“Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough about hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice."
Thoughts about this Poem: Fire is emotion; ice is hate.
Frost clarifies that it is either fire or ice that destroys the world and nothing else. It seems clear that either can ruin.
The two elements have a symbolic relationship with the "world.” Too much fire and passion can destroy a relationship, while cold, indifference and hate can do the same. The world symbolizes our relationships, and fire and ice represent the various people in our lives.
Some people are fire, and some are ice inferring that becoming surrounded by one type can be destructive.
Perhaps "Fire and Ice" was inspired by Dante's Inferno, where sinners are condemned to a fiery hell and submerged to their necks in ice.
