Fire and Ice

EXPECTATIONS

Considering the title i expect the poem to be about a contrast between two differet points of view.

LAY-OUT

As we can see by the lay-out the reader realises the text is organized in free lines. It is composed of nine verses, there are two couplets, the first one is in rhyming couplet the other is in alternate rhyming.

DENOTATIVE ANALYSIS

IN the text the poem expresses two different points of view about the end of the world.

Some people think that the world will end in fire, others in ice.

The speaker voice is in first person in verses three and four, to say his personal point of view that is that from his experience of desire the world will end burning.

The phrase “from his experience of desire” means that He had made experience of desire during his life, for example it can be the desire of love of a woman.

The first couplet shows us the opinion of the people the second one of the poet.

He also gives a reason of his opinion which is He taste the desire.

The choice of alternate rhyme adds meaning to thr two different opinions:

On one hand(A) there are those believe the world will end in fire, on the other(B) there are those who are convinced it will end in ice.

The poet plays with the assonance of the sound “I”, so that the two words( fire, ice) Are always recalled each other also there is the alliteration of the sound “W”, so that the word “world” becamecentral in the first line.

Also the verb “end “ has got a stressed sillabe, He cames in key position.

The poet exploits an anaphoric syntax and creats a sound effect.

The first line ends with the coma so that the reader attention stops on the word “fire”.

The second line focused on the word ice .

All these litterae devices present in the first two lines are meant to be better put into focus, the two different opinions about the end of the words.