Unit 8 Fire and Ice

Unit 8 Fire and Ice

We used Robert Frost’s widely loved poem, Stopping by Woods on a “Snowy Evening,” as an illustration. Let’s look again at the first stanza:

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.

As you recall, this stanza is made up of four lines, and all but the third line rhyme (a-a-b-a). There are eight syllables to a line, and each two syllables──one unstressed followed by a stressed one──form a foot, so that each line has four feet. The poem, you see, has a very neat stanza form and regular rhyming scheme.

But not all English poems are this typical. The following two poems, for example, are quite different:

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.

--by Robert Frost--

Fog

The fog comes

on little cat feet.

It sits looking

over harbor and city

on silent haunches

and then moves on.

--by Carl Sandburg--

Frost’s poem is made up of one single stanza rhyming a-b-a-a-b-c-b-c-b. The lines are not of equal length, nor is every foot made up of one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one. The Sandburg poem, though shorter, has more than one stanza and no rhyme at all.

But form alone does not make poetry. Content is equally important. Frost’s “Fire and Ice” carries a deep philosophical meaning. Among the forces that bring about the end of the world, Frost tells us, desire and hate are the most destructive. Fire and ice are here used as symbols for desire and hate. Frost’s poem illustrates the use of symbols as a figure of speech, in which something stands for something else.

“Fog,” on the other hand, is a lovely little poem of only twenty-one words in six short lines. It is about something that most people know very well, although very few of us can describe it in two sentences. In the poem we see a picture of a cat doing its typical silent walk and, suddenly, the fog seems to come alive. The comparison is a good example of a metaphor in the form of a clear image.

Many people feel that it is a challenge to read poetry, but if you give it a chance, it can be great fun.

--Written by Nani editorial board--

illustration [I"lVs`treSJn] n. [C] （舉例）說明

recall [rI`kOl] v.t. 記起；回想；回憶

neat [nit] adj. 清晰的；明白的；整齊的

*scheme [skim] n. [C] 格式；規畫

typical [`tIpIkL] adj. 典型的

following [`faloIG] adj. 底下的；下列的

desire [dI`zZIr] n. [C] 欲望

hold [hold] v.i.; v.t. 同意；贊成；握在手裡

perish [`pErIS] v.i. 毀滅；消失

be made up of 由…組成

all but 除了…外都…

hate [het] n. [U] 憎恨；厭惡

destruction [dI`strVkSJn] n. [U] 毀滅

*suffice [sJ`fZIs] v.i.; v.t. 足夠；足夠做…

silent [`sZIlJnt] adj. 沉默的；寂靜的

*haunch [hantS] n. [C] 腰腿；臀部

philosophical ["fIlJ`safIkL] adj. 富哲思的；有深意的

force [fors] n. [C] 力量；影響力

*figure of speech [`fIqyKYJvYspitS] n. [C] 比喻法；比方說法

bring about 造成；導致

stand for 代表；替代

comparison [kJm`pArJsN] n. [U][C] 比喻；比較

image [`ImIdj] n. [C] 意象；形象

come alive 充滿生機；生氣勃勃

in the form of 以…形式出現

True or False: Read the following statements carefully and decide if they are true (T) or false (F).

Ｆ 1. When it comes to rhyme and metaphor, “Fire and Ice” is the typical poem.

Ｔ 2.”Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening “has a very neat stanza form.

Ｆ 3.”Fog”is Robert Frost’s famous poem.

Ｔ 4.”Fire and Ice” carries a deep philosophical meaning.

Ｔ 5.”Fog”is a lovely little poem of only twenty-one words.

Multiple Choice: Choose the best answer based on the reading.

Ｃ 1. Which is NOT true about poetry?

(A) Rhyme and metaphor are two important poetic features.

(B) Form alone does not make poetry, for content is equally important.

(D) Reading poetry can be both challenging and great fun.

Ｂ 2. What is true about “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”?

(A) It is Sandburg’s poem.

(B) The first stanza is made up of four lines.

(D) The poem does not have a regular rhyming scheme.

Ｄ 3. What is true about “Fire and Ice”?

(A) The poem is made up of four stanzas.

(B) The lines are of same length.

(D) Fire and ice are used as symbols for desire and hate.

Ｂ 4. What is true about “Fog”?

(A) It has seven short lines.

(B) It has more than one stanza.

(D) The fog is compared to a fox.

Ａ 5. What is the main idea in “Fire and Ice”?

(A) Desire and hate are the most destructive forces.

(B) We see a picture of a cat doing its typical silent walk.

(D) The fog seems to come alive.

Match the words: Please fill in the blanks using the following words.

philosophicalforcessilentdesire
illustrationperishhaterecall

Metaphor is one of the important poetic features. Take “Fire andIce” for illustration, Robert Frost uses fire to stand for desire, and ice to stand for hate. He tells us that the two forces can bring great destruction to the world. Here, Frost uses metaphors to express his deep philosophical meanings.