The Robert Frost poem FIRE AND ICE

[Miista Cullen]

Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

That was a poem I had to do a 4-6 minute speech on, about what it meant and what it meant to me.

He's one of my favorite poets ^_^

[~*teamswitzerland*~]

I have always liked the poem Fire and Ice by Robert Frost that is used in Eclipse. It is so true hate and apathy are equally deadly and would both suffice to kill someone, or at the very least mortally wound their heart. The relevance of the poem to the story, for me, has a lot to do with my interpretation of Fire and Ice which is basically that Frost is saying that the end of the world could come because of passion, hate, fire or the opposite, apathy, coldness, ice. Frost would side with fire (and this I think is fitting as he is a poet) but concedes that ice would also be great and would suffice. Bella's sheer passion for Edward could be overwhelming and possibly deady. On the other side the fact that she does not share the same love for Jake as he does for her (her cold sholder) might be the death of him. I think it is kind of funny how the two are turned around in that way (Edward the fire and Jacob the Ice) However, I have to say that my feelings concerning the relevance of the poem to the book are a little skewed since it has long been one of my favorites.

wow, that was a REALLY good analysis! You took what I was going to say! lol, I was going to mention that I thought Edward was fire, and Jacob was ice, in contrast with their physical body temperatures in the story. Bella chooses Edward, but I think this poem relates to the story because if Bella could fall in love twice, Jacob would be just as good, but she had to choose, so she chose Edward. I think it's backwards because obviously you can't just change someone's poem and make it backwards by substituting all of the 'fire's' with 'ice's', and vice versa. This is the way it was written, and it is not SM's poem to change. Lol just had to get that out there XD

[topazeyes2]

I loved that poem and I think it suited Eclipse. Edward=Ice and Jacob=Fire.

Totally right on! Some say the world will end in fire some say in ice totally reminded me of Jake and Edward

[Babygirl67]

so that it could tell the difference between jacob and edward..

[Onin]

Immediately upon reading the poem I thought to Spenser whom wrote a different poem about fire and ice- "My love is like to ice". Then I thought about body temperature between the vampires and werewolves.

Frost poem can speak, like most have said about Edward and Jacob... Or, in my opinion, Bella within herself and Edward. That she could die from the cold and lack of Edward as much as she would love to die with him in a blaze of passion's grip. All paths can lead to destruction, just as they can be refreshing. Differences are always subtle- scalding water to a hot tub, ice cube to iceberg. Falling back to Wiesel for a moment, passion's entire spectrum is heat, but hate is not the opposite of love; apathy is, which falls cold. In New Moon, as Edward leaves Bella neither of them become less impassioned, and, as love is like to ice the heat of that passion just goes to strengthen the bond later on- what seemed to be making them weaker just bolstered them, condensing them and realizing just how mortal they both were when it came to terms about the other being harmed.

[SilentHeart]

Hi!

As I read the poem in Eclipse, I remembered I once read about it in a book, "Two Approches to Literature" or something like that. I'm not great with poetry and I'm not lucky enough to study these kind of works at school (our teacher always goes for the boring ones...), but after reading a few explainations, I start molding them to fit my own point of view.
The poem can't be a perfect fit, but this was one of those cases I tied the meaning to something I wanted, so I think it was pure genious to use it in Eclipse
I've assumed that the poetry would be recited by Bella, to express her feelings of the future.
First thing you notice is that the tone of the poem is detached - Bella is acknowledging both turns her path might lead to. (first two lyrics)
Then, she recalls her experience, lets her feelings flow through her mind and takes the side of those who favor "fire" - the allegory for her intense feelings that put her in danger so many times. But the first line speaks only about the end of the world.
As she becomes aware of the other path, she feels that the opposite of fire, ice - apathy, indifference, the feelings she starts to believe Edward had for her, would destroy her. I don't have the quote right now, but Bella says the same thing Catherine does in Wuthering Heights (can't remember if she actually quotes her) about continuing to resist, even if all else perished but not being able to exist if Edward would not stay alive. I thought the poem could relate to that. There is also the anxious feeling, very nearly turning to despair, as the assurance of the rhythm breaks up in the final 3 lines, as the paths are laid out in front of Bella. They are to be avoided, but it is beyond her control to leave them behind.
In Eclipse she still suffers of the fear that Edward would leave, so both stanzas make sense.

I'm not sure if I managed to explain what I think right... Maybe I'll edit the post if I come up with a better way to say things (coherency is not my strong point in the middle of the night - that's the time here, if you're wondering )

Thanks for reading!

[BeccalovesEdward]

When Eclipse first came out and I read it for the first time, I didn't pay much attention to the poem. But everytime I go back and read it now, it seems to make more and more sense.
A lot of people say that Jacob is fire and Edward is ice, but I've always thought the opposite. I always interpret it as the pain of Edward of Jacob leaving her. "I hold with those who favor fire" means that she thinks fire killing her (Edward leaving her) was the worst. "But if I had to perish twice...that for destruction ice is also great and would suffice" mean that if she had to die (be left) by ice (Jacob), the pain would be as equal as fire killing once.
I hope that makes sense. ^^

[Mrs.Edward_Cullen<3]

Fire and Ice has been my favorite poem since 2nd grade. I still cherish it to this day. I never understood the meaning of the poem truly until Twilight. Since Ice being Edward and Fire being Jacob, not only because of their body temperatures, but I think this poem is in Jacob's perspective. Just re-read the lines.

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.

The first 2 lines represent the rivalry of whether Jacob or Edward will be picked. And basically who's on who's side. Line 2 and 3 really sums it up as Jacob's perspective. Desire is that kiss with Bella in the forest and it made him confident that she would pick him and that he's the right choice. The last 5 lines signify that even though he thinks he's won, he knows Edward (ice) is strong enough and loved enough to be won by Bella too, and that Jacob knows Edward loves Bella. This poem really signifys Jacob's perspective which is quite interesting when you look at it.

[livelove&twilight]

funny story- before reading eclipse i actually did a project on robert frost and the poem fire and ice in 11th grade its always been 1 of my favorite poems and i think it definitelt fit in eclipse perfectly

[Babygirl67]

i think it made since to use the poetry in ecpise