Themes on Robert FrostRobert Frost was a poet who was born on March 26 in San Francisco, California. He was named after the Confederate general Robert E. Lee. He dropped out of school and was educated at home. He then re-attended high school when he moved to New Hampshire and graduated at the head of his class. He wrote his first poem in 1890. It was about Prescott's conquering of Mexico titled "La Noche Triste". He died shortly after January 29th 1963 and his ashes are buried in his families plot in Old Bennington, Vermont. His wonderfully poetry filled with imagery and messages are still loved to this day by many faithful readers.His influences were mainly what he saw around him in natu ...view middle of the document...
The Poem "Fire and Ice" is mainly about the end of the world or how destruction will come in the end. In the first two lines he says "Some say the world will end with fire, some say in ice". He gives two options on how the world will end. The fire could possibly stand for fighting and war because fire is a destructive force and not known to be calm when it is not controlled. This could in fact be what he means by the fire. If the fighting and war is not contained it could be a destructive force. The ice could stand for disease or sadness. The world could end in disease by a plague or epidemic or sadness could strike and cause the individual breakdown of everyone. Ice is generally a cold substance and disease is often compared to being a cold dark thing, it certainly isn't a happy time. In the next lines he agrees with the people who think the world will end with fire or destruction and war because of what he has seen and experienced (possibly his time in World War II) or from "what he has tasted of desire". But he also says that if he could perish twice he would also like to see the world end in ice. Possibly because he wants to go back and see what it would be like if the opposite of war and confusion happened. His two lives and two different situations for the end of the world are metaphors for choices. If both happen the world would suffice he says, making each and every one happy. If the world ended in fire, not everyone would be happy, but if it ended in ice, not everyone would be happy either.The critics say that "Fire and Ice" is about two destructive forces that will bring the end of the world. They say that the end by fire will be and end caused by desire. The end by ice will be caused by hate or war. This poem was created during the cold war so the end by ice is a reference to the world ending by the cold war between Russia and the United States. Even though conflict never took part it was a war of egos which would have exploded into the third world war. The desire that is portrayed by fire is controlled by passion and can spread quickly leaving nothing but ashes. That shows how desire too can be a pretty if not almost as bad of a destructive force as war or "ice" can be. Fire was also how most of Europe was destroyed in World War II. Even though fire damage can be mended or rebuilt, the memories that are destroyed in fire never come back. The poem is actually thought to be about war. The world ending in fire like the destruction in World War II can happen very quickly, but the world ending in ice like the cold war can also be destructive because it is mostly about mental games. Fire is known to destroy quickly like a war and ice can melt and go away, just like the cold war. This is about the anxiety of many when war comes. No one wants the world to end in war but it is a very real thing and can cause world destruction, as we have already seen. People are nervous about war as they should be. Another famous poem by Robert Frost is...
