Quiz

Fire and Ice

Robert Frost

1. 1. What two human emotions does Frost explicitly associate with fire and ice respectively?

   A. Passion and sorrowB. Desire and hateC. Love and envyD. Anger and indifference

2. 2. How many lines does 'Fire and Ice' contain, and how does this compact form serve the poem's purpose?

   A. Eight lines; it mirrors the binary choice between fire and iceB. Nine lines; the brevity mirrors the sudden, matter-of-fact tone about apocalyptic destructionC. Ten lines; extra length allows Frost to develop both emotions equallyD. Twelve lines; the sonnet form lends the subject gravity

3. 3. The speaker says 'I've tasted of desire' — what does the word 'tasted' most strongly suggest?

   A. That desire is a physical hunger the speaker has never fully satisfiedB. That desire is something the speaker has personally experienced firsthandC. That desire is something the speaker has only observed in othersD. That desire is a destructive force beyond the speaker's comprehension

4. 4. Which poetic technique is most prominently at work when Frost uses fire and ice to represent desire and hate?

   A. PersonificationB. AlliterationC. Extended metaphor / allegoryD. Onomatopoeia

5. 5. What is the rhyme scheme of 'Fire and Ice'?

   A. ABABCDCDCB. ABAABCBCBC. ABABABABCD. AABBCDDCE

6. 6. What overall tone best describes the speaker's treatment of apocalyptic destruction?

   A. Terrified and urgentB. Mournful and elegiacC. Detached and wryly matter-of-factD. Passionate and evangelistic

7. 7. The final word 'suffice' carries particular weight. What does it most ironically imply?

   A. That ice is ultimately more destructive than fireB. That hatred, like a mundane tool, is merely adequate for ending the worldC. That the speaker prefers fire but reluctantly accepts ice as a backupD. That both emotions cancel each other out, leaving humanity safe

8. 8. What does the hypothetical 'if it had to perish twice' reveal about the poem's logical structure?

   A. Frost believes destruction will literally happen in two separate eventsB. It introduces a second scenario to argue that ice, like fire, is equally capable of total destructionC. It suggests the speaker fears a cycle of rebirth and re-destructionD. It alludes to Norse mythology's concept of two endings of the world

9. 9. Some scholars connect 'Fire and Ice' to Dante's 'Inferno,' where the ninth circle of Hell is frozen. If Frost intended this allusion, what would it add to the poem?

   A. It would suggest Frost views desire as the greatest sin, surpassing hateB. It would imply that hatred, like Dante's deepest hell, represents the coldest and most profound evilC. It would indicate Frost believed the world's end is a divine punishmentD. It would frame fire as heavenly and ice as earthly, inverting the poem's symbolism

10. 10. According to the poem, which ending does the speaker personally favor, and why?

    A. Ice, because the speaker has experienced enough hate to know its powerB. Fire, because the speaker has experienced desire and connects it to fire's forceC. Neither, because the speaker remains strictly neutral throughoutD. Fire, because the speaker believes desire is a nobler emotion than hate
11. Submit

Top scores