Fire and Ice

In “Fire and Ice,” fire is one of the two most obvious symbols. It is used to represent many different feelings, emotions, and states of being. The speaker states that when thinking about how the world ends and choosing how it will end, they “hold with those who favor fire” (Line 4) because of their experience—”From what I’ve tasted of desire” (Line 3). Desire can consist of possessiveness and obsessiveness. Desire can grow into a mutated form of love capable of destroying the desirous person and the people around them. This mutation makes desire transform into the opposite of love, since love cannot destroy and love protects. Desire can become more like an uncontrolled wildfire: It’s easy to start and difficult to contain; it can destroy quickly.

The second most obvious symbol in “Fire and Ice” is ice. The speaker asserts,

But if it had to perish twice

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great (Lines 5-8).

In the poem, ice symbolizes hate. Though ice is superficially pure, it is cold, and it represents humanity’s uncaring nature. The ice also symbolizes a lack of humanity and a lack of