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.
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: lava / earthquake / water / explosion / flag / family / child soldier
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
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