Fire and Ice Analysis
Kailey Ausley
Ms. Shumpert
English 1102 TGAF
04 April 2013
An Ambiguous Meaning A poem is used to express the emotions and experiences of the author. There are four types of poems: narrative, lyric, didactic, and dramatic. A narrative poem contains a sequence of events in chronological order that tells the reader a story. A dramatic poem is normally used for onstage performances with dramatic monologue. A lyric poem is songlike, but the subject matter is not song appropriate. A lyric poem has rime, which is where words look alike, and rhyme, which is where the words sound alike only. A didactic poem teaches the reader morals or a lesson. A reader can, however, develop many meanings behind the poem due to a certain way he is feeling or a life experience. In poetry, there is no right or wrong meaning. Poetry speaks to each of its readers differently. In Robert Frost’s poem “Fire and Ice,” it is both a lyric and didactic poem. There are several meanings that can be argued in “Fire and Ice.” Is Frost’s “Fire and Ice” about the world ending or a past love that has ended? In the first two lines, Frost writes, “Some say the world will end in fire, / Some say in ice.” The first thought that comes to mind when reading these two lines is that the poem is about the debate on how the world will one day end. Christians believe that the world is going to end in fire as the Bible says. Second Peter chapter three, verse twelve declares, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” People not of the Christian faith believe that the world is going to end, just not in fire. The Earth once experienced an ice age, and scientists have deemed it true that this is how the Earth will end once again. A reader may not interpret the first two lines to be related to a past relationship in any way.
Ms. Shumpert
English 1102 TGAF
04 April 2013
An Ambiguous Meaning A poem is used to express the emotions and experiences of the author. There are four types of poems: narrative, lyric, didactic, and dramatic. A narrative poem contains a sequence of events in chronological order that tells the reader a story. A dramatic poem is normally used for onstage performances with dramatic monologue. A lyric poem is songlike, but the subject matter is not song appropriate. A lyric poem has rime, which is where words look alike, and rhyme, which is where the words sound alike only. A didactic poem teaches the reader morals or a lesson. A reader can, however, develop many meanings behind the poem due to a certain way he is feeling or a life experience. In poetry, there is no right or wrong meaning. Poetry speaks to each of its readers differently. In Robert Frost’s poem “Fire and Ice,” it is both a lyric and didactic poem. There are several meanings that can be argued in “Fire and Ice.” Is Frost’s “Fire and Ice” about the world ending or a past love that has ended? In the first two lines, Frost writes, “Some say the world will end in fire, / Some say in ice.” The first thought that comes to mind when reading these two lines is that the poem is about the debate on how the world will one day end. Christians believe that the world is going to end in fire as the Bible says. Second Peter chapter three, verse twelve declares, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” People not of the Christian faith believe that the world is going to end, just not in fire. The Earth once experienced an ice age, and scientists have deemed it true that this is how the Earth will end once again. A reader may not interpret the first two lines to be related to a past relationship in any way.