An Analysis of Fire and Ice - Essay Example

The author first considers the general opposing ideas that the world will end in fire or that it will end in ice. He says that he agrees with the idea that the world will end in fire but he too, is most likely to agree that it can also end in ice. As a poem, there are elements that need to be considered in sorting the meanings of the words used in order to understand further the messages conveyed by the writer. Fire and ice are not simply understood literally but figuratively as well, relating the words to emotions such as desire and hate.

Firstly, Frost acknowledges the theory that the world will end in fire. He perhaps may have considered the theories saying that this physical world will someday become too hot so that no living thing would be able to survive. Modern studies are more inclined to this idea because of the global warming that is happening. Evidently, there have been extreme changes in weather conditions recently because of this phenomenon. For instance, news reports around the world are showing floods in many places which are simultaneously happening with droughts in other places.

Some countries experience too much rain while others experience the lack of it and with all the pollution and the condition of the ozone layer, it is forecasted that the world will eventually experience less and less rains which will lead to high temperatures, killing all living things. On the other hand, the poet also considers the other theory that the world will end in ice. . Another synonym underlined by the said dictionary is passion, which perhaps could be the nearest feeling the poet is referring to.

Based from the etymology of the word, one of the roots of the word is ‘paewr’. Based from the Armenian word ‘hur’, the root word means fire or torch and from Czech ‘pyr’, it means hot ashes (etymonline.com). If this etymology is considered figuratively, as mentioned earlier, it could refer to strong emotions such as passion. A related term mentioned in the etymology of the word is ‘fired up’ meaning, angry. Connecting all the meanings and the references in the poem, it could be said that the poet is talking about the end of the world would be due to destructions caused by people’s passions.

For instance, a person can love too much so that he could go to the point of killing other people in order to have his loved one for himself alone. Life stories also show that there are those who are able to kill their spouses only to become free to be with another person. Another interesting information related with the word is discharge, specifically, to fire a gun. Guns are instruments used to ending lives and considering indiscriminate killings, wars and crimes of passion, guns are often involved.

On another perspective, this could have been considered as well by the poet. For instance, in relation to the life stories of passion mentioned earlier, a gun could have been imagined as an instrument to accomplish a person’s objectives bade from his passions. Not all people may have such tendencies though, but perhaps the author was not only talking about the end of the world on its entirety but it