Robert Frosts Fire and Ice. Nature and Relationships - Essay Example

“Fire and Ice Nature and Relationships Robert Frost’s short poem, “Fire and Ice,” is one of his most popular works. Itwas published as part of his volume of poems, New Hampshire, which appeared in 1923, and gave Frost his first Pulitzer Prize (Poetry Foundation). “Fire and Ice” is an epigram which encapsulates the immensity of the apocalypse in nine lines of powerful verse. At first reading, it appears to be a fairly straightforward verse commenting on the end of the world. A closer reading reveals a depth to the poem which belies this first impression of simplicity. Frost does not just talk about the apocalypse, but links nature to human relationships. In “Fire and Ice,” Robert Frost expounds on the theories about the end of the world, explores human relationships, and effectively uses understatement to enhance the impact of the poem. Frost speculates about the scientific theories regarding the end of the world: “Some say the world will end in fire, / Some say in ice” (Frost, 1-2). It is largely acknowledged that the source of this information is Harlow Shapley, eminent astronomer and Harvard professor, whom Frost met at a faculty get-together. Shapley recounts that Frost questioned him as to how the world would end. Shapley says, “I told him that either the earth would be incinerated, or a permanent ice age would gradually annihilate all life on earth” (qtd. in Hansen). Based on future encounters between our solar system and other passing stars, which could result in the disruption of planetary orbits, scientists predict either one of two possibilities: the earth could be hurled out of its orbit into space, or plunge into the sun. In the case of crashing into the sun, the earth would be incinerated: destroyed by fire. In the other scenario, the earth would be thrown outside the solar system into deep space, where it would freeze over: destroyed by ice. Frost, thus, alludes to these two scenarios postulated by scientists as to the end of the world in the first two lines of his poem. However, “Fire and Ice” is much more than just a speculation on possible astronomic catastrophes. “Fire and Ice” is an exploration of human behavior and relationships. It is meant to be read metaphorically. Frost uses symbolism to equate fire with desire and ice with hatred. Desire and hatred are the two most common emotions which characterize human behavior, and define relationships. Human relationships can end in the passion of desire, or in the cold detachment of hatred: in the fire of desire, or the ice of hatred. Frost’s poem was also inspired by Dante’s Inferno, in which “the betrayers of their own kind are plunged, while in a fiery hell, up to their necks in ice: “a lake so bound with ice, / It did not took like water, but like a glass ... right clear / I saw, where sinners are preserved in ice” (qtd. in Meyers). Dante holds that sinners who committed crimes of hot passion are less guilty than those whose sins stem from cold reason. Likewise, Frost condemns hatred as a greater vice than desire. (Serio). To Frost, desire is an emotion which can be tasted and experienced through the senses: “From what I’ve tasted of desire” (3), while hatred can be known only through reason: “I know enough of hate” (6). In human relationships, Frost conveys that any destruction caused in the heat of passion by a heart on fire, is less than that caused by the cold calculation of an icy heart. The impact of “Fire and Ice” is enhanced by Frost’s tone, which makes masterly use of understatement and rhyme. Frost adopts a personal tone, which implies that he writes from experience: he has been through the fire of passion and felt the ice of hatred. This makes the poem a personal testimony and it gains strength. The poet becomes a first-person speaker in his poem. This autobiographical note gives the poem integrity, and makes the reader identify with the poet. The personal tone of the poem is further enhanced by the use of rhyme - aba, abc, bcb - which is not characterized by rigid organization into a regular pattern. The uncomplicated, erratic rhyme contributes to the personal tone, and lets the poem reflect a conversational style. “Some say” (Frost, 1-2), is very much a casual form of speech. This apparent simplicity and directness add to the poem’s tone of understatement. This understatement is seen in the almost complacent and matter-of-fact attitude adopted by the poet, which contrasts markedly with the magnitude of the apocalypse he discusses so easily. Frost remarks on the destruction of the earth and all life on it in deliberately casual tones, even speculating, “But if it had to perish twice” (5). The very unemphatic last line, “It would suffice” (Frost, 9) is another example of this masterly understatement. The conversational, understated tone successfully masks the horror of the poem’s focus: the destruction of the world built by nature, and the destruction of the relationships built by the human heart. It adds to the poem’s complexity and richness. Robert Frost’s “Fire and Ice” is a compact poem, which reveals layers of meaning. On the surface, it reads like a personal opinion piece about the scientific theories regarding the end of the world: incineration of the earth by the fire of the sun, or freezing of the earth by ice. Underlying this simple interpretation is a deeper meaning, by which nature is symbolic of human relationships, where fire represents passion and desire, and ice represents cold hatred and indifference. By adopting a conversational tone of understatement, Frost cloaks his primary focus on human behavior, and makes the reader delve through the superficial exterior to find his deeper meaning. This also increases the reader’s sense of horror at the destruction which can be wrought in the world: both by nature and by human behavior. Works Cited Hansen, Tom. Modern American Poetry. On “Fire and Ice.” Web. 30 July 2012. http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/frost/fireice.htm Meyers, Jeffrey. Modern American Poetry. On “Fire and Ice.” Web. 30 July 2012. http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/frost/fireice.htm Poetry Foundation. Biography. Robert Frost 1874-1963. 2011. Web. 30 July 2012. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/robert-frost Serio, John N. Modern American Poetry. On “Fire and Ice.” Web. 30 July 2012. http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/frost/fireice.htm Read More