"Fire and Ice" Robert Frost RECITED BY POET HIMSELF! classic poem American Literature

Fire and Ice By Robert Frost 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. This poem asks whether Earth will suffer another Ice Age. Or will the opposite happen? That is, will humanity end due to the planet getting too hot. Did Frost know about Global Warming before scientists? The “desire” in line 3 represents “passion,” but desire/passion can go negative as well as positive--any strong and barely controllable emotion. Frost might be suggesting anger in some way will end the world. Maybe nuclear weapons weren’t invented when Frost wrote the poem, but he knew about machine guns and bombs. World War I was awful. Passion or desire can cause people to have fiery attitudes that can bring about war. Mr. Trump famously told North Korea to expect “fire and fury.” The rhetoric has softened, but the North Koreans are right now building additional missiles that can reach America, and North Korea is just one small country. Nuclear weapons are proliferating, so Frost may have put his finger on how it all ends. The “ice” in this poem represents human coldness, such as isolation, loneliness, and bitterness. Frost associates ice with hate. The poem suggests it is possible for the world to end if humans continue to become too distant from each other and bitter towards one another. “Icy” feelings can cause as much harm as passionate fury. "Fire and Ice" Robert Frost RECITED BY POET HIMSELF! classic poem American Literature