Fire and Ice

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor 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.

Fire and ice by robert frost

 

First thought after reading the poem: what the f is it trying to say?
Old poems very rarely make sense to me, so I needed some help by researching interpretations online, and then forming my own opinion.

I manipulated images I found on Google into 3 collages on Photoshop, using a paper tear texture to separate my ideas and to add to the collage feel I was going for. I applied a drop shadow effect to try to make the collage layers more realistic.

fire and ice 1

SOME SAY THE WORLD WILL END IN FIRE,
SOME SAY IN ICE.

There are two ways that the world will end — FIRE refers to natural disasters, climate change, occurrences that are uncontrollable by man and they’ll happen really fast; ICE refers to man-made destruction in the form of warfare and mass killing, caused by a slow-burning hatred that will inevitably cause the end of mankind. The top half of the picture depicts FIRE, while the bottom half of the picture depicts ICE.

Photo credits: lavaearthquake / water / explosion / flag / family / child soldier

 

fire and ice 2

FROM WHAT I’VE TASTED OF DESIRE
I HOLD WITH THOSE WHO FAVOR FIRE.
BUT IF IT HAD TO PERISH TWICE,
I THINK I KNOW ENOUGH OF HATE

These two lines imply that the poet believes in the ending of the world by the method of ‘fire’. I interpreted the desire in this case to be sexual desire, a hot emotion filled with passion. I put a suggestively sexual image into a TV to show how the poet would be taking in a small taste of desire, but he hasn’t experienced the full force of it (secondhand view). I placed the TV in a deserted space, with no sign of mankind, to play up the end-of-the-world factor. The guns in bed show how emotions and passion (FIRE) can turn into violence and man-made destruction (ICE), in an attempt to link both FIRE and ICE together, because the poet seems to believe both ways will still lead to an end.

Photo credits: drowning / desert / tv / hand / bed / grenade / rifle

fire and ice 3

TO SAY THAT FOR DESTRUCTION ICE
IS ALSO GREAT
AND WOULD SUFFICE.

The poet concludes the poem deciding that ICE can be accepted as a means to an end. I took actual black-and-white images from World War II to depict war, and I like how the B&W quality represents how we’ll all be a thing of the past eventually, and we’ll all be obsolete. I placed them in an extremely cold setting, reiterating the ICE factor.

Photo credits: trench / tank / soldiers / snow mountains