What is the rhyme scheme of Robert Frost’s poem “Fire and Ice”?
Answer
ABAB
The correct answer is ABAB — Thus the pattern repeats as A B A B, giving the rhyme scheme ABAB.
Step-by-step solution
- Read each line of the poem and note the ending words.
- Identify which lines rhyme with each other: line 1 (fire) rhymes with line 3 (desire), and line 2 (ice) rhymes with line 4 (nice).
- Assign letters to the rhyming pairs: first and third lines get ‘A’, second and fourth lines get ‘B’.
- Thus the pattern repeats as A B A B, giving the rhyme scheme ABAB.
Common mistake: Choosing AABB because the poem is written in couplets, ignoring the cross‑rhyme pattern.
Concept tested: Rhyme scheme identification
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Related questions
- 1 Discuss how Frost creates contrast between fire and ice to develop the central idea of the poem.
- 2 Discuss the central theme and moral lesson of Robert Frost's poem 'Fire and Ice'. How does the poet warn humanity about the consequences of uncontrolled emotions?
- 3 Identify and explain the literary device used in the first two lines of the poem: "Some say the world will end in fire, / Some say in ice."
- 4 Analyse the diction and imagery in the lines “But if it had to be so, I think I know enough to say that for the world’s destruction, either it would be fire, which is ‘craving,’ or ice, which is ‘hate.’” How do these choices reinforce Frost’s warning, and why does the poet present them as equally plausible?
- 5 According to Robert Frost, how is 'ice' just as powerful as 'fire' in bringing about the end of the world?
- 6 In the line “From desire we’d have to kill,” Frost uses the word ‘desire.’ Explain the significance of ‘desire’ in the context of the poem.