Question

Compare “Design” and “Fire and Ice”. How are these two poems by Robert Frost similar? How are they different? Can you tell that both poems were written by the same poet? Use examples from both poems in your response.

Answer 1

Plato Answer:

Both poems raise questions. "Fire and Ice" questions the destructive nature of human emotions and their capacity for destruction. "Design" questions the existence of fate or “intelligent design." However, the poems are very different in their style and structure. "Fire and Ice" is a single-stanza poem with nine lines and an uneven meter. "Design," on the other hand, follows a Petrarchan sonnet's structure and is primarily written in iambic pentameter. Because the topics and the styles in both poems are so different, it’s hard to tell if they were written by the same poet.

Answer 2

Answer:

Both poems raise questions. "Fire and Ice" questions the destructive nature of human emotions and their capacity for destruction. "Design" questions the existence of fate or “intelligent design." However, the poems are very different in their style and structure. "Fire and Ice" is a single-stanza poem with nine lines and an uneven meter. "Design," on the other hand, follows a Petrarchan sonnet's structure and is primarily written in iambic pentameter. Because the topics and the styles in both poems are so different, it’s hard to tell if they were written by the same poet.