Fire and Ice – Important Questions

This short poem outlines the familiar question about the fate of the world, wondering if it is more likely to be destroyed by fire or ice. People are on both sides of the debate,

Important Question and Answers

Q. Read the following extract and answer the questions that follow:

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.

1. The people of the world think that the world will end in ___________________.
   1. fire and tsunami
   2. earthquake and cyclone
   3. melting of glaciers
   4. fire or ice
2. The poet’s opinion is that the world will end in ___________________.
   1. fire
   2. ice
   3. earthquake
   4. tsunami
3. Find the word from the passage which means same as ‘endless greed’.
   1. favour
   2. desire
   3. perish
   4. destruction
4. Who is the poet of this poem?
   1. R.L. Stevenson
   2. Sarojini Naidu
   3. William Wordsworth
   4. Robert Frost
5. Greed, passion and desire are signified by ___________________.
   1. water
   2. wind
   3. fire
   4. ice
6. The indifference, hatred and rigidity are signified by ___________________.
   1. wind
   2. ice
   3. water
   4. fire
7. What is the rhyming scheme of the lines?
   1. abaa
   2. aabb
   3. abba
   4. abab
8. The poet favours the opinion of the people who think the world will end in ___________________.
   1. fire
   2. ice
   3. earthquake
   4. cyclone

Answer

1. fire or ice
2. fire
3. desire
4. Robert Frost
5. fire
6. ice
7. abaa
8. fire

Q. Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow:

But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great.

1. Who has written the above lines?
   1. Robert Frost
   2. Ruskin Bond
   3. Adrienne Rich
   4. Carl Sandburg
2. Hatred, coldness and rigidity are the symbol of ____________.
   1. water
   2. fire
   3. ice
   4. wind
3. Find the word from the passage which means the same as ‘to die’.
   1. destruction
   2. favour
   3. desire
   4. perish
4. The poet thinks of what?
   1. love
   2. hatred
   3. destruction
   4. development
5. Who knows enough of hate?
   1. many
   2. poet
   3. few
   4. none
6. What is great for destruction?
   1. ice
   2. water
   3. fire
   4. wind
7. Who knows enough of hate?
   1. many
   2. poet
   3. few
   4. none
8. What is great for destruction?
   1. ice
   2. water
   3. fire
   4. wind

Answer

1. Robert Frost
2. ice
3. perish
4. hatred
5. poet
6. ice
7. abab
8. world

Q. What does ‘fire’ and ‘ice’ stand for and what is the general opinion regarding the world?

Ans. Fire stands for fury, desire, lust, anger, avarice, cruelty and greed. Ice is symbolic of hatred, coldness, rigidity, insensitivity and intolerance. The general opinion regarding the world is that the world will end in fire and some say ice. Both the two reasons contrast each other and one equally opposite to each other. People who favour fire believe that it will be the heat and passion which will end the world. On the other hand, some people think that it will be the ice which will freeze the world.

Q. Nothing is immortal in this universe. Fire and ice are very powerful things. They will destroy it. But hatred is more powerful. Explain.

Ans. It is a universal truth that nothing is immortal in this universe. Every thing has to destroy one day. Fire and ice will not leave anything. The poet also supports those who favour fire. But the feeling of hatred is more dangerous than fire and ice. Hatred will destroy it into pieces. This feeling will spoil the humanity from this earth that is the human ornament.

Q. What deep meaning does the poem ‘Fire and Ice’ carry in it?

Ans. The poet has compared fire to the dark side of humanity i.e., hatredness and lust. According to the poet lust is a greater evil. Desire or lust is the cause of war. Hatredness is also harmful. So the poem ‘Fire and Ice’ represents the two evils hatredness and lust which lead to the destruction of the world. According to the poet fire stands for desire, greed and avarice. The more you try to satisfy them, the more they grow. There is no end to it. They spread rapidly like fire and ruin your whole life. On the other hand, ‘ice’ according to the poet, stands for hatred, coldness and rigidity. One becomes insensitive and indifferent towards the feelings of others. One becomes selfish and sometimes cruel also. The poet says that both fire and ice are growing with such a rapid speed that the world would soon perish either way, in fire or in ice.

Q. Mention two contrasting views regarding the end of the world as forecasted in the poem “Fire and Ice”.

Ans. The theme of the poem is the destructive potential of hatred and desire. The poet uses contrasting elements fire and ice to explain its power of destroying the world.

By fire he metaphorically means the destructive nature of human emotions like desire and hatred while ice signifies the feelings which is bereft of love, affection and sympathy. Hence both type of human nature has the potential for self destruction. If fire leads to rapid destruction, ice would lead to silent damage.

As such the two contrasting elements fire and ice both would be just as good to destroy the world.