Body Paragraph - Chapter 6 - "Fire and Ice" by Robert Frost

In the poem "Fire and Ice", Robert Frost tells of two ways that the world may end. The first of the two ways it may end is by fire. The speaker tells: "from what I've tasted of desire / I hold with those who favor fire" (3-4). The speaker compares desire and fire, ultimately saying that they are similar. The fact that desire, an extreme feeling, is related to fire emphasizes that desire is like fire itself. Those who desire for something want it with a fiery, burning passion. The speaker's words that they've "tasted of desire" mean that they have felt it and understand it's complexity and the power that it has. If too many people desire too many things, their greed could be the end of the world.

The speaker then tells: "I think I know enough of hate / To say that for destruction ice / Is also great" (6-8). This time, hate and ice are compared to each other. Hate is also an extreme feeling like desire, yet it is an emotion that turns people against others; It is cold and unfeeling. The speaker's personal knowledge of hate is less than that of desire, for they say "I think I know enough of hate". This means that, while they have felt hate and witnessed it before, they still show doubt as to if they understand it fully. In the end, the speaker makes the point that, while fire is probably the better of the two, ice "would suffice" (9)