Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” and “Fire and Ice” are both rhyming, rhythmic poems. However, their themes are very different. While the former explores the choices that all humans make in everyday life, the latter delves more deeply into possible causes of destruction for planet earth. While the two poems have similarities in terms of style, the main themes within them are quite different.
“The Road Not Taken” is a famous and well-anthologized poem in the history of American poetry. A common interpretation asserts that the narrator in the poem is upholding independence and non-conformity.
A close reading of this poem reveals that the author is not moralizing about choice, but is commenting that choice is unavoidable. However, the effects of choices are not clear until they have been lived out; this is what is at the heart of the poem.
The poem comprises four stanzas. In the first stanza, the narrator speaks about his situation. He is out for a walk in the forest and the road comes to a fork where there are two choices of path to take. The narrator comments that he would like to experience both paths but he feels that would be impossible. He continues to deliberate over which road to choose.
The narrator has assessed the first road, “to where it bent in the undergrowth,” and then in the second stanza, he tells the reader that he chose to take the second road, as it appeared to have been taken less than the other one. However, he then comments that both paths were, in fact, similarly worn.
The third stanza carries on with the narrator’s thoughts about the possible dissimilarities between the two available paths. He observed that, on both paths, the leaves had not been trampled on. He also comments that he may return and try the other path another time, but that he probably will be unable to. The premise here is that choices in life lead to other choices, and that life is too brief to live out all of the different paths that were available at one time.
The fourth stanza is where the poem becomes open to different interpretations. The final line of the poem reads: “And that has made all the difference (Frost b). Some readers may consider this to mean a beneficial difference that has been brought about in the narrator’s life as a consequence of the choice he made. However, as the difference is in the narrator’s future, he actually has no idea, at this point, whether the difference will be positive, negative or, arguably, neither. Furthermore, the beginning of the forth stanza reads: “I shall be telling this with a sigh” (Frost b). Again, as this concept is in the future, the narrator is unsure as to whether the sigh will be of contentment and nostalgia, or of regret. The time has not been lived out yet and so cannot be interpreted as either positive or negative.
Unlike “The Road Not Taken,” Frost’s “Fire and Ice” comprises only one stanza. It is made up of only nine lines and features the theme of destruction of planet earth. The poem comments that the destruction of earth will take place either as a result of fire or ice. Frost offers powerful imagery and symbolism for both of the suggested conclusions.
The poem opens with the line: “Some say the world will end in fire, / Some say in ice” (Frost a). This invokes bleak notions of the earth either burning or freezing to death. The theme of destruction is formed straight away for the reader.
The image of fire turns representative in lines three and four: “From what I’ve tasted of desire / I hold with those who favor fire” (Frost a). Frost associates fire with desire. By connecting fire and desire, Frost is proposing that desire can result in as much destruction as fire, and could be a possible cause of the end of the world.
It is possible that Frost is referring to the desire for power or status, which could, arguably, result in the collapse of mankind. It is probable that means that such desires will cause conditions that people cannot recover from and will, in turn, result in their expiration.
The remainder of the poem speaks of the symbolism of ice: “But if it had to perish twice, / I think I know enough of hate / To say that for destruction ice / Is also great / And would suffice” (Frost a). Ice is connected with hate, which Frost believes can be equally as damaging as fire.
Both “The Road Not Taken” and “Fire and Ice” are rhyming poems. The former is four stanzas long and each stanza follows an ABABC pattern. For the most part, the poem is written in iambic tetrameter, though the form isn’t strict throughout. Some lines do not follow exactly, though many do. The result is a poem that is comfortable and rhythmic, and appears light to read. The subject matter of “The Road Not Taken” is, arguably, lighter than many of Frost’s poems. The theme is that choices have to be made in life but that no one knows whether the choice is a good one until later in life when it is too late to go back. This could be interpreted as an optimistic or pessimistic theme, depending on the reader. Overall, though, the light and rhythmic form of the poem seems to fit appropriately with the tone and subject matter.
“Fire and Ice,” while also rhyming, comprises only one stanza of nine lines. Most of the lines are, again, in iambic tetrameter, but not all. Three lines out of the nine contain only four syllables each. These shorter lines, however, were carefully chosen and are each poignant. The final two lines in particular are pensive and powerful: “Is also great / And would suffice” (Frost a).
Overall, both poems are rhythmic and logical to read, and both have wonderful rhyming schemes. However, the themes of each are vastly different. While “The Road Not Taken” is a poem that any human being can relate to in their everyday life, “Fire and Ice” concerns the much deeper and darker side to human nature. As with much of Frost’s work, these two pieces are thoughtful and enjoyable in their own rights. While similarities can be drawn between them in terms of style, the subject matters covered could not be much more different.
Works Cited
Frost, R. “Fire and Ice.” Poem Hunter. 2003. Web. 23 March 2012.
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/fire-and-ice/
Frost, R. “The Road Not Taken.” Poem Hunter. 2003. Web. 23 March 2012.
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-road-not-taken/
