Destruction is the central theme in the poem “Fire and Ice”. Robert Frost has used various stylistic devices to bring about the theme of destruction. Symbolism, metaphors, alliteration, and repetition have been used to emphasize the central theme. Among the listed devices, Frost has used symbols and metaphors greatly to draw the central theme of destruction to the minds of the readers. Fire and ice are dominant symbols in the poem. Fire represents desire while ice represents hate. Desire leads to a fight when we want things that the others have. This may also be compared to greed. The desire may be of natural resources like oil and natural gas which lead to conflicts among nations. Hate which is represented by ice could be based on religion, race or ethnicity or other personal differences. Human beings may be forced to abandon or harm each other because of these differences. The poet uses these two styles to show what will bring about the final destruction. Robert Frost brings about a direct comparison which is a metaphor in line three and four. "From what I have tasted of desire, I hold with those who favor fire". The fire has directly been compared to desire and ice has directly been compared to hate. The direct comparison has also been brought out in lines six, seven and eight: “I think I know enough of hate, to say that for destruction, Ice is also great.” The metaphor has made it appear like hate and desire, being compared to ice and fire, are equally dangerous. This being "dangerous” brings about destruction which is the central theme of the poem. Robert Frost has greatly used symbols and metaphors to express what he thought would bring the world to an end. He chose metaphors to explain how destructive fire and ice, which represent the extent of desire and hate.
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