Fire and Ice

Robert Frost

About the Poet:

Robert Lee
Frost (March
26,
1874 – January
29, 1963) was an
American poet.
His work was
initially
published in
England
before it was published in the United States.
Known for his realistic
depictions of rural life and his command of
American colloquial speech,
Frost frequently wrote about settings from
rural life in New England in the
early 20th century, using them to examine
complex social and
philosophical themes.

Introduction
"Fire and Ice" is a popular poem by
American poet Robert Frost
(1874-1963). It was written and
published in 1920, shortly after WWI,
and weighs up the probability of two
differing apocalyptic scenarios
represented by the elements of the poem's title. The speaker believes fire to be the more
likely world-ender of the two, and links it directly with what he or she has "tasted" of "desire." In an
ironically conversational tone, the speaker adds that ice—which represents hate and indifference—
would "also" be "great" as a way of bringing about the end of the world. There are two reported
inspirations for the poem: the first of these is Dante's Inferno, which is a poetic and literary journey
into Hell written in the 14th century. The other is a reported conversation Frost had with an
 astronomer in which they talked about the sun exploding or extinguishing—fire or ice.

Summary
In Robert Frost's poem "Fire and Ice," he uses
symbols to represent desire and hatred. The poem
suggests that humanity will eventually face its
end. Frost presents two different beliefs about
how the world will end: some think it will burn in
fire, while others believe it will freeze. Frost
leans towards the idea that uncontrolled desires
can be destructive, while also highlighting the
damaging effects of hatred.

Key Points of the Poem

The poem consists of 2 stanzas. First stanza is made up of 4 lines and stanza is made of 5lines. Thus,
the entire poem consists of 9 lines in total.
The poem has been written symbolically.
The poet says that there are mainly two opinions about the end of this world, one by fire and
another by ice.
The symbols- ‘Fire’ and ‘Ice’ have been used for human emotions like desire and hatred respectively.
As fire can spread very fast and cause a great destruction in no time likewise our desires may also
prove very destructive if they go out of control.
Hatred causes slow destruction like ice, but it is also very harmful.

Detailed Summary
Stanza 1
Some say the world will end in fire
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favour fire.
In these lines, the poet analyses the views of the people and states that there can be two possible
causes for the end of the world. On one side there are people who believe that the world will end
because of fire. Here, fire represents the extreme desire, anger, greed etc. present wither of human
beings. On the other side, there are people who Favour ice. Here, ice represents the human emotions
of the hatred, intolerance etc. the poet from his experience believes that the world will end with fire.
Thus, the poet remains with those people who favour fire.

Line: “Some say...some say in ice”

These first few lines describe the disagreement in general society on the topic of how the world ends.
The poet is merely stating that people debate on whether the world will be consumed by fire or frozen
by ice. Ice and fire, of course, are opposites of one another, suggesting that most people have entirely
opposing views on the apocalypse. Ice and fire also represent two extremes which, on a grand scale,
could cause immense damage, and are fitting metaphors for harbingers of death. Line: “From what
I have....who favor fire”
Here the speaker provides his own opinion — he equates fire with desire, greed, lust, rage etc. A
candle or a fireplace shows a person the way. Its warmth and the light acts as a guide. In the same
way, small desires are no trouble at all, and can guide a person to the things they want in life. On a
large scale, however, fire is dangerous and destructive. Similarly, uncontrollable desires pose danger
and bring doom to the whole humankind. The speaker recalls his experiences with strong desire, and
tends to believe that it is those kinds of emotion and impulses that lead the world to its doom. Hence,
the speaker believes that the world will end in fire.

Stanza 2
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.
In these lines, the poet thinks that if the world had to end twice, ice would also be able to destroy it
completely. For the poet ice (hatred) is a powerful as fire (desire). In human beings, hatred is long
lasting and it enters into their hearts. It remains through the life. Thus, poet thinks that ice or hatred
will be sufficient to bring an end of this world.

Line: “But if it had to perish twice ,.... and would suffice”

On the other hand , the speaker equates ice with the emotions like hatred, coldness, selfishness and
rigidity. He believes that if fire somehow wasn’t enough to destroy the world entirely, then ice could
manage the feat as well. He thinks that ice is equally dangerous and destructive. It is something that
would chill the world, slow it down, and isolate each individual enough that the human race simply
couldn’t survive it. The potential of ice will be sufficient to destruct the world. Even though the
speaker tends to believe in the destructive power of desire, he sees no reason to believe that hate
couldn’t end the world just as easily.

Belief 1: Fire as Desire:

Frost compares fire to uncontrolled desires. He believes that strong and persistent desires can
destroy both individuals and the world. Just like a raging fire, unchecked desires can consume
everything in their path. Frost warns about the dangers of letting desires go unchecked, as they have
the power to lead to humanity's downfall.
Belief 2: Ice as Hatred:
Frost portrays ice as a symbol of hatred. He suggests that hatred can numb people's empathy and
turn them cold towards others. This emotional ice can lead to cruelty and indifference. Frost
argues that this silent and often unnoticed hatred can be more responsible for the destruction of
humanity and the world than desires alone.

Contrasting Views: Fire vs. Ice:

Frost highlights the contrast between desire and hatred. While desires are often seen as more
noticeable and intense, he points out that hatred, like ice, can silently destroy. Both desires
and hatred possess destructive potential, and Frost urges us to recognize their power and the
need for balance.

Hatred, Desire, and the End of the World

 • Despite its light and conversational tone, “Fire and Ice” is a bleak poem that highlights human
beings’ talent for self-destruction. The poem talks about the end of the world—and poses two
possible causes for this end: fire and ice. The speaker uses these natural elements as symbols
for desire and hatred, respectively, arguing that both emotions left unchecked have the
capacity to destroy civilization itself.
• The speaker begins by relating that, when it comes to how the world will end, “some” people
favor fire and “some” ice. At this early stage of the poem, these two elements could easily
relate to a natural disaster. For example, a potential world-ending “fire” could be something
like the asteroid that most likely destroyed the dinosaurs; and ice could relate to a future ice
age, or the extinguishment of the sun. But as soon as those more naturalistic ends to the world
are suggested, the poem changes direction and makes it clear that fire and ice are symbols—
not of natural disasters, but of humanity’s ability to create disasters of its own.
• By “fire” the speaker actually means “desire”—and from the speaker’s limited personal
experience, the speaker knows desire to be a powerfully destructive force. Humanity, then,
could bring about the end of the world through passion, anger, violence, greed, and bloodlust.
Indeed, the “fire” now seems like an image of warfare too. (Indeed, the poem was written
shortly after then end of World War I.)
• Though the speaker feels “fire” is the likely way for humanity to destroy itself and the world,
the speaker also feels that human beings’ capacity for destruction is so great that it could bring
about this destruction more than once. Here, the speaker presents “ice” as another method for
ending it all, aligning it with hatred.
• Ice works differently from fire. Human destruction doesn’t have to be bright, noisy, and
violent—hate can spread in more subtle ways. Ice has connotations of coldness and
indifference, and so a possible reading here is that the end of the world could be brought about
by inaction rather than some singular major event. A contemporary reading could map climate
change onto “ice” here: if people fail to act over humanity’s effect on the climate, it will
gradually, but assuredly, bring about destruction.
• By the poem’s end, the choice between “ice” and “fire” seems to be the same. Ice and fire,
though utterly different in the literal sense, here represent one and the same thing: the
destructive potential of humanity. Either method will suffice to bring about the inevitable end
of the world. In just nine short lines, then, “Fire and Ice” offers a powerful warning about
human nature.

Theme/ Message Theme

Destruction by Extremes: The poem explores the idea that both fire and ice can lead to the end of
the world, symbolizing destructive human tendencies.
Symbolism: Fire represents desire, passion, and the intensity of human emotions, while ice
symbolizes hatred, coldness, and emotional detachment.
Human Nature: Frost reflects on the destructive nature of human emotions and how they can lead to
catastrophic consequences.
Preference and Bias: The poem suggests that people may have different opinions on which force,
fire or ice, will

Message
The poem is revolving around the theme that human emotions are destructive, and has two
possible form
The fire symbolises burning desires, while the ice, on the other hand, describes ice-cold hatred.
describes how we humans will be the end of our own race

Literary Devices
Rhyme scheme — stanza 1 is abaa while for stanza 2 it is ababa.
Symbolism – Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify some ideas by giving them symbolic
meaning different from their literal meaning. Fire – symbolizes desire with human emotions like lust,
fury, cruelty, greed etc.. Ice – symbolizes the hatred with cold feelings of humans such as rigidity,
jealousy, indifference, intolerance etc..
Imagery —Imagery is the visualisation of the poetic description through our sensory organs. Here,
the reader would visualise the destruction through fire or ice. The imagery formed would depend on
how we perceive and imagine in the context being portrayed in the poem. It makes a poem
picturesque as images are formed in the minds of the reader.
Personification —Personification is to assig human qualities to non-living things. In this poem, ‘fire’
and ‘ice’ are capable to destroy the earth.
Anaphora — Anaphora is the repetition of a word or expression at the start of two or more
consecutive lines. For example: ‘Some say’’ is repeated at the start of the lines 1 and 2. Alliteration
—Alliteration is repetition of the same sound used at the beginning of the nearly placed words.
Example: The sound of ‘s’ in some say, ‘f’ in ‘‘Favour fire’’, and ‘w’ in ‘‘world will’’. Assonance –
Assonance is the repetition of same vowel sounds in different words in the same lienee’s., ‘‘I hold
with those who favour fire.’’ In this line, the long sound of ‘O’ is used. Enjambment—It is a line or
clause that does not come to an end at a line break, rather it moves over to the next line. This device
has been used prominently in the poem. For Example: ‘From what I’ve tasted of desire hold with
those who favour fire’’
Metaphor – It is a literary device that is used to make a covert comparison without using the words
’like ‘or ’as ‘. Here, the poet has used the terms ‘fire’ and ‘ice’ as metaphors for the human emotions
related to desire and hatred.
Antithesis – Fire is the antithesis of ice. Two contrasting and directly opposite destructive forces have
been the hallmark of this poem; Fire and Ice’.
Difficult Words
Some = a few, certain
World = our existence, realm of human experiences
End = culmination, ultimate fate
Fire = desire, passion
Ice = hatred, coldness
Tasted = experienced, undergone
Hold = adhere to, side with
Those = specific individuals, that group
Perish = end tragically, annihilate
Twice = two times, repeating
Think = believe, opine
Know = be aware of, deeply
understand Enough = adequately,
sufficiently
Destruction = annihilation, complete end
Great = immense, overpowering
Would = indicating a possibility, potentiality