7. Fill in the blanks to form a summary

is a nine-line poem written by. It was first published in December  in Harper's  and later in  in his collection of poems called New Hampshire. It is one of his well-known and most anthologised poems.

In the poem, the speaker raises the age old question as to how the world would . The poet makes  prophecies about the end of the world: fire or ice. According to the speaker, "" symbolises , greed, and ambition. They expand the more you make an effort to appease them. It goes on forever. They engulf your entire existence and spread like fire. One develops a nasty and occasionally egotistical nature. On the other hand, the speaker claims that "ice" represents , rigidity, and coldness. One develops indifference and a lack of concern for the feelings of others. According to the poet, the planet would soon in either fire or ice because both are spreading quickly.