--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fire and Ice Some say the world will end…" description: "\"“Fire and Ice 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 ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/524/robert-frost-371_fire_fire-and-ice-some-say-the-world-will-end_2866028.jpg" --- # Fire and Ice Some say the world will end in fire, Some say… ![“Fire and Ice 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.” quote by Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/524/robert-frost-371_fire_fire-and-ice-some-say-the-world-will-end_2866028.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/524/robert-frost-371_fire_fire-and-ice-some-say-the-world-will-end_2866028.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/524/robert-frost-371_fire_fire-and-ice-some-say-the-world-will-end_2866028.jpg) > ““Fire and Ice 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.”” [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The poem contrasts fire (desire) and ice (hate) as forces that could end the world, suggesting both are powerful and destructive. **In simple terms:** Desire and hate can both destroy. Key Takeaway Recognize the power of both passion and indifference. Themes desire hate destruction balance Mood contemplative melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - conflict resolution - environmental concerns Key Concepts philosophy poetry human nature Questions to Reflect On - Which force influences you more? - How can you channel desire constructively? A Different Perspective Both forces may not be equally likely; context matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Fire and ice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire-and-ice/) [Ice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ice/) ## Related quotes > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-say-the-world-will-end-in-fire-some-say-in-ice-from-what-i-ve/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think I know enough of hate to say that for destruction ice is also great and would suffice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/i-think-i-know-enough-of-hate-to-say-that-for-destruction-ice-is-also/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [“I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/i-hold-with-those-who-favor-fire-but-if-it-had-to-perish-twice-i/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [Ice-T is a great sport about people doing impressions of him, apparently, obviously, and so I have no choice but to be a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-f-tompkins/ice-t-is-a-great-sport-about-people-doing-impressions-of-him/) [Paul F. Tompkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-f-tompkins/) > [“Whoever loves, let him flourish. Let him perish who knows not love. Let him perish twice over whoever forbids love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ancient-graffiti-at-pompeii/whoever-loves-let-him-flourish-let-him-perish-who-knows-not-love-let/) Ancient graffiti at Pompeii > [“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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/some-say-the-world-will-end-in-fire-some-say-in-ice-from-what-i-ve-2/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/some-say-the-world-will-end-in-fire-some-say-in-ice/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [“i think i love fire and ice by robert frost not because it deals with the end of all things, but because it deals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-varnadore/i-think-i-love-fire-and-ice-by-robert-frost-not-because-it-deals-with/) [Jennifer Varnadore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-varnadore/) > [“STALIN He learned to write in the language of Georgia, his homeland, but in the seminary the monks made him speak Russian. Years later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-galeano/stalin-he-learned-to-write-in-the-language-of-georgia-his-homeland/) [Eduardo Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-galeano/) > [Music burst through him, perfect notes he hear rarely. Fire and ice, wind and calm, sky and earth, water and rock all fused together.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/music-burst-through-him-perfect-notes-he-hear-rarely-fire-and-ice/) [Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/) > [“Lord, wherever he is, let him win. Wrap him with your halo, keep him safe, keep him sane, keep him winning, keep him at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debatrayee-banerjee/lord-wherever-he-is-let-him-win-wrap-him-with-your-halo-keep-him-safe/) [Debatrayee Banerjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debatrayee-banerjee/) > [“But if Rowan was caught, if Dorian was caught … “I can’t—I can’t let you go—” “You can,” he said with little room for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/but-if-rowan-was-caught-if-dorian-was-caught-i-can-t-i-can-t-let-you/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [“I run to the high mountains I pour my heart out to the skies I sing of the summer song While the sky above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaishree-garg/i-run-to-the-high-mountains-i-pour-my-heart-out-to-the-skies-i-sing/) Jaishree Garg > [Fire and ice, somehow existing together without destroying each other. More proof that I belonged with him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/fire-and-ice-somehow-existing-together-without-destroying-each-other/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [“And when the leaves return, and their whisperings fill the night, they'll freeze and burn, where fire and ice collide”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/owl-city/and-when-the-leaves-return-and-their-whisperings-fill-the-night-they/) [Owl City](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/owl-city/) ## More by Robert Frost > [The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working when you get up in the morning, and doesn't stop until you get to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/the-brain-is-a-wonderful-organ-it-starts-working-when-you-get-up-in/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [When I see birches bend to left and right... I like to think some boy's been swinging them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/when-i-see-birches-bend-to-left-and-right-i-like-to-think-some-boy-s/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [“The promising young poets, the hopefuls? I'd name Richard Wilbur, Peter Viereck, Karl Shapiro, Elizabeth Bishop, Robert Lowell, John Ciardi...Leonard Bacon...but it is still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/the-promising-young-poets-the-hopefuls-i-d-name-richard-wilbur-peter/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [Lord, I have loved Your sky, Be it said against or for me, Have loved it clear and high, Or low and stormy...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/lord-i-have-loved-your-sky-be-it-said-against-or-for-me-have-loved-it/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [Let him that is without stone among you cast the first thing he can lay his hands on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/let-him-that-is-without-stone-among-you-cast-the-first-thing-he-can/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [It is only a moment here and a moment there that the greatest writer has. Some cognizance of the fact must be taken in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/it-is-only-a-moment-here-and-a-moment-there-that-the-greatest-writer/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [And of course there must be something wrong In wanting to silence any song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/and-of-course-there-must-be-something-wrong-in-wanting-to-silence-any/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [There are two kinds of teachers: the kind that fill you with so much quail shot that you can't move, and the kind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/there-are-two-kinds-of-teachers-the-kind-that-fill-you-with-so-much/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [The rose is a rose, And was always a rose. But now the theory goes That the apple's a rose, And the pear is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/the-rose-is-a-rose-and-was-always-a-rose-but-now-the-theory-goes-that/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [Forgive, O Lord, my little jokes on Thee, and I'll forgive Thy great big joke on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/forgive-o-lord-my-little-jokes-on-thee-and-i-ll-forgive-thy-great-big/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [What an exciting age it is we live in With all this talk about the hope of youth And nothing made of youth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/what-an-exciting-age-it-is-we-live-in-with-all-this-talk-about-the/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [The footpath down to the well is healed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/the-footpath-down-to-the-well-is-healed/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [There is the fear that we shan't prove worthy in the eyes of someone who knows us at least as well as we know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/there-is-the-fear-that-we-shan-t-prove-worthy-in-the-eyes-of-someone/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [It's God - I recognised him from Blake's picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/it-s-god-i-recognised-him-from-blake-s-picture/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [Create and stir other people to create.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/create-and-stir-other-people-to-create/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) [Explore all 624 Robert Frost quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) ## More Fire quotes > [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“I locked the door and turned on the water to fill the tub. I made it so hot that I had to get in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-crandall/i-locked-the-door-and-turned-on-the-water-to-fill-the-tub-i-made-it/) [Susan Crandall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-crandall/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. It's easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/public-infrastructure-around-the-world-is-facing-unprecedented-stress/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [“Nothing is ever lost nor can be lost; the body aged, sluggish,cold… the embers left from earlier fires shall dully flame again”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/nothing-is-ever-lost-nor-can-be-lost-the-body-aged-sluggish-cold-the/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [Tonight I feel like a prisoner on fire, waiting desperately... denied, sentenced forever more. Only your love can set me free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bolton/tonight-i-feel-like-a-prisoner-on-fire-waiting-desperately-denied/) [Michael Bolton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bolton/) > [There are different kinds of fire; there is false fire. No one knows this better than we do, but we are not such fools…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-booth/there-are-different-kinds-of-fire-there-is-false-fire-no-one-knows/) [William Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-booth/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [War is like a fire. One man may start it, but it will spread all over. It is not about one thing in particular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/war-is-like-a-fire-one-man-may-start-it-but-it-will-spread-all-over/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“Carrying that lumber the forty meters from the forest had left his knuckles blistered, his underarms sopping, but now a few hours of flames…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-marra/carrying-that-lumber-the-forty-meters-from-the-forest-had-left-his/) [Anthony Marra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-marra/) > [May nothing entice me till I happily make my way to Jesus Christ! Fire, cross, struggles with wild beasts, wrenching of bones, mangling of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ignatius-of-antioch/may-nothing-entice-me-till-i-happily-make-my-way-to-jesus-christ-fire/) [Ignatius of Antioch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ignatius-of-antioch/) > [AHHHHHH! Goyle has set the bloody place on fire! -Ron Weasley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/ahhhhhh-goyle-has-set-the-bloody-place-on-fire-ron-weasley/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 8,652 Fire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Fire and Ice 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. 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