Fire and Ice Summary Class 10 Chapter One Poem by Robert Frost
FIRE AND ICE BY ROBERT FROST
SUMMARY
Robert Frost’s other masterpiece is “Fire and Ice,” a short poem with a meaningful message. The poem deals with how the world will end and starts with a debatable statement, where according to some people, the world will end in the fire while some say it will end in ice.
“Some say the world will end in fire.
Some say in ice.”
For Frost, fire and ice do not actually depict the ideas of climate change and wars but have a deep meaning. He explains what he feels for fire in the further lines and what does ice means to him.
“From what I’ve tasted of desire,
I hold with those who favor fire.”
According to Frost, fire represents desires, both small and big, which helps people achieve happiness. Here, fire also represents rage, passion, and such desires that do not do good to humanity, which finally brings destruction, as it consumes a person, or the world as a whole, and leads to its end. Here, Frost finds the fire of desire may lead to the destruction of the world.
“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.”
But when the poet talks about ice, he finds that it is also one way how the world would end, for ice represents hatred and the cold-hearted nature of men. According to Frost, the hatred in the world and how men are cold-hearted towards one another’s sufferings is one more how humanity and the world could end. According to Frost, ice is a sufficient way to end the world.
To conclude, the fire, which represents greediness and the desire to achieve more and more, and ice, which represents hatred and cold-heartedness, will do no good to humanity, and the world would eventually perish.