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.
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.

Analysis, meaning and summary of Robert Frost's poem Fire and Ice

139 Comments

  1. Katelynn Harker says:

    Dear mr.Frost,
    You have really inspired me to speak my mind.Esspecaily
    my teacher Ms.Lauren Mummert.I was woundering if you can come to Alameda Elementay School on 2732 N.E Fremont & 27th ave.Portland Oregon.I’m In Mrs.Deans room if you get a chance.My whole class wrote acrostic poems and we just finished doing free verse ppoems.We would love to read them to you!!!!!!!!! THAANX A LOT!!!

  2. Fred says:

    I need help writing a essay on the theme of frost poems! well I think the theme is about nature or most of his poems. And im in highschool so nothin to smart.

  3. Tree says:

    Notme, it would be very appreciated if you don’t disrespect other people’s poetry. I don’t even know what it means, but it’s a great poem. I can’t stop reading it!

  4. bobonia says:

    na na na na na na na na na na. bla bla bla bla.
    it will end in ice!
    cause I like rice
    gross is lice
    cute as mice!
    number 6 on dice
    large pizza slice

  5. Ashlynn says:

    This poem im doing for a school project, and we didnt know that a really short poem could mean like a bazillion things! ITS FREAKING SWEET!!

  6. Kimber says:

    I LOVE THIS POEM SO MUCH

  7. nadia says:

    hellow people who have no lifes reading this

  8. Tim says:

    ppl u have to read the words and understand the meaning. if u rather have the world end in fire then it would end in desire just like it said. but if you want the world to end in ice the its hatred that would end it.

  9. Gordon Cheng says:

    This matters not how horrendouse this poem is, it might be short but it is still a great poem.

  10. Tom Supertom says:

    Hey,
    I believe that this poem should be taken very seriously, since contains the clue to the location of the hidden gold within the secret Nazi moonbase. But beware the gold is guarded by hillfolk, armed with blunderbusses and whipped toppings. It is common knowledge that the Nazi-Communist-Anarcho-Syndicalist-Hooligan-Grand National Symphony Orchesta Party is behind such evils as Disney on Ice and the Shakesperean play Othello. Beware the Nazi soldiers, mounted upon steeds of musk oxen, travelling the remote plains of Chef Boyardee. If you are stopped simply act flaccid like Flynn and become like a spongey foam. Remember not to let cheese scout release their spores of kitty litter to smite thee. Thou shalt prevail with the finding of the sacred froot loop of destiny located in the bowels of a tuna factory

    – Tom Supertom Infotrac Business Edition 7.8, leader of the Nazi Communist Tribal Council and enemy of all caterwauls and jabberwockies

  11. Aarika says:

    I too am using this poem as the basis for an english project and everyones comments have been helpful. It’s amazing that one poem with only ten lines can have so many diffrent interpretations and get people to react so strongly. As for my personal opinion I think Frost is trying to convey how he thinks the destruction of a thing (the world, a soul, a relationship) would end in fire (rage, passion, hate what have you)and if that thing got a second chance how it would end in ice (indifference, non-caring, coldness) but that it would still end. Thanks again for eveyones help and opinions.

  12. Nick B says:

    Hey Moog
    Hi this poem is one of the greatest poems i have ever read, this poem has been kept in the bosnian archives in the yao ming dynasty. Until Joseph Stalin and his neo confederation of comunist rebels snatched it from the moors. A few words that decribe robert frost would be moot and iago. On my travels throught the adirondacks i encountered pac-man and shared his poem with chinny woo and the carney folk from montpeiler. One day three mexican bandit were walking down 302 and i asked them if they had any brussel sprouts and they replied in sheer obscinity undale undale then a herd of ravid musk oxen and swept them of thier feet to impending death. By the time i reached munich i found a basket full of bked ham .

    thank you

  13. Raymond P. Harris says:

    I believe this poem symbolizes the efforts of our fine fire and rescue academy. The fire, is in itself, fire, and the ice is representing water and/or fire exstinguishers. Robert states that he would rather be with thee who favours fire which is the Iraqi and Muslim nations who are trying to destroy the world. In a sense, we are the ice, our military services are the exstinguishers. They are like a clothy drape, draping over the terrorism. The reason our military is needed, our great loin cloth of justice, is because the generic turbans of the Muslim nations are not great enough to smite thy hindering flame.

    p.s
    could you please stop leaving unnecassary commenting on the threads, you are spamming the boards, and i will see that you are convicted.

  14. Dyl B. says:

    All hail Tom super tom infotrac business edition 7.8, the leader of the Nazi Communist Tribal Council, and winner of the goblet cup of the Hitler Dynasty trophy plaque, once said by the wise Bosnian bushmen. Lidkey 1.0, on seek and destroy mission. His neo plasma data chip sautered to his head is combusticating and grilling its cheese to Beethovens “Fur Elise”. Monkey monkey monkey monkey monkey monkey, on the pogo stick. Remember to eat your Lynksys (R) Etherfast Cable/DSL routers, and always fight your’re earbrows off.

  15. Nick B. says:

    Congradulations!
    This is the number 1 most dislike, hated, despised, loathed, despicable, shameful, Appalling, horrendous,alarming, astounding, awful, bad, bummer, daunting, dire, disheartening, dismaying, downer, dreadful, fearful, formidable, frightening, frightful, ghastly, grim, grody, gross, harrowing, heavy, hideous, horrible, horrid, horrific, intimidating, mean, petrifying, scaring, shocking, terrible, terrifying, unnerving.
    Thank you

  16. AzNx says:

    God, morons you are truely so clueless? This poem symblolizes so much. Fire, represents the hatred in the world, as Ice represents the “I don’t care” of the world. Fire is the power hungry mongrels of this world who want power and are greedy, Ice represents the people who wont do anything, and wont stand up for anything. He isn’t just blabbering about some random things, this has true meaning in it. As people try to predict how this world will end, will it end by the Sun fading out and turn this world into a second ice age? Or will our own people, the power hungry mongrels bring the earth to it’s downfall? People these days, if this keeps up we will be our own deaths. The economic problems, natural resources, they will deplenish and we will eventually die. As for the Ice, those people wont do anything and wont do anything to solve the problems. So which will be our downfall? Fire or Ice?

  17. Dre says:

    I thought this was a really lame poem. its short and i didnt get it even though i thought about it for like an hour. there are many better poems then this. I think R. Frost had nothing to do when he wrote this poem.

  18. chris mccomb says:

    when you consider “the end of the world” as mentioned in this poem as the end of the soul, ti brings a lot more into perspective. The ‘inner death’ will be brought about by one of two things: desire (fire) or hate (ice). the ‘inner death’ isn’t permanent, however, because it only leads to a rebirth of the soul, in a newer, purer form. Thus desire and hate aren’t bad, but simply a means of growth.

  19. susan says:

    Wilford, your ideas look very similar to the website:
    http://www.geocities.com/sir_john_eh/fireice.html

    seen that before???

  20. aaron says:

    Poems are usually vague so that people can interpert them the way they wish, like a painting. One can not read the mind of Robert Frost so one is left to the interpertation. Reading these comments, people say its about love or the destruction of the world, if thats what you believe then thats what you believe. Robert Frost is an exquisite writer, whose poetry touched alot of people. He could be writing about his wife or he may just as well be writing about the apocalypse. No one truely knows. So if you can, basically, back up what you think than your positively correct.

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