Fire and Ice

Published in December 1920 in Harper's Magazine and in 1923 in his Pulitzer Prize-winning book New Hampshire, "Fire and Ice" is one of Frost's best-known and most anthologized poems.

Fire and Ice

By Robert Frost

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 of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice.

Learning Activity

1. When was this poem written?

2. Examine the below words and their connotations:

a. What is the connotation of "some"

b. What is the connotation of "great"

c. What is the connotation of "suffice"

3. Examine the imagery in the poem:

a. What does fire stand for?

b. What does ice stand for?

4. What is the tone of the poem? *Tone is the poet's attitude toward the subject. Look at the imagery and at the connotations of the words in the poem.

5. How does the structure help create a casual tone? *The poem is written in a simple, nursery sounding structure with a simple rhyme scheme. A rhyme scheme is the pattern created and followed by the rhyming words in a poem. The rhyme scheme results from rhyming words at the end of the lines in a poem. Robert Frost's poem ''Fire and Ice'' uses the rhyme scheme ABA ABC BCB. The first line ends with the word ''fire.'' This sound is rhymed by the end of the third and fourth lines with the words ''desire'' and ''fire'' respectively. The second line ends with ''ice'' which is rhymed by the endings of the fifth, seventh and ninth lines with the words ''twice,'' ''ice,'' and ''suffice'' respectively. The final rhyming sound is created through the ends of line sixth and eight with the words ''hate'' and ''great'' respectively.

6. How might the historical context of the poem relate to the message of the poem?