1. Fire:
- Spenser personifies fire as a passionate force that "burns and rages," symbolizing intense passion, desire, and unyielding emotions.
- He compares the poet's love for the lady to fire: "Love is a fire that, burning close to thee, / Warms thee to life, and makes thy spirits dance."
- Fire represents the transformative and transformative power of love, capable of inspiring and uplifting the beloved.
2. Ice:
- Spenser contrasts fire with ice, describing it as "hard frost," "a chilling coldness," and "a cold disdain."
- Ice represents indifference, emotional coldness, and rejection, contrasting with the warmth of fire.
- He uses ice to illustrate the lady's resistance or lack of reciprocation to the poet's passionate advances: "But when thy frosty heart forgets to flame, / And in thy breast unkindly cold appears."
3. Opposing Elements:
- The poem revolves around the tension created by these opposing forces of fire and ice, paralleling the contrasts found in human nature and emotions.
- Fire and ice symbolize the interplay of passion and reason, desire and restraint, warmth and coldness, within the human heart.
- The speaker experiences the emotional extremes, vacillating between passionate longing and icy rejection.
4. Metaphorical and Symbolic:
- The use of fire and ice is metaphorical, representing intense emotions, desires, and reactions rather than literal elements.
- Spenser employs these symbols to convey the complex range of human experiences and the struggle to reconcile inner conflicts.
By interweaving imagery of fire and ice, Spenser creates a vivid and dynamic metaphor that captures the complexities of love, desire, and emotional duality. He employs these elements to explore the tensions within the human heart, reflecting the opposing forces that shape human relationships and experiences.