Fire and Ice Poem Important Questions Class 10 First Flight English
Very Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1. What is ‘fire’ a symbol of?
Answer
'Fire' is a symbol of lust and endless desires.
Question 2. What is ‘Ice’ a symbol of?
Answer
Ice is a symbol of hatred.
Question 3. What are two different views about the end of the world in the poem ‘Fire and Ice’?
Answer
The two different views of people regarding the end of the world are fire and ice i.e., by desire and hatred.
Question 4. Why does the poet hold with those who favour fire?
Answer
The poet holds with those who favour fire because the lust for material things is increasing quickly.
Question 5. What will fire do to the world?
Answer
Fire will put the world to an end.
Question 6. Why do some people say that the world will end in ice?
Answer
They say so because hatred among people is increasing fast.
Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1. Will this world come to an end? What does the poet say in this regard?
Answer
Everything that has a beginning or origin, does have an end. It is an eternal law of nature. The existing world will come to an end, someday. The poet believed many people believe that either ‘fire’ or ‘ice’ will be the cause of the end of the world.
Question 2. What message does the poet wish to convey through the poem ‘Fire and ‘Ice’?
Answer
The poet presents two possibilities about the end of the world. It will be either due to ‘Fire and ‘Ice’ he prefers the first as he believes the world will end in fire but the ice will not go away.
Question 3. What is the message of the poem ‘Fire and Ice’?
Answer
The metaphors of ‘fire’ and ‘ice’ are used very effectively to convey a definite message to the readers. ‘Fire’ here stands for our unbridled, uncontrolled and unchecked passions, desires, lust and fury. Such passions are disastrous for human beings. Similarly cold reasoning devoid of all human warmth, love, sympathy will bring insensitivity, cruelty and rigidity. This hatred will lead to the end of this world.
Question 4. According to the poet, what does ‘fire’ and ‘ice’ represent? Do you agree with him?
Answer
According to the poet, ‘fire’ represents desire and ‘ice’ represents hatred. I do agree with the poet. Desires like fire spread rapidly and engulf one’s whole life. Similarly ‘hatred’ fills the whole life with poison. It makes one hard-hearted and cruel.
Question 5. What do people think about the end of the world? Who does the poet side with and why?
Answer: People are divided over the cause of the end of this world. Some people think that ‘fire’ symbolised by unbridled passions, desires and fury will destroy this world. Others believe that ‘ice’ symbolised by cold reasoning, indifference and hatred will be the cause of destruction. The poet sides with those who believe that ‘fire’ or unbridled passions and desires will result in the destruction of the world.
Question 6. What does the poet think about the end of the world?
Answer
The poet thinks about the end of the world that people think fire is the main cause of destruction. But by the end of the poem he says that both Fire and Ice are equally destructive. Both have the same power of causing destruction.
Question 7. Why does the poet say, ‘I’ve tasted of desire/I hold with those who favour fire?
Answer
The poet is familiar with the fire of passions and desires in love. He knows it quite well that are uncontrolled desires, passions and fury lead to our destruction. Similarly, he sides with those people who believe that ‘fire’ symbolised by unbridled passions and desires with be the real cause of the end of the world.
Question 8. How can fire destroy the world
Answer
'Fire' symbolizes passion or hatred. It will lead to conflicts and ultimately result in the destruction of the world. Fire represents desire that is fervent, consuming, always wanting more. Ice represents hatred that is hard and cold.
Question 9. What do you think would be enough to destroy the world? Can Fire and Ice contribute to it?
Answer: Our desires and hatred would be enough to destroy the world. According to the poet, `fire’ represents ‘desire’ and `ice’ represents `hatred’. Desires like fire spread rapidly and engulf one’s whole life. Similarly, ‘hatred’ fills life with poison.
Long Answer Type Questions
Question 1. What do the metaphors of ‘ice’ and ‘fire’ convey to the readers? Don’t they represent the two extremes of human behaviour that can lead to the destruction and death of this world? What is the message that the poet wants to give to the readers?
Answer
The poet has touched the universal issue of the ending of this existing world. He gives a message as well as a warning to human beings. Man is swaying between two extremes — ‘fire’ and ‘ice’. Sometimes he is torn by his unbridled fire of passions, desires, lusts, longings, and fury. This results in greed, avarice and passionate love. All such extremes can lead to unavoidable conflicts and disasters. If not controlled, they can help in bringing an early end of this world.
The other extreme behaviour of human beings is born out of cold and ‘icy’ reasoning. When our cold reasoning becomes completely devoid of human warmth, feelings, love, and sympathy, it breeds hatred. Hatred born out of cold indifference, insensitivity and rigidity are strong enough to cause the end of this world. Humanity can redeem itself and possibly save or delay the end of the world by giving up such extremes of thinking and behaviour.
There are many ideas about how the world will ‘end’. Do you think the world will end some day? Have you ever thought what would happen if the sun got so hot that it ‘burst’, or grew colder and colder?
Answer:
There are many ideas about how the world will end. Robert Frost points out two destructive forces—Fire and Ice, they may cause an end to the world. Yes, everything is subjected to an end. The world would come to an end someday. The cause may be a war or natural calamity. The sun is the main source of energy. It is life on the earth. If the sun got so hot that it “burst’ or grew colder and colder the life on the earth would come to an end.
Question 2. How does the poem depicts the two contrasting ideas— ‘Fire’ and ‘Ice’? Can hatred destroy us and the world? Explain bringing out values which can make this world a better place to live in.
Answer
(i) In this poem, Robert Frost refers to two contrasting ideas—Fire and Ice as predictions of how the world will end. According to him, some people say that the world will end in a fire while some others hold that this will end in ice. The poet equates desire with fire and hatred with ice. Both the desire and hatred are growing with such a rapid speed that the world will come to an end either of the ways.
(ii) Yes, hatred can destroy us and the world. Intolerance in behaviour creates hatred that leads to fury and cruelty. One becomes hard-hearted and insensitive to the feelings of others.
(iii) Love, brotherhood, tolerance, peace, contentment, sensitivity, benevolence, generosity among people can make this world a better place to live in.
Question 3. What is the rhyme scheme of the poem? How does it help in bringing out the contrasting ideas in the poem?
Answer
The rhyme scheme of the poem in the first stanza is a, b; a band in the second stanza it is – a, b, a, b, a.
The lines ending with the same rhythm have the same idea but the line that ends with a different note has the contrasting idea. In the first stanza, the first, third and fourth lines end with the words fire, desire, fire – same rhythm but the second line ends with the word ‘ice’, a different note, also it contrasts with ‘fire’.
Thus the poet has brought out the contrasting ideas in the poem by using different rhythms.