This document provides a summary and analysis of two poems by Robert Frost: "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" and "Fire and Ice." It begins with metadata about the author of the paper and submission details. Then it provides background on Robert Frost and summaries of each poem. For "Stopping by Woods," it analyzes symbols like the woods and sleep. For "Fire and Ice," it examines the dichotomy between the two elements and how they represent different destructive forces. The document also discusses symbolism in the poems and provides personal responses to their meanings.

1. Robert Frost’s Poetry – “Stopping by Woods”
&“Fire and Ice”
Presented by- Divya Choudhary
Class- M A
Semester- 3
Paper no.- 10
paper name – American Literature
Batch Year- 2015-17
Enrolment No.- PG15101007
Email id- choudharydivya400@gmail.com
Submitted to- Smt. S B Gardi Department of
English
Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar
University

2. Stopping by woods
Robert Frost

4. About Author
Robert Frost (1874-1963) was born in San Francisco, California. His father
William Frost, a journalist and an ardent Democrat, died when Frost was
about eleven years old. His Scottish mother, the former Isabelle Moody,
resumed her career as a schoolteacher to support her family. The family
lived in Lawrence, Massachusetts, with Frost's paternal grandfather,
William Prescott Frost, who gave his grandson a good schooling. In 1892
Frost graduated from a high school and attended Dartmouth College for a
few months. Over the next ten years he held a number of jobs. Frost
worked among others in a textile mill and taught Latin at his mother's
school in Methuen, Massachusetts. In 1894 the New York Independent
published Frost's poem 'My Butterfly' and he had five poems privately
printed. Frost worked as a teacher and continued to write and publish his
poems in magazines. In 1895 he married a former schoolmate, Elinor
White; they had six children.

5. What is symbolism
Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify
ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic
meanings that are different from their literal
sense.
According to Oxford Dictionary
“ Symbolism means use of symbols like
objects, character, use of color to
represents abstract idea or quality. ”

6. Stopping By Woods on a
Snowy Evening
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
to stop without a farmhouse near
between the woods and frozen lake
the darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
to ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep (By Robert
Frost)

7. Symbolism in stopping by woods
 Here woods are symbolizes as contrast to civilization.
Through this poem woods can be categorized as a
symbol of death.
 The most significant symbol in the poem “stopping by
woods on a snowy Evening” would be woods.
 The woods may symbolize temptations in life, from a
view they seem mysterious beauty.
 And some are tempted to stay and enjoy the view, but
the traveler chooses to continue his journey through
life to reach his destination, which should be our goals
in life too.

8. “And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”
Here this line suggests that Death is the ultimate
reality of the life but before that one has some
duty to fulfill and the words like “miles to go”
indicates that there are so many works and
responsibility and one has to compete.
Death is not the greatest loss in life .The
greatest loss of it what dies inside us while we
live.
Here “sleep” symbolizes the death.

9. Nature:
In this poem, nature is the symbol and
the snow is a symbol of coolness, while frozen lake
is a symbol of the death and chillness of life.
Horse:
In this poem Robert Frost takes Horse as a symbol,
which symbolizes as a soul of the poet.
Village:
Village is symbolized here as society and civilization

11. Fire and Ice by Robert
Frost
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of
desire
I hold with those who favour
fire.
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.

13. Summary
This short poem outlines the familiar question about the fate
of the world, wondering if it is more likely to be destroyed
by fire or ice. People are on both sides of the debate, and
Frost introduces the narrator to provide his personal take on
the question of the end of the world. The narrator first
concludes that the world must end in fire after considering
his personal experience with desire and passion, the
emotions of fire. Yet, after considering his experience with
“ice,” or hatred, the narrator acknowledges that ice would
be equally destructive.

14. Analysis
In the first two lines of the poem, Frost creates a clear dichotomy
between fire and ice and the two groups of people that believe in
each element. By using the term “some” instead of “I” or “an
individual,” Frost asserts that the distinction between the two
elements is a universal truth, not just an idea promoted by an
individual. First lines also outline the claim that the world will end
as a direct result of one of these elements. It is unclear which
element will destroy the world, but it is significant to note that fire
and ice are the only options. The poem does not allow for any other
possibilities in terms of the world’s fate, just as there are not any
other opinions allowed in the black-and-white debate between fire
and ice.

15. To be continue…
Interestingly, the two possibilities for the world’s destruction
correspond directly to a common scientific debate during the time
Frost wrote the poem. Some scientists believed that the world would
be incinerated from its fiery core, while others were convinced that a
coming ice age would destroy all living things on the earth’s surface.
Instead of maintaining a strictly scientific perspective on this debate,
Frost introduces a more emotional side, associating passionate desire
with fire and hatred with ice. Within this metaphorical view of the two
elements, the “world” can be recognized as a metaphor for a
relationship. Too much fire and passion can quickly consume a
relationship, while cold indifference and hate can be equally
destructive.

16. To be continue…
Although the first two lines of the poem insist that there
can only be a single choice between fire and ice, the
narrator acknowledges that both elements could
successfully destroy the world. Moreover, the fact that he
has had personal experience with both (in the form of
desire and hate) reveals that fire and ice are not mutually
exclusive, as the first two lines of the poem insist. In fact,
though the narrator first concludes that the world will end
in fire, he ultimately admits that the world could just as
easily end in ice; fire and ice, it seems, are strikingly
similar.

17. Symbolism in Fire and Ice
Fire: Warmth, Emotions, Desire
Ice: Coldness, Dryness, Hatred
Both are extremes and these extremes lead
towards destruction.
Fire symbolize for desire,
and ice symbolizes here for hate.

19. Hatred or Desires
The Poem is not talking about heaven and hell,
as I thought the same thing because in the last
lines he says the destruction Ice would also be
great.
Meaning fire was great too, and we all know if he
got to die twice, after the first time in hell he
would know it was not great.
I believe it is talking about relationships ending in
hatred or desires, either for other men or women
or possessions.

20. Personal responce
In my opinion, the author is expressing his
feelings about the human race.
Fire is the symbol of war in any shape or form.
Fire is passionate hate, which could very easily end
the world as we know it.
The other extreme is ice which could, possibly
symbolize human nature's "icy" tendency for
laziness, detachment and general "who gives a
damn" that people are dying all over the place due
to a various range of catastrophes.

21. Last slide