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 favour 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.
-Robert Frost
Interestingly, the two possibilities for the world’s destruction ... correspond directly to a common scientific debate during the time Frost wrote the poem.…
Some scientists believed that the world would be incinerated from its fiery core,
while others were convinced that a coming ice age would destroy all living things on the earth’s surface. Instead of maintaining a strictly scientific perspective on this debate, Frost introduces a more emotional side, associating passionate desire with fire and hatred with ice. Within this metaphorical view of the two elements, the “world” can be recognised as a metaphor for a relationship. Too much fire and passion can quickly consume a relationship, while cold indifference and hate can be equally destructive.
Some scientists believed that the world would be incinerated from its fiery core,
while others were convinced that a coming ice age would destroy all living things on the earth’s surface. Instead of maintaining a strictly scientific perspective on this debate, Frost introduces a more emotional side, associating passionate desire with fire and hatred with ice. Within this metaphorical view of the two elements, the “world” can be recognised as a metaphor for a relationship. Too much fire and passion can quickly consume a relationship, while cold indifference and hate can be equally destructive.
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