Poetry Explication of Fire and Ice by Robert Frost

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Poetry Explication of “Fire and Ice” by Robert Frost Rebecca J Gill Concordia University, St. Paul Introduction to Literature ENG 155 Professor Colleen Abel December 4, 2013 “Fire and Ice” is a popular poem written by Robert Frost. The speaker makes the reader feel like they are walking into an argument between two groups of people. Ones that think the world will end in fire and others that believe the world will end in ice. Robert Frost uses metaphors, comparing strong emotions like hate and desire to “Fire and Ice.” (Kennedy & Gioia, 441) Frost also uses image throughout the entire poem. Rhyme and enjambment are also used to help convey the message about how the speaker believes the world will end. Even though this poem is a short nine lines, it has a lot of emotion and meaning hidden in it. The first two lines of this poem, “Some say the world will end in fire / Some say in ice.”, (Frost lines 1-2) show an argument between two groups of people. The two groups of people are the ones that believe the world will end in fire and the ones that believe the world will end in ice. Frost has left us with only two options as to how the world will end. This implies that there are no other alternatives or possible outcomes as to how the world will end. These first two lines in this poem are separated in the ideal place. It makes a clear distinction between the two groups and each group’s belief. This leaves no option for a third opinion. Using the word “Some say” (1) instead of I say shows that how the world will end is not an opinion of the speaker but a belief of the groups he is speaking about. At this point in the poem images are drawn of the world ending in fire, a meteor hitting the world and it blowing up. There are also images of the world ending in ice, another ice age. The world could also be a metaphor for something deeper, for instance human
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