fire and Ice’ projects a realistic outlook rather
than a pessimistic one. The poet brings forth the view that the world will
soon end. It can be either by fire or ice. He mentions that he has tasted
everything in life after World War I. So, it would soon end either with
greed or indifference.
Q6. What does ‘fire’ and ‘ice’ stand for and what is the general
opinion regarding the world? [Board Term-I, 2016-17]
Ans. Fire stands for fury, desire, lust, anger, avarice, cruelty and greed. Ice
is symbolic of hatred, coldness, rigidity, insensitivity and intolerance. The
general opinion regarding the world is that the world will end in fire and
some say ice. Both the two reasons contrast each other and one equally
opposite to each other. People who favour fire believe that it will be the
heat and passion which will end the world. On the other hand, some
people think that it will be the ice which will freeze the world.

Q7. To say that for destruction, ice is also great for the poet, what
does ice stand for? How is it sufficient to bring destruction? [CBSE
2014]
Ans. Ice stands for the cold feelings of humans such as indifference,
hatred, greed, jealousy, apathy, lack of love, cold-heartedness, etc.
Although the poet states that he believes fire would bring an end to the
world, he also states that if the world has to end twice, then ice or the cold
feelings of people are also great to end the world.

Q8. How will the world end? Support your answer with a scientific
explanation. [CBSE 2014]
Ans. According to some people, the world will end in fire. The core of the
earth will get extremely heated up due to the increasing global warming. It
may lead to severe natural calamities like volcanic eruptions, earthquakes,
uncontrollable forest fires and tsunamis that may end the world. However,
some people believe that the world may end in ice. As a result of the
melting ice caps or glaciers, there would rise an ice age that would freeze
all the living things on the earth to death. All the ice and snow from the
mountains will melt down to the plains one day and thus, will shrink the
world.

Q9. Explain the symbols used in the poem ‘Fire and Ice’ by Frost.
Ans. Frost represents ‘fire’ as human desires and lust for things. It
symbolises all the uncontrolled materialistic greed that humans have and
their actions to achieve their goals create conflict and destruction.
However, ‘ice’ is a symbol of cold feelings. It symbolises hatred,
indifference and coldness of heart with the same effects as the ‘fire’
element.

Q10. How can Frost’s poem ‘Fire and Ice’ be read as an extended
metaphor?
Ans. Frost’s poem ‘Fire and Ice’ is certainly an extended metaphor. The
metaphor of ‘Fire and Ice’ is used very effectively to solidly convey a
clear message to the readers. The poem acts like a moral-mirror for
readers to assess their own standing in the world. Fire metaphorically
represents and refers to violent human emotions like anger, cruelty,
brutality, etc., while the term ice refers to cold human feelings such as
hatred, jealousy, indifference, etc., that might destroy the world. The poet
has used both fire and ice as great metaphors to imply that both of the
destructive forces are powerful enough to bring doom to the world. These
metaphors convey that violent and cruel human emotions are a threat to
the world.

Q11. Explain why the poet personally holds the conviction that the
world will primarily end in fire? (SQP 22)
Ans. We can surely say that the poet holds the conviction that the world
will end in fire. The poet asserts that he agrees with those who believe that
this world will end in fire. This is due to the fact that he has witnessed the
impact that unrestrained and endless aspirations and desires have on
people’s lives. He discovers that the fire’s nature is comparable to that of
mankind’s wicked impulses

Long Answer Questions

Q1. “Fire and Ice” was first published in 1920. Briefly explain how
WW I might have influenced the theme of the poem. [CBSE QB, 2020-
21]
Ans. WW I was fought between 1914 and 1918. The poem was published
two years after the war and so, there is the possibility that the war may
have impacted the theme of the poem ‘Fire and Ice’. The destruction and
violence and rage seen during WW I is reflected in the poem ‘Fire and Ice’
with the two different scenarios represented by the elements of the poem’s
title. Robert Frost must have seen the destruction of the world that was the
outcome of the uncontrolled rage of people and thus believes fire to be the
world-ender. Ironically, he also adds that ice representing the ‘ hate world
‘also’ be ‘great’ to bring the end of the world. Here the poet uses his own
experiences of worldly life and its mundane truth to add a second stanza
devoted to the world-ending effect of ice i.e. hatred and indifference in the
hearts of people.
Q2. Most of your classmates, like Frost, feel that man’s greed and
rage or hate, would lead the world to its destruction. You feel that the
‘fire and ice’ in Mankind can be addressed to create a harmonious
world. Write a speech, for your classmates, expressing your beliefs
with respect to the poem. [CBSE QB, 2020-21]
Ans. A very good morning, to each and every one present in this room.
Today I’m here to express my beliefs with respect to the poem ‘Fire and
Ice’. Dear friends, I strongly believe that ‘Fire and Ice’ in Mankind can be
addressed to create a harmonious world. We, humans, are swaying
between two extremes ‘Fire and Ice’. Sometimes we are torn by our
unbridled fire of passions, desires, lusts, longings and fury. This further
results in greed, avarice and passionate love. All
such extremes can lead to conflicts and disasters. If not controlled, they
can help in bringing an early end of the world. Humanity can redeem itself
and possibly save or delay the end of the world by giving up such
extremes of thinking and behaviour. So let us keep burning the fire of
patriotism, solidarity and sensitivity and put ice on indifference and
rigidity to create a harmonious world around us.
Q3.It is a Hobson’s Choice that the poet faces in the poem ‘Fire and
Ice’. Illustrate this thought, with the help of examples from the poem.
Ans. The poem describes a fiery end to the planet, which represents
human greed and selfishness. Some believe that the ice, which represents
hatred, will bring about the end. Because both options would ultimately
lead to catastrophe, humanity is thus faced with a decision that really isn’t
a choice at all. As all options equally contribute to personal damage, the
decisions are demonstrated on a personal level.
To underscore the significance of his message that there are no
alternatives, the poet presents the options in a concise and terse manner.
The poem’s central theme of destruction brought on by greed and hatred,
which is exemplified by the saying Hobson’s Choice, gives the poem a
deep and dark undercurrent.

Q4. Today’s world is conflict ridden. People fight over various issues
and there is no peace in the world. Explain/Describe based on your
reading of the poem ‘Fire’ and ‘Ice’.
Ans. In today’s world, hatred is a major problem. Brother despises his
brother, and neighbour despises his neighbour. Nobody wants to put up
with or forgive anyone else. We live in a terribly divided world as a result
of the hostility. Nothing will be left untouched if hatred continues to
control our lives and the globe. All of our accomplishments will be lost,
and the planet will end. We must develop the capacity to forgive and
forget if we are to save the earth. For this, we need a tremendous amount
of love and compassion, as well as the ability to put up with one another’s
differences and learn to get along.