Fire and Ice

Fire and Ice

By Robert frost.

Introduction:

       Robert Lee Frost (March 26, 1874 – January 29, 1963) was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in America. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech, Frost frequently wrote about settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and philosophical themes.Robert Frost probably has the most name recognition of any American poet ever. His best-known works include “The Road Not Taken” and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” both of which have become synonymous with the genre of nature poetry. Frost, though, was much more than just a nature poet. “Home Burial,” for example, deals with overwhelming grief after the death of a child. “Fire and Ice,” while somewhat tongue-in-cheek, considers the apocalyptic end of the world. And some of his poems, such as “The Oven Bird,” are a complex treatment of a difficult rhyme scheme, proving that Frost could technically match anyone in form. Furthermore, Frost helped form the conception of Americans as tough, self-sufficient individuals. This New England native, often called the “Icon of Yankee Values,” remains the quintessential American poet.

Summery of the poem :

               Fire and ice is a very short but remarkable poem of Robert Frost in which the poets philosophically temperament is found the present short poem deals with the theme of the distortion of universe but while dealing with these things the poet comes before us as a performed philosopher. The opening line of the poem preface a meeting on thought of Indian mythology and Christian mythology and Christian mythology of the west some people are of the opinion that this world would be destroyed because of fire and some others believe that the world would be destroyed because of water. In Indian mythology there is an account of how king Manu was saved by the flued with the help of lord Vishnu who was in guise of fish. It describes how the world was destroyed because of flued. The Christian myth of the west mentions that the world would be destroyed because of fire.

             The poet frost in the opening of the poem refers to these two myths and he believed that the world would be destroyed because of fire. The poet here uses the world would be destroyed because of fire. The poet here uses the world “Fire’ as a symbol to signify human desire, the poet wants to convey that human desire are just like flame of fire and there is no end to human desire. So the poet is one of the opinion that the world would be destroyed because of the fire of human desires because human desire is a major driming force which compels a person to go to of those desire. The poet then says that Ice is also equally capable of destroying the world. The poet associates ice with cold – blooded hatred which modern man has for a fellow human being the days of physical was are born now it is replaced with cold – blooded  hatred with which people are destroyed mentally so the poet says that ice also capable of destroyed the world.

                  The present poem has a philosophical note in it as it comments on human nature. The first aspect of human nature is burning desire and the second aspect is cold hatred both are having the capacity to destroyed this world. This truth of modern life peach highlighted in the present poem.