“Fire and Ice”
Summary
The speaker weighs up two different scenarios for the end of the world. Some people think the
world will end in fire, whereas others think ice is more likely. Based on the speaker's experiences
with desire, he tends to agree with those who believe fire is the more likely scenario. If the world
were to end twice, however, the speaker feels that, based on his knowledge of human hatred, ice
would be an equally powerful method of destruction—and would do the job sufficiently
Theme
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 is a work of eschatology(the part of theology concerned
with death)—writing 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. (This is tongue-in-cheek, of course, as once would certainly be
enough.) Here, the speaker presents “ice” as another method for ending it all, aligning it with hatred.
Ice works differently from fire in this eschatological prediction. 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, though, the choice between “ice” and “fire” starts to seem a little false—
particularly as the speaker’s tone is so casual and even glib (“ice is also great”). 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. Finally, it’s important
to notice something that isn’t in the poem: any hint of a possibility that humanity won’t end the
world.
Fire and Ice Literary devices
1. Rhyming scheme- Aba
abc
bcb
2. Assonance- it is repetition of vowel sounds in same line. The repetition is at different places in
different words.
Example- The long sound of “o” in “I hold with those who favour fire”
3. Alliteration- alliteration is the repetition of a consonant sound at the start of two or more closely
placed words.
Example- The sound of “f” in “favour fire”, “w” in “world will”
4. Imagery- Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Example- “Some
say the world will end in fire”
“To say that for destruction ice Is also great”
5. Anaphora- the repetition of a word or expression at the start of two or more consecutive lines.
Example – “Some say” is repeated at the start of lines 1 and 2.
6. Personification- Personification is to give human qualities to inanimate objects. In this poem, “fire”
and “ice” are capable of destruction. Thus, the poet personifies fire and ice by giving them mind and
power to destroy anything.
7. Enjambment- it is defined as the thought or clause that does not come to an end at a line break, rather
it moves over to the next line.
Example- “From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire”
