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 favour 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

As you can read in many reviews in books on poetry dissertation and on web, fire symbolizes hate, quick destruction, love, lust, desire etc. Frost himself takes the side of those who agree that desire has the power to burn, to destroy and to consume what it comes in contact with.
In the lines,’ some say the world will end in fire’, he may also be insinuating that the world of a person comes down if his desire makes him live life at a pace he himself is unable to keep up with. His life, his passions and his energy is fuelled by a desire that can destroy his own world.

Frost then goes on to suggest that ice is an equally destructive factor. Coldness, rigidity, unable to move beyond one’s dogmatic beliefs or principles- factors like these also possess the power of destruction.

Fire destroys by burning everything to ashes; Ice, albeit slowly, by making things unable to move, applying pressure from outside and hence cracking everything.

This poem is so beautiful that you can apply its underlying meaning to the life of a person or to the state of a country- it stands tall.

One reviewer on web went on to connect ‘ice’ with ‘Frost’.

Frost remains one of my favorite.