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Fire and Ice · Class 10 English · First Flight Poetry: 132 MCQs with answers

All 132 multiple-choice questions from this kit, free and with no sign-up.

Full kit · everything Flashcards · 60 Quick Revision · 36

Warm-up · 6 questions

Q1. This poem is printed at the end of the first chapter of First Flight, beside another poem by the same writer. Who wrote it?

Beginner
A Carl Sandburg B W. B. Yeats C Robert Frost D Adrienne Rich
Show answer & explanation

Robert Frost

He also wrote 'Dust of Snow' in the same chapter.

Q2. After reporting that some people expect the world to end in fire and others expect ice, the speaker declares his own position. Which side does he take?

Beginner
A Those who favour fire B Those who favour ice C Neither — he refuses to choose D Both equally, from the start
Show answer & explanation

Those who favour fire

Ice is offered only afterwards, as a second option.

Q3. In the line where the speaker supposes that the world might have to be destroyed a second time, what does the word 'perish' mean?

Beginner
A Burn B Freeze C Vanish slowly D Die
Show answer & explanation

Die

One of only two words the textbook glosses.

Q4. The poem's closing verdict says that ice would do the job of destroying the world quite adequately. What does the word 'suffice' mean there?

Beginner
A Be terrible B Be swift C Be sufficient D Be certain
Show answer & explanation

Be sufficient

The textbook glosses it, and it ends the poem.

Q5. The textbook supplies twelve words for this question, but the poem itself uses far fewer of its own. Which two feelings does the poem name?

Beginner
A Greed and indifference B Fury and coldness C Desire and hate D Lust and rigidity
Show answer & explanation

Desire and hate

Everything else on the list is a variation on one or the other.

Q6. The poem attaches one human feeling to each of its two elements without ever explaining either connection. Which pair below matches an element with a feeling correctly?

Beginner
A Fire — indifference B Ice — lust C Fire — rigidity D Ice — hate
Show answer & explanation

Ice — hate

Fire is paired with desire.

Building up · 46 questions

Q7. How is the poem laid out on the page?

Intermediate
A As two stanzas of four and five lines B As three stanzas of three lines each C As nine separate one-line stanzas D As a single block of nine lines with no stanza break
Show answer & explanation

As a single block of nine lines with no stanza break

There is nowhere in it to pause.

Q8. How does the poem open?

Intermediate
A With the poet's own prediction about the future B With a description of a burning city C With a question addressed to the reader D With a report of what other people say about the world's ending
Show answer & explanation

With a report of what other people say about the world's ending

Frost walks into an argument already going on.

Q9. The reason the speaker gives for his preference has nothing to do with astronomy, prophecy or any kind of calculation. On what grounds does he prefer fire?

Intermediate
A What astronomers have predicted B What he has read in ancient books C What he has tasted of desire D What he has seen in a dream
Show answer & explanation

What he has tasted of desire

The poem's authority is personal, not scientific.

Q10. What turns the poem round at line five?

Intermediate
A A change of speaker B The word 'but', introducing a second thought C The arrival of a new rhyme sound D A question addressed to the reader
Show answer & explanation

The word 'but', introducing a second thought

If the world had to perish twice, a second ending would be needed.

Q11. What does the speaker say about ice?

Intermediate
A That he knows enough of hate to say it would serve for destruction too B That it could never destroy the world C That it would be slower but more painful than fire D That he has no experience on which to judge it
Show answer & explanation

That he knows enough of hate to say it would serve for destruction too

It is also great, and would suffice.

Q12. Which sequence describes the poem's argument?

Intermediate
A A description of fire, then a description of ice B The debate, his vote for fire, the second thought, the verdict on ice C A question, an answer, and a repetition of the question D A story about the past followed by a prediction
Show answer & explanation

The debate, his vote for fire, the second thought, the verdict on ice

Four moves in nine lines.

Q13. English poets normally avoid rhyming a word with itself, but Frost allows himself to do it once in this poem. Which word is used twice as a rhyme word?

Intermediate
A Ice B Hate C Fire D Desire
Show answer & explanation

Fire

At the end of the first line and again at the end of the fourth.

Q14. Which statements about the poem are correct? 1. It has nine lines. 2. It is divided into two stanzas. 3. It ends on the word 'suffice'.

Intermediate
A 1 and 3 only B 1 and 2 only C 2 and 3 only D 1, 2 and 3
Show answer & explanation

1 and 3 only

There is no stanza break anywhere in it.

Q15. A student writes that Frost chooses ice over fire. How should this be corrected?

Intermediate
A He refuses to choose between the two B He chooses ice only in the first half of the poem C He says that neither could destroy the world D He chooses fire; ice is offered afterwards as an equally effective option
Show answer & explanation

He chooses fire; ice is offered afterwards as an equally effective option

'I hold with those who favour fire' is his stated position.

Q16. Counting every word from the opening report of the debate through to the final verdict on ice, about how long is the whole poem?

Intermediate
A About two hundred B About fifty C About five hundred D About twenty
Show answer & explanation

About fifty

Seven of them are in the last two lines.

Q17. Which is the best summary of the poem's movement?

Intermediate
A From certainty about fire to doubt about everything B From a description of ice to a description of fire C From an overheard argument to a considered verdict on both options D From a question to a refusal to answer it
Show answer & explanation

From an overheard argument to a considered verdict on both options

And the verdict is that either would do.

Q18. Which pair correctly matches a word with its gloss?

Intermediate
A Suffice — be sufficient B Perish — burn slowly C Favour — fear greatly D Hold — grasp physically
Show answer & explanation

Suffice — be sufficient

'Perish' is glossed as die.

Q19. Apart from the entries printed in the glossary beneath the nine lines, every word in this poem is ordinary English. How many words does the textbook gloss?

Intermediate
A Five B Eight C Two D None
Show answer & explanation

Two

Everything else in it is ordinary English.

Q20. What should a student say happens in the poem?

Intermediate
A The world is destroyed twice over in nine lines B The poet describes a fire and then a frost C Two speakers argue and neither wins D A debate is reported, fire is preferred, and then ice is granted equal power
Show answer & explanation

A debate is reported, fire is preferred, and then ice is granted equal power

Four moves, told in order.

Q21. What single quotation is most useful in an answer on this poem?

Intermediate
A 'Some say' B 'Would suffice' C 'Perish twice' D 'I hold'
Show answer & explanation

'Would suffice'

Because the flatness of that word is the poem's whole effect.

Q22. How does 'Fire and Ice' begin, and why does that opening matter?

Intermediate
Show answer & explanation

—

Q23. Which ending does the speaker prefer, and on what grounds?

Intermediate
Show answer & explanation

—

Q24. What happens in the second half of the poem?

Intermediate
Show answer & explanation

—

Q25. Trace the argument of 'Fire and Ice' from its first line to its last.

Intermediate
Show answer & explanation

—

Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include at least six of: the nine lines in a single block; the opening report of other people's views; the preference for fire and the word 'tasted'; the turn at 'but'; the gloss of 'perish'; the claim about hate; ice as also great and sufficient; the gloss and effe…

Q26. After the nine lines of the poem the textbook asks a question and then prints twelve words underneath it to help. What does that second question ask?

Intermediate
A What the rhyme scheme of the poem is B Whether the world will really end C Who the speaker of the poem is D What 'fire' and 'ice' stand for
Show answer & explanation

What 'fire' and 'ice' stand for

And it supplies twelve words to help.

Q27. Which group of words belongs to fire?

Intermediate
A Intolerance, rigidity, insensitivity, coldness B Greed, avarice, cruelty, lust, conflict, fury C Patience, silence, stillness, calm D Sorrow, grief, loneliness, despair
Show answer & explanation

Greed, avarice, cruelty, lust, conflict, fury

The hot half of the textbook's list.

Q28. Which group of words belongs to ice?

Intermediate
A Greed, avarice, cruelty, lust, conflict, fury B Intolerance, rigidity, insensitivity, coldness, indifference, hatred C Hope, ambition, energy, drive D Fear, panic, alarm, terror
Show answer & explanation

Intolerance, rigidity, insensitivity, coldness, indifference, hatred

The cold half of the same list.

Q29. Of the twelve words the textbook supplies to help with this question, one is more likely than the rest to send a student to a dictionary. What does 'avarice' mean?

Intermediate
A Sudden and violent anger B Extreme greed for wealth C Refusal to accept other views D Lack of ordinary human feeling
Show answer & explanation

Extreme greed for wealth

The word in the list students most often look up.

Q30. Which statements are correct? 1. The textbook supplies twelve words. 2. Six of them are hot and six are cold. 3. The poem itself names all twelve.

Intermediate
A 1 and 2 only B 1 and 3 only C 2 and 3 only D 1, 2 and 3
Show answer & explanation

1 and 2 only

The poem names only desire and hate.

Q31. A student writes that fire and ice are simply natural forces. How should this be corrected?

Intermediate
A They stand for summer and winter B They stand for human feelings — desire on one side, hate on the other C They stand for two rival groups of people D They have no significance beyond the weather
Show answer & explanation

They stand for human feelings — desire on one side, hate on the other

The textbook's list of twelve words makes that plain.

Q32. The speaker offers a different kind of personal evidence for each of his two verdicts, and one of them is put in a strikingly physical word. Which of the two does he claim to have tasted?

Intermediate
A Hate, which stands behind ice B Both equally C Desire, which stands behind fire D Neither — he speaks only from observation
Show answer & explanation

Desire, which stands behind fire

Of ice he says only that he knows enough of hate.

Q33. Which is the best summary of what fire and ice stand for?

Intermediate
A The consuming emotions and the hardening ones B Summer heat and winter cold C War and peace D Youth and old age
Show answer & explanation

The consuming emotions and the hardening ones

Desire on one side, hate on the other.

Q34. What four things should an answer on the symbols contain?

Intermediate
A Desire and hate; the sorted list; why elements; the human cause B The poet's biography; the date; the rhyme; the title C A retelling of the poem in prose D An opinion about whether the world will end
Show answer & explanation

Desire and hate; the sorted list; why elements; the human cause

Four points, each provable from the text.

Q35. Which is the strongest reading of the poem's symbolism?

Intermediate
A A scientific account of two possible planetary endings B Two temperatures of human feeling, each sufficient to destroy C A religious warning about divine punishment D A description of two seasons of the year
Show answer & explanation

Two temperatures of human feeling, each sufficient to destroy

Appetite on one side, refusal on the other.

Q36. For Frost, what do 'fire' and 'ice' stand for?

Intermediate
Show answer & explanation

—

Q37. For Frost, what do 'fire' and 'ice' stand for? Answer with reference to the textbook's list.

Intermediate
Show answer & explanation

—

Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: the set question and the twelve supplied words; the sorting into six hot and six cold with the words named; the common quality of each group; desire and hate as the poem's own two terms; the reasons for choosing those two words; the absence of any explanati…

Q38. The textbook's third question asks two things, of which the first is simply the pattern made by the line endings. What is the rhyme scheme of the poem?

Intermediate
A abab cdcd B aba abc bcb C aabb ccdd D abcabc abc
Show answer & explanation

aba abc bcb

Three sounds, interlocked, across nine lines.

Q39. Across all nine lines of the poem, from the opening report of the debate to the final verdict on ice, how many different rhyme sounds are used?

Intermediate
A Two B Four C Nine D Three
Show answer & explanation

Three

And the third does not arrive until line six.

Q40. One of the poem's three rhyme sounds ties an element to a feeling, repeating the same chime three times in four lines. Which words carry the a-rhyme?

Intermediate
A Fire, desire and fire B Ice, twice and suffice C Hate and great D Say, world and end
Show answer & explanation

Fire, desire and fire

The element and the feeling, tied by sound.

Q41. Which rhyme sound is present both in the poem's second line and in its very last word?

Intermediate
A The a-rhyme — fire, desire and fire B The c-rhyme — hate and great C The b-rhyme — ice, twice, ice and suffice D No single sound appears in both places
Show answer & explanation

The b-rhyme — ice, twice, ice and suffice

It carries three of the last five line-endings.

Q42. Most of the poem's lines run to eight syllables, but three of them run to only four. Where do those short lines fall?

Intermediate
A The first two lines only B Line two and the last two lines C Lines four, five and six D There are no short lines
Show answer & explanation

Line two and the last two lines

Four syllables against the usual eight.

Q43. The speaker reports an argument, states a preference, raises an objection to his own position and then concedes it. How would you describe the tone?

Intermediate
A Angry and accusing B Frightened and uncertain C Playful and openly comic D Conversational and understated throughout
Show answer & explanation

Conversational and understated throughout

Nothing in the diction is raised or ornamental.

Q44. Which statements about the form are correct? 1. There are three rhyme sounds. 2. The rhymes interlock. 3. The poem is written in couplets.

Intermediate
A 1 and 2 only B 1 and 3 only C 2 and 3 only D 1, 2 and 3
Show answer & explanation

1 and 2 only

There is not a single couplet in the poem.

Q45. A student answers the set question by giving only the scheme. What is missing?

Intermediate
A The title and the poet's name B How the scheme helps bring out the contrasting ideas C The number of lines in the poem D A summary of the poem's meaning
Show answer & explanation

How the scheme helps bring out the contrasting ideas

Most of the marks are in the second half of the question.

Q46. Which three moves make a complete answer on the rhyme?

Intermediate
A The title, the poet, and the date B A paraphrase, a quotation, and an opinion C The scheme, four rhyme words, and the effect D The theme, the tone, and the imagery
Show answer & explanation

The scheme, four rhyme words, and the effect

Naming the rhyme words proves you looked at the text.

Q47. Beyond giving the letters of the scheme, a student who lists four or five of the poem's actual rhyme words shows the examiner something. What does that demonstrate?

Intermediate
A That the student has memorised the poem B That the student understands the theme C That the student has actually looked at the text D That the student knows the poet's biography
Show answer & explanation

That the student has actually looked at the text

Four of the nine is enough.

Q48. What should a 6-mark answer on this poem contain?

Intermediate
A A line-by-line paraphrase of all nine lines B A comparison with every other poem in the book C An opinion about whether the world will end D The debate, the preference, the turn, the verdict, and a paragraph on form
Show answer & explanation

The debate, the preference, the turn, the verdict, and a paragraph on form

Five short paragraphs in a hundred and twenty words.

Q49. Examiners reward a short accurate quotation, and one word in this poem carries more of its effect than any other. Which word should nearly every answer quote?

Intermediate
A 'Fire' B 'Suffice' C 'Twice' D 'Great'
Show answer & explanation

'Suffice'

Because the flatness of that word is the poem's whole effect.

Q50. Which is the best summary of this topic?

Intermediate
A The poem uses a conventional scheme that adds little to its meaning B The rhyme ties fire to desire, carries ice to the last word, and keeps both inside one voice C The rhyme scheme is too irregular to describe D The poem's sound and sense work against each other by accident
Show answer & explanation

The rhyme ties fire to desire, carries ice to the last word, and keeps both inside one voice

Every part of the scheme is doing something.

Q51. What is the rhyme scheme of the poem?

Intermediate
Show answer & explanation

—

Q52. How should a student plan a 6-mark answer on this poem?

Intermediate
Show answer & explanation

—

Topper level · 80 questions

Q53. Why is the word 'tasted' well chosen?

Advanced
A It is physical — desire is something he has had in his mouth, not studied B It suggests that he found desire unpleasant C It shows that he was hungry when he wrote the poem D It rhymes with a word later in the poem
Show answer & explanation

It is physical — desire is something he has had in his mouth, not studied

Experience rather than learning is the poem's evidence.

Q54. Why is 'suffice' the coldest word in the poem?

Advanced
A It describes the temperature of ice directly B It is the longest word in the poem C It is a word the speaker admits he does not understand D It is the language of something being adequate for a job
Show answer & explanation

It is the language of something being adequate for a job

The word you use about a tool, applied to the end of the world.

Q55. What would have been lost if the poem ended on a word like 'destroy'?

Advanced
A The rhyme scheme of the final lines B The flatness — the poem would be shouting instead of shrugging C The connection between fire and desire D The reader's understanding of the argument
Show answer & explanation

The flatness — the poem would be shouting instead of shrugging

A shrug about the apocalypse is far more frightening.

Q56. What kind of evidence does the speaker offer?

Advanced
A Scientific predictions about the sun B Quotations from earlier poets C Stories told to him by other people D Only his own experience of desire and of hate
Show answer & explanation

Only his own experience of desire and of hate

Testimony rather than theory.

Q57. What is notable about the length of the poem's lines?

Advanced
A Every line is exactly the same length B The lines grow steadily longer towards the end C The lines are of completely random lengths D Three are half the length of the rest — line two and the last two
Show answer & explanation

Three are half the length of the rest — line two and the last two

Most run to eight syllables; those three run to four.

Q58. What does the shortening of the last two lines achieve?

Advanced
A It shows that the poet ran out of ideas B The poem contracts exactly where it turns to ice, and then stops C It makes the rhyme scheme easier to hear D It signals that a second poem is about to begin
Show answer & explanation

The poem contracts exactly where it turns to ice, and then stops

A poem about freezing that ends by freezing.

Q59. What is the effect of there being no stanza break?

Advanced
A The whole poem reads as one continuous spoken remark B The reader is forced to pause after every line C The rhyme scheme becomes impossible to follow D The two halves of the argument seem unrelated
Show answer & explanation

The whole poem reads as one continuous spoken remark

There is nowhere in the poem to stop.

Q60. How would you describe the speaker's manner?

Advanced
A Angry and accusing throughout B Frightened and uncertain of himself C Calm and reasonable, like somebody choosing between two routes D Playful and openly joking
Show answer & explanation

Calm and reasonable, like somebody choosing between two routes

And the subject is the destruction of the world.

Q61. What does the poem never actually describe?

Advanced
A The ending of the world itself B The speaker's own opinion C The existence of a debate D The meaning of the word 'perish'
Show answer & explanation

The ending of the world itself

No burning city, no frozen sea, no last human being.

Q62. Assertion (A): 'Fire and Ice' is not a poem about astronomy. Reason (R): Every reason the speaker gives for his view is drawn from human feeling — desire and hate.

Advanced
A Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A B Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A C A is true, but R is false D A is false, but R is true
Show answer & explanation

Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A

The sun is never mentioned in the poem at all.

Q63. Why does the poem begin with what other people say?

Advanced
A It places the reader inside an argument before the poet gives his view B It shows that the poet had no opinion of his own C It was the conventional way to begin a poem at the time D It allows the poem to avoid rhyming in the opening lines
Show answer & explanation

It places the reader inside an argument before the poet gives his view

The first two lines belong to somebody else.

Q64. What is the relation between the poem's tone and its subject?

Advanced
A The tone matches the subject exactly — both are dramatic B The calm manner sits against a catastrophic subject, and the gap is the poem C The tone is playful and the subject is trivial D The tone changes completely halfway through
Show answer & explanation

The calm manner sits against a catastrophic subject, and the gap is the poem

He sounds like somebody picking a road to a town.

Q65. What does the phrase about knowing enough of hate suggest?

Advanced
A He has studied hatred in books for many years B He believes hatred is rare in the world C He speaks as a witness with sufficient personal experience to judge D He has never actually felt hatred himself
Show answer & explanation

He speaks as a witness with sufficient personal experience to judge

Enough to speak with authority, he implies — and no more.

Q66. Why is it wrong to answer this poem with a science answer?

Advanced
A Science is not allowed in English examinations B Frost knew nothing about astronomy C The textbook forbids scientific explanations D The poem argues entirely from human feeling and never mentions the sun
Show answer & explanation

The poem argues entirely from human feeling and never mentions the sun

The first set question is a way in, not a description of the poem.

Q67. What does the absence of any described apocalypse achieve?

Advanced
A It suggests the poet could not imagine the ending B It keeps the poem about human causes rather than about spectacle C It leaves the poem unfinished D It shows that the world will not end after all
Show answer & explanation

It keeps the poem about human causes rather than about spectacle

Two nouns, and what they are made to stand for.

Q68. Which phrase best captures the poem's final effect?

Advanced
A A cry of despair at human wickedness B A confident scientific prediction C A shrug about the end of everything D A prayer for the world's survival
Show answer & explanation

A shrug about the end of everything

'And would suffice' is as flat as language gets.

Q69. Why is the word 'suffice' so effective at the end of the poem?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q70. Comment on the length of the poem's lines.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q71. Why should you not answer this poem with science?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Q72. 'The calm of this poem is what makes it frightening.' Discuss.

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: the reasonable, weighing manner of the speaker; the plainness of the vocabulary and the absence of dramatic words; the calm concession that ice would also serve; the flatness of 'suffice' and its ordinary uses; a contrast with a loudly written version of th…

Q73. How do the form and the shape of 'Fire and Ice' support what it says?

Advanced
Show answer & explanation

—

Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: the nine lines in one block and the absence of any stanza break; the effect of nothing being divided; the eight-syllable norm and the three short lines; the contraction coinciding with the turn to ice; the placing of 'but' at line five; the double use of 'f…

Q74. What do the hot six words have in common?

Advanced
A Appetite — all of them want, act or consume B All of them involve physical violence C All of them are felt only by young people D All of them can be cured by education
Show answer & explanation

Appetite — all of them want, act or consume

Including the person who has them.

Q75. What do the cold six words have in common?

Advanced
A They all require careful planning B Refusal — to bend, to feel, or to care C They are all felt only in winter D They all involve speaking harshly
Show answer & explanation

Refusal — to bend, to feel, or to care

Every one of them can be shown by doing nothing at all.

Q76. Why does Frost choose 'desire' rather than 'greed'?

Advanced
A Desire is a shorter word and fits the line better B Greed had already been used by another poet C Desire is the only word that rhymes with fire D Desire is something everybody admits to, while greed is what other people have
Show answer & explanation

Desire is something everybody admits to, while greed is what other people have

The word no reader can push away from themselves.

Q77. Why does he choose 'hate' rather than 'indifference'?

Advanced
A Indifference is too long for the line B It is the strongest cold word — and he claims to know enough of it himself C Hate is the only word that suits the rhyme D He does not consider indifference destructive
Show answer & explanation

It is the strongest cold word — and he claims to know enough of it himself

A startling thing to say about oneself, and meant to be.

Q78. Does the poem explain what its symbols mean?

Advanced
A Yes — the last two lines explain both B Yes — a footnote by the poet explains them C No — because the symbols have no meaning at all D No — it places the words near each other and lets the reader connect them
Show answer & explanation

No — it places the words near each other and lets the reader connect them

Which is why the textbook has to supply a list.

Q79. Why does Frost use elements rather than naming the feelings directly?

Advanced
A Naming them would be a lecture; the metaphor makes the destruction physical B He wanted the poem to be about the weather C The feelings are too difficult to name in English D He was following a traditional poetic rule
Show answer & explanation

Naming them would be a lecture; the metaphor makes the destruction physical

Greed really does burn, and indifference really does freeze.

Q80. What do the metaphors of fire and ice do to the scale of the poem?

Advanced
A They make an ordinary human feeling equal to a planetary event B They reduce the end of the world to a domestic quarrel C They suggest the poem is really about the weather D They make both feelings seem harmless
Show answer & explanation

They make an ordinary human feeling equal to a planetary event

Fire and ice are the forces that end worlds.

Q81. What is the poem's deepest claim about how the world will end?

Advanced
A That a comet will strike the earth B That the sun will cool and freeze everything C That the ending cannot be predicted at all D That the cause will be human, not something from outside
Show answer & explanation

That the cause will be human, not something from outside

No comet, no god, no exploding sun anywhere in it.

Q82. Why is that claim uncomfortable for the reader?

Advanced
A Both feelings are familiar to everybody, including the reader B It is impossible to disprove scientifically C It suggests the world will end very soon D It blames one particular group of people
Show answer & explanation

Both feelings are familiar to everybody, including the reader

The speaker claims both from his own experience.

Q83. What is the effect of ending with ice rather than fire?

Advanced
A It suggests that fire is more dangerous after all B It makes the rhyme scheme regular C The cold verdict is the one left in the reader's ear D It shows that the speaker has changed his mind completely
Show answer & explanation

The cold verdict is the one left in the reader's ear

And it is delivered in the flattest words in the poem.

Q84. One item on the textbook's hot list is not a feeling anybody has on their own, but what happens when two appetites meet. Which word is it?

Advanced
A Rigidity B Coldness C Insensitivity D Conflict
Show answer & explanation

Conflict

It belongs with the hot six for exactly that reason.

Q85. Why should a student write that the images 'suggest' rather than 'mean'?

Advanced
A Examiners forbid the word 'mean' in literature answers B The poet said so in an interview C Saying fire 'means' greed turns an open poem into a locked box D The images have no meaning of any kind
Show answer & explanation

Saying fire 'means' greed turns an open poem into a locked box

The poem still reads a dozen ways a century later.

Q86. Which statement about the cold list is most striking?

Advanced
A Every item on it involves shouting B Every item on it can be shown by doing nothing at all C Every item on it was invented by Frost D Every item on it is a kind of fear
Show answer & explanation

Every item on it can be shown by doing nothing at all

Refusing to bend, to feel, or to care.

Q87. Assertion (A): 'Fire and Ice' makes the end of the world a human matter. Reason (R): The poem runs to nine lines and rhymes on only three sounds.

Advanced
A Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A B Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A C A is true, but R is false D A is false, but R is true
Show answer & explanation

Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A

Both are true, but counting the lines does not show why the ending of the world is made a human matter.

Q88. Which is the best way to describe the relation between the two lists?

Advanced
A One group is ancient, the other modern B One group is felt by men, the other by women C One group consumes, the other hardens D One group is forgivable, the other is not
Show answer & explanation

One group consumes, the other hardens

Appetite on one side, refusal on the other.

Q89. What would the poem lose if it named the emotions instead of the elements?

Advanced
A The physical force of the metaphor, and its compression B Its rhyme scheme and line lengths C Its connection with the textbook's list D Its status as a poem by Robert Frost
Show answer & explanation

The physical force of the metaphor, and its compression

Two syllables doing the work of a paragraph.

Q90. Why does the poem include the reader in its accusation?

Advanced
A Because it addresses the reader directly as 'you' B Because it names a particular country C Because desire and hate are feelings nobody can honestly disclaim D Because it ends with a question
Show answer & explanation

Because desire and hate are feelings nobody can honestly disclaim

The speaker claims both feelings for himself first.

Q91. How does modern discussion of famine illustrate the poem's cold list?

Advanced
A They are always caused by deliberate cruelty B They show that the world is ending in fire C They have nothing to do with human feeling D Such disasters are usually allowed by indifference rather than caused by hatred
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Such disasters are usually allowed by indifference rather than caused by hatred

Indifference is the coldest item on the textbook's list.

Q92. What does the phrase 'the metaphor does the arguing' mean here?

Advanced
A The poem contains a formal argument in three parts B The word 'fire' persuades without any line of persuasion being written C The poet argues with the reader directly D The metaphor is explained in the final line
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The word 'fire' persuades without any line of persuasion being written

Nowhere does the poem state that greed is destructive.

Q93. Why does the poem's symbolism remain open after a century?

Advanced
A Because the poem was never finished B Because the textbook's list changes every year C Because Frost never fixed the meanings, so each age fills them differently D Because the symbols are too obscure to interpret
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Because Frost never fixed the meanings, so each age fills them differently

Suggestion rather than code.

Q94. Which everyday experience matches the poem's two temperatures?

Advanced
A A journey taken in summer or in winter B A meal eaten hot or left to go cold C A house built of brick or of wood D A friendship that ends in a shouting match, or in months of silence
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A friendship that ends in a shouting match, or in months of silence

Some quarrels burn; more of them freeze.

Q95. What is the function of the word 'also' in the poem's verdict on ice?

Advanced
A It suggests that ice is weaker than fire B It introduces a third possibility C It shows that the speaker is uncertain D It grants ice equal destructive power without withdrawing the vote for fire
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It grants ice equal destructive power without withdrawing the vote for fire

Ice is also great, and would suffice.

Q96. Why is it important that both feelings are ordinary?

Advanced
A It shows that the poet had few strong feelings himself B It proves that the world is unlikely to end C It makes the poem an accusation the reader cannot stand outside of D It explains why the poem is so short
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It makes the poem an accusation the reader cannot stand outside of

Nobody has never wanted anything badly or gone cold on somebody.

Q97. What do the two halves of the textbook's word list have in common within themselves?

Advanced
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Q98. Why does Frost use elements rather than naming the feelings?

Advanced
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Q99. What does the poem gain by making both causes human?

Advanced
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Q100. Why does the poem choose 'desire' and 'hate' rather than other words from the list?

Advanced
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Q101. Why should you avoid writing that fire 'means' greed?

Advanced
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Q102. 'The end of the world in this poem is entirely our own doing.' Discuss.

Advanced
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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: the absence of any external cause; the attachment of desire to fire and hate to ice; the textbook's list as evidence that every cause is a human act or failure; the work done by the metaphors in making the claim physical; the borrowing of planetary scale fo…

Q103. How does Frost's use of symbolism in this poem differ from a simple code, and why does that matter?

Advanced
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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: the definition of a code against what Frost actually does; connection by proximity rather than declaration; the textbook's list as evidence of the openness; the argument that a fixed meaning would exclude most of the list; the poem's continued availability…

Q104. Which list gives the poem's rhyme words in order?

Advanced
A Fire, desire, ice, twice, hate, great, suffice, cold, end B Ice, fire, twice, desire, great, hate, suffice, world, say C Fire, ice, desire, fire, twice, hate, ice, great, suffice D Fire, ice, hate, great, twice, suffice, desire, end, say
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Fire, ice, desire, fire, twice, hate, ice, great, suffice

Learn these and the scheme comes free.

Q105. What is significant about the late arrival of the third rhyme sound?

Advanced
A It shows that the poet had run out of rhymes B It marks the entry of a second speaker C For more than half the poem there are only two sounds, as there are only two options D It signals the end of the poem's argument
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For more than half the poem there are only two sounds, as there are only two options

The form is as narrow as the choice being discussed.

Q106. Why does the a-rhyme matter so much?

Advanced
A It is the only rhyme that appears in both halves B It contains the poem's longest words C It ties fire to desire by sound before the reader works the link out D It is the rhyme the textbook asks about
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It ties fire to desire by sound before the reader works the link out

Rhyme as claim, not as decoration.

Q107. What is notable about where the b-rhyme falls in the poem?

Advanced
A It carries three of the last five line-endings, including the final one B It appears only in the first three lines C It is used once and then abandoned D It alternates regularly with the a-rhyme
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It carries three of the last five line-endings, including the final one

The poem votes for fire but gives ice the last sound.

Q108. At which line does the poem's third and final rhyme sound first appear?

Advanced
A Line two B Line six C Line four D Line nine
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Line six

A new sound entering exactly where the new idea does.

Q109. What is the most important fact about how the rhymes are arranged?

Advanced
A They appear only at the ends of the short lines B They are grouped into three neat stanzas C They stop altogether after line six D They interlock instead of being blocked into separate halves
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They interlock instead of being blocked into separate halves

The fire and ice sounds thread through each other.

Q110. How does the interlocking bring out the contrasting ideas?

Advanced
A It holds the contrast inside a single voice rather than staging a debate B It separates the two ideas so they cannot be confused C It hides the contrast until the final line D It makes the poem harder to read aloud
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It holds the contrast inside a single voice rather than staging a debate

Which is what a mind weighing two bad options sounds like.

Q111. What would a blocked rhyme scheme have produced instead?

Advanced
A A poem twice as long B A staged debate between two separate sides C A poem with no contrast at all D A poem in which ice came first
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A staged debate between two separate sides

Frost weaves the two instead.

Q112. What is terza rima?

Advanced
A A fourteen-line poem with a final couplet B A verse form with no rhyme at all C A linked three-line rhyme scheme, used by Dante in the Inferno D A poem written entirely in three-syllable lines
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A linked three-line rhyme scheme, used by Dante in the Inferno

Frost's interlocking pattern is a loose version of it.

Q113. Why is the Dante echo appropriate to this poem in particular?

Advanced
A The lowest circle of Dante's hell is frozen rather than burning B Dante also wrote about the end of the world C Dante's poem is also nine lines long D Dante used the same rhyme words
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The lowest circle of Dante's hell is frozen rather than burning

Worth one sentence in an answer, and no more.

Q114. What does the placing of the short lines achieve?

Advanced
A It makes the rhyme scheme easier to hear B It signals a change of speaker C It marks the halfway point of the argument D The b-rhyme's final appearances fall in the shortest lines, so the poem narrows as it cools
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The b-rhyme's final appearances fall in the shortest lines, so the poem narrows as it cools

Sound and shape are doing the same job.

Q115. Critics use a technical term for the figure of speech in which a writer deliberately says far less than the subject deserves. What is litotes?

Advanced
A Repeating a consonant at the start of words B Addressing an absent person directly C Giving human qualities to an object D Saying far less than the subject deserves
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Saying far less than the subject deserves

'Would suffice' is the poem's textbook example.

Q116. Why is the poem's quietness its strength?

Advanced
A A loud poem about the apocalypse is forgettable; a calm one is not B Quiet poems are easier to memorise C The examiners prefer understatement D It allows the rhyme scheme to be heard clearly
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A loud poem about the apocalypse is forgettable; a calm one is not

The poem never raises its voice once.

Q117. Why is using 'fire' twice as a rhyme word unusual?

Advanced
A It breaks the rhythm of the line B It is the title of the poem C It makes the rhyme scheme impossible to state D It is an identical rhyme, which English poets normally avoid
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It is an identical rhyme, which English poets normally avoid

Here it hammers the fire-desire connection home.

Q118. Assertion (A): The poem is written in blank verse and carries no rhyme at all. Reason (R): Tying 'fire' to 'desire' by sound makes the identification before the reader reasons it out.

Advanced
A Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A B Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of A C A is true, but R is false D A is false, but R is true
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A is false, but R is true

The assertion is false: the poem rhymes throughout. The reason is a true account of what that rhyme does.

Q119. What is the relation between the poem's argument and its music?

Advanced
A Both prefer fire equally B Both prefer ice equally C The music and the argument have nothing to do with each other D The argument prefers fire while the sound gives ice the last word
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The argument prefers fire while the sound gives ice the last word

And the music is what the reader is left with.

Q120. Why does the c-rhyme arrive when it does?

Advanced
A A new sound enters exactly where the new idea does B The poet needed a rhyme for 'twice' C It marks the end of the poem D It replaces the a-rhyme permanently
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A new sound enters exactly where the new idea does

Hate and great belong to the ice half.

Q121. Which is the best description of the poem's closing effect?

Advanced
A It rises to a shout and breaks off B It returns to the opening line C It narrows, cools and stops on its flattest word D It asks the reader a direct question
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It narrows, cools and stops on its flattest word

Four syllables, carrying the b-rhyme.

Q122. How does this poem's rhyme compare with that of 'Dust of Snow'?

Advanced
A Both use exactly the same scheme B Neither poem rhymes at all C This poem uses couplets and that one does not D This poem interlocks three sounds; that one alternates two per stanza
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This poem interlocks three sounds; that one alternates two per stanza

'Dust of Snow' is abab cdcd.

Q123. Why does the form paragraph lift the mark?

Advanced
A Most answers contain no comment on form at all B It is the longest part of the answer C Examiners award it double marks D It replaces the need for any quotation
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Most answers contain no comment on form at all

Nine lines, one block, aba abc bcb, and 'suffice'.

Q124. How does the rhyme scheme suit a poem about two options?

Advanced
A Each option is given its own stanza and rhyme B Two sounds circle each other for most of it, exactly as two options do C The rhymes disappear when the options are weighed D There is one rhyme sound for every line
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Two sounds circle each other for most of it, exactly as two options do

The third sound does not arrive until line six.

Q125. What is the safest way to mention the Dante connection?

Advanced
A As the opening of the whole answer B In a single sentence, after the scheme and its effect C In a paragraph comparing the two poems in detail D Not at all, since it is irrelevant
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In a single sentence, after the scheme and its effect

It is an echo worth noting, not the substance of the answer.

Q126. How does the rhyme scheme help bring out the contrasting ideas?

Advanced
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Q127. Why is it worth saying that rhyme here is not decoration?

Advanced
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Q128. Describe the tone of 'Fire and Ice'.

Advanced
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Q129. What is the terza rima connection, and how much should you say about it?

Advanced
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Q130. Give the rhyme scheme of the poem and explain how it works on the two opposed ideas.

Advanced
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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: the scheme stated as aba abc bcb; at least four rhyme words named; the point that there are only three sounds and the third arrives late; the a-rhyme fusing fire and desire; the b-rhyme carrying ice to the final word; the late c-rhyme; and, crucially, the i…

Q131. Discuss the tone of 'Fire and Ice' and the effect it produces.

Advanced
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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: the reporting-preferring-conceding movement of the speaking voice; the plainness of the vocabulary and the two glossed words; the lightness with which personal evidence is offered; the final line, the meaning of 'suffice' and the naming of litotes; a contra…

Q132. Compare the form of 'Fire and Ice' with that of 'Dust of Snow'. What does each poem's shape do for it?

Advanced
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Content 3 · Expression 2 · Accuracy 1. Content should include: the stanza structure of each; the abab cdcd scheme against aba abc bcb; alternate rhyme against interlocking rhyme; the single sentence and delayed verb in 'Dust of Snow'; the absence of any stanza break in 'Fire and Ice'; the differing line lengths and the…

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