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.
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.
Before I feebly attempt to explain what I think this poem means and how it makes me feel, I just want to clarify the fact that these are just my personal opinions, and if they do not coincide with yours then I humbly apologize… I don’t have to agree with what you say but I will respect the fact that you think differently.
You can tell that this poem, published in 1920, is different from others of its time before you even read it. Like some of Ezra Pounds poems that we discussed in class, it is short and to the point. I believe that like some of his other poems (ie The Road Not Traveled) this one has both a straightforward and more subtle meaning. Outwardly this poem seems to ask the question: will the world be destroyed when the sun explodes, or will the explosion of the sun miss the earth, and thus leave it to freeze to death. Keep in mind that this poem was written during a period when huge advancements were being made in astronomy, and the fact that the sun could explode was a very new idea and the issue of the how the world was going to end was a pretty big debate at the time. What I think Frost was really trying to say (as evidenced by lines three and six) is that the flaws of human nature are capable of destruction. At that time in history there were no nukes or weapons of mass destruction so I don’t know if Frost meant that the destruction of the world would come at the hand of the human race or if he just wanted to mention man's capability for destruction. But if he actually thought that humans would be earth's downfall then it appears that he wasn’t too far off because it wasn’t even thirty years after this poem that the cold war threatened the world with total destruction by being blown up in an atomic fireball and/or by nuclear winter… which sounds ironically similar to Frost’s Fire and Ice
I really like this poem. Like The Road Not Traveled, also by Frost, it is easy to read and thought provoking. I appreciate this poem because it talks about how the world will end, which is an extremely open ended topic. Frost did a very good job of taking a large topic and creating a very easily understood poem from it.
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