Poem #1: Fire And Ice
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.
Literary Devices:
There is an extended metaphor in this poem. Frost is comparing fire to desire and ice to hate. In particularly lines 3 & 4 ("From what I've tasted of desire, I hold with those who favor fire."), he basically does a direct comparison between the two and also with lines 6, 7 & 8 ("I think I know enough of hate, To say that for destruction ice, Is also great."), In these 5 lines, Frost explains that from his experience with desire, he would choose it over ice/hate. But he also thought that hate is great for destruction, and would choose it if he had another chance. This metaphor made it seem like desire and hate were much more dangerous because they were being compared to fire and ice. Other literary devices used were allegory and symbolism,
Analysis:
In this poem, Robert Frost was explaining what he thought would cause the end of the world; desire or hate. In the poem, he had said that the world would end in desire, because of his experiences with it ("From what I've tasted of desire."). Frost's choice of metaphor was important because it showed how destructive hate and desire could actually be (as they were compared to fire and ice), and it really shows how much people underestimate hate and desire. Fire can destroy anything if it "wanted" to, and this shows passion and desire; which is what a human could do. Ice on the other hand, shows how people that show hate usually have more "cold" personalities. Fire can also melt ice, which could mean desire can be stronger than hate, and that is most likely why Robert Frost had sided with fire in the first place.
There is an extended metaphor in this poem. Frost is comparing fire to desire and ice to hate. In particularly lines 3 & 4 ("From what I've tasted of desire, I hold with those who favor fire."), he basically does a direct comparison between the two and also with lines 6, 7 & 8 ("I think I know enough of hate, To say that for destruction ice, Is also great."), In these 5 lines, Frost explains that from his experience with desire, he would choose it over ice/hate. But he also thought that hate is great for destruction, and would choose it if he had another chance. This metaphor made it seem like desire and hate were much more dangerous because they were being compared to fire and ice. Other literary devices used were allegory and symbolism,
Analysis:
In this poem, Robert Frost was explaining what he thought would cause the end of the world; desire or hate. In the poem, he had said that the world would end in desire, because of his experiences with it ("From what I've tasted of desire."). Frost's choice of metaphor was important because it showed how destructive hate and desire could actually be (as they were compared to fire and ice), and it really shows how much people underestimate hate and desire. Fire can destroy anything if it "wanted" to, and this shows passion and desire; which is what a human could do. Ice on the other hand, shows how people that show hate usually have more "cold" personalities. Fire can also melt ice, which could mean desire can be stronger than hate, and that is most likely why Robert Frost had sided with fire in the first place.