The Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 2 Poem - Fire and Ice by Robert Frost's is a reflective poem that discusses two powerful human emotions - desire (goes with fire) and hatred (goes with ice) and 'how they could bring the end of the world'. In only a few lines, the poet provides a profound message about the influence of human emotions and their hypothetical consequences.
The NCERT Solutions for this chapter outlines the storyline of the poem detailing the meaning of the poem line-by-line, its theme, and the poetic devices used. The answers are composed in simple language which is easy for students to use to help them prepare for exams and improve their poetry understanding. In doing so, it helps support their learning experience and their enjoyment in English literature.
Download NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Poem Chapter 1 Fire and Ice, curated by experts for easy understanding and effective exam revision. Click on the link below to download the free PDF of the solutions
1. 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 gets so hot that it 'bursts' or grows colder and colder?
Ans. There are definitely many ideas about how the world will 'end'. I do believe that the world will end someday as anything that has a beginning will have an end. This stands true for the world also, if the Sun got so hot that it burst, the whole of the Earth would perish immediately as no part of the Earth can bear the heat of that intensity. But if the Sun grew colder and colder, everything will come to an end as without sunlight, life will end.
2. For Frost, what do 'fire' and 'ice' stand for?
Ans. 'Fire' stands for greed, avarice, lust, conflict and fury. 'Ice' stands for cruelty, intolerance, rigidity, insensitivity, coldness, indifference and hatred.
3. What is the rhyme scheme of the poem? How does it help in bringing out the contrasting ideas in the poem?
Ans. The rhyme scheme of the poem is- This rhyme scheme helps in bringing out the contrasting ideas of 'fire' and 'ice' presented in the poem. The poet mentions that both fire and ice are probable ends of this world. He talks about how fire represents desire and can therefore be a cause of the end of the world. Frost also mentions ice in between to symbolise that the coldness and indifference towards one another will be enough to end the world. In the second stanza, he says that he knows of enough hate in the world to be sure that even destruction through ice . would be sufficient to bring about the end of the world.
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