What are some figures of speEch used in the poem stars by Robert frost?

Answer 1

"Fire and Ice" by Robert Frost

The destruction described by the speaker in Robert Frost's poem "Fire and Ice" seemingly discusses the two ways the world may end but is really referring to the destruction of one's own soul by the damaging forces of desire and hate. Frost uses the voice of the speaker to describe the two ways our souls may be destroyed, and uses the tone of the speaker to show a real example of the personal effect that it has.

Right off, Frost shows us the two metaphors he uses, comparing fire to desire and ice to hate. Using fire as a metaphor for desire, Frost is able to instill in the reader the dangerous and uncontrollable feeling that comes from desire. Desire, in this sense, is a vague word and may also be described as passion, lust and jealousy. Those synonyms describe an emotion that is powerful, furious and fast-acting, much like fire is. In a moment of jealousy or lust, the body temperature rises and a person may enter a state of feverish, frantic fits, shouting angrily or moving roughly as those emotions take over. All those adjectives and descriptions are used to compare how desire is related to fire. Comparing ice to hate is just as effective in helping the reader understand. Hatred comes from being judgmental, unforgiving of offenses, and having no charity towards others. In the end, after the process of hatred is complete, a person becomes heartless, or, in other words, they become cold-hearted. This doesn't happen overnight. It is a process that occurs over time, as one continually rejects other people, much like the process of water freezing to ice occurs slowly over time. Frost uses those metaphors to compare physical qualities with abstract emotions, showing us that just like fire and ice can destroy the world, so can desire and hate destroy our souls.

The metaphoric figures of speech are not the only thing Frost uses to show us that he is actually referring to the destruction of one's soul; he also uses a paradox. After describing how they agree that fire could destroy the world, the speaker says, "But if it had to perish twice" (Frost line 5). Can the world be destroyed twice? Of course not. Once dead, that is the end. Can a person commit multiple errors during their lifetime? Yes, they can. Frost is pointing out that while fire can destroy our soul, so can ice. After all, the title of the poem is Fire and Ice, not Fireor Ice. It is indeed possible for one to commit the same mistake twice, or commit many different mistakes during their lifetime. Often, we commit mistakes and are able to recover from them. This, in a sense, can be described as being born again or starting over. In this way, we can "perish" multiple times if we continue to submit ourselves to destruction by those two forces.

The speaker is a great example of a person who has been destroyed but has not recovered. It is obvious in the speaker's tone how nonchalant the speaker discusses the end of the world, as if it were both inevitable and unimportant. The end of the world, and the end of one's soul, is a very serious event. If predicted, it is certain that a lot of people would prepare themselves to prevent it. The speaker is known to have experienced both emotions from the words "From what I've tasted of desire" (3) and "I think I know enough of hate" (6). However, the speaker cares nothing of preventing the end, only in explaining which emotion they "favor" (4). The first words of the poem, "Some say the world will end in fire" (1), show us how little the speaker cares about the factual evidence and only notices that "Some say". In the end, when describing how ice can also destroy the world, the speaker abruptly ends the poem by saying, "…ice/Is also great/And would suffice" (7-9). Knowing the vast amount of words that can be used to describe the terror in knowing ice is also powerful enough to destroy the world, we see that in saying ice "Is also great" (8) and "would suffice" (9) the speaker is not concerned even a bit about the world ending. This use of both diction and tone show us how the speaker is an example of a person affected by the theme of the poem.

Frost uses the elements of metaphor, diction and tone, among others, to convince the reader that just as fire and ice are powerful enough to destroy the world, so are desire and hate powerful enough to destroy our souls.

Answer 2

In the poem "Stars" by Robert Frost, some figures of speech used include personification ("They laugh up there"), metaphor ("earth's the right place for love") and hyperbole ("The light is always changing"). Frost uses these figures of speech to convey the idea of the stars as mystical and eternal beings.