The poem Fire and Ice by Robert Frost

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  v  Introduction to the poet  
  -          Robert Frost was born in San Francisco.
  -          He went to university at Dartmouth College in 1892, and later Harvard, but never gained a formal degree.
  -          He became interested in reading poetry during his high school.
  -          Frost was a poet of deep thoughts. Behind his descriptions of nature and everyday activities, you can find a deeper meaning. When he described events, Frost usually had a moral point or strange observation to make.
  -          He was influenced by some British poets.
  -          Frost wrote in a clear and easy to understand manner, unlike many of the more experimental twentieth century poets.
  -          Frost was a poet of searching and often dark meditations on universal themes.
  -          He uses simple vocabulary in his verse. It is very easy to read but it is not easy to understand. You must be able to catch the hidden massage in his poems. He may appear simple but his poetry is profound.
  -          His first professional poem was The Butterfly. It was published in The Independent.
  -          In 1895, he got married to Mrs. White who was a great inspiration for him to write poetry.
  v  The Title
  §  The title refers to two destructive factors in this universe. Fire and ice are two destructive elements that can lead to the destruction of this universe: the world will burn completely or it will freeze to death.
  §  The title is furious and humorous at the same time. It is furious as it tells us about two destructive elements that can lead to the destruction of this world. It is humorous because ice can lead to the destructions of fire. But, if the fire is great and fatal, ice can do nothing and will be useless in front of fire.
  v  Ellipsis
          In line1, (that) is omitted: in order to keep the iambic beat, because it is understood, and in order to make the style close to our spoken English.
  v  Paraphrase
            The speaker takes into consideration an old matter. It is centered around the inevitable end of the world in which we live. Some people believe that fire will lead to the destruction of this universe while some other people believe that ice can put an end to this world. The speaker agrees to the first notion, but he believes that ice is also great, enough and sufficient for the destruction of this universe.
  
  
  v  Critical analysis  
  ·         Form
  -          It is an invented form: an irregular form in which the poem is given in nine lines of verse as one verse-paragraph.
  -          The nine given lines differ in length.
  
  
  ·         Rhyme Scheme
  It goes as abaabcbcb. There are only three endings: aɪs, aɪə, eɪt .
  ·         Beat
  -          Lines two, Eight, and Nine are given in four syllables only: Iambic Diameter
  -          Lines one, three, four, five, sex, and seven are given in eight syllables : Iambic tetrameter
  -          (that) is omitted in line one in order to keep the Iambic beat.
  
  
  ·         Style
  1.        It is easy to read and to understand.
  2.        The use of enjambment especially the last three lines.
  3.       It is repetitive “some say”, “fire”, “ice”.
  4.       It is written in mono-syllabic words: “some say the world will end in fire”.
  5.       Lines differ in length (four syllables, eight syllables)
  6.       It is a prose-like style. Sentences are written in the same word order (example).
  7.       The style lacks figures of speech.
  
  
  ·         Theme
          The theme of the poem is ambiguous, unsettled and unanswered. It is about the inevitable end of this universe. The poet is not sure whether the world will end in fire of in ice.
  ·         One main idea
  The world will burn completely or it will freeze to death.
  ·         Music
  1.       Rhyme scheme:
  a: fire, b: ice, a: desire, a: fire, b: twice, c: hate, b: ice , c: great, b: suffice
  2.       The beat or rhythm: Iambic Diameter and Iambic tetrameter (give examples)
  3.       Sibilance: 12 times (some, say, some, say, ice,......)
  4.       Simple Alliteration: (favour, fire)
  5.       Crossed Alliteration: (had, hate)
  6.       Word and phrase repetition (some say) , (ice, fire)
  
  
  ·         Contrast  (Style Vs. Theme)
  The simplicity of vocabulary vs. the seriousness of the subject matter