“Fire and Ice” Summary

“Fire and Ice” Themes

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  Hatred, Desire, and the End of the World

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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Fire and Ice”

• Lines 1-2

  Some say the world will end in fire,
  Some say in ice.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 3-4

  From what I’ve tasted of desire
  I hold with those who favor fire.

  

  

  

  

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• Line 5

  But if it had to perish twice,

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 6-9

  I think I know enough of hate
  To say that for destruction ice
  Is also great
  And would suffice.

  

  

  

  

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“Fire and Ice” Symbols

• 

  Fire

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• 

  Ice

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“Fire and Ice” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Anaphora

  

  

  

  

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• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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• Antithesis

  

  

  

  

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• Allusion

  

  

  

  

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• Metaphor

  

  

  

  

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• Enjambment

  

  

  

  

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• Irony

  

  

  

  

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• Oxymoron

  

  

  

  

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• Sibilance

  

  

  

  

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“Fire and Ice” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Tasted
• Hold
• Favor
• Perish
• Great
• Suffice

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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Fire and Ice”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“Fire and Ice” Speaker

“Fire and Ice” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “Fire and Ice”

More “Fire and Ice” Resources

• External Resources

  • A Documentary About the Poet — An insightful video about Frost's life. 

  • A Reading by the Poet Himself — Robert Frost's own powerful reading of the poem.

  • Robert Frost's Mission to Russia — This is a fascinating article about the time President Kennedy sent Robert Frost to Russia in the 1960s in an effort to help defuse tensions. Though this trip occurred decades later than the composition of "Fire and Ice," it was no less about the potential end of the world.

  • More Poems by Frost — A number of Frost poems and an in-depth biography of the poet.

  • An Insightful Interview with the Poet — In this video, Robert Frost is interviewed by author Bela Kornitzer in 1952.

• LitCharts on Other Poems by Robert Frost

  • Acquainted with the Night

  • After Apple-Picking

  • A Roadside Stand

  • Birches

  • Desert Places

  • Design

  • Dust of Snow

  • Home Burial

  • Mending Wall

  • Mowing

  • My November Guest

  • Nothing Gold Can Stay

  • Out, Out—

  • Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

  • The Death of the Hired Man

  • The Oven Bird

  • The Road Not Taken

  • The Sound of the Trees

  • The Tuft of Flowers

  • The Wood-Pile