Fire and Ice
Robert Frost, New Hampshire (1923)
A short Frost poem weighing whether the world will end in fire or in ice.
Download the handwriting worksheet (PDF)Printable, ruled for handwriting: copy it by hand, then type it here.
About this text
Frost published "Fire and Ice" in 1920 in Harper's Magazine before collecting it in New Hampshire (1923), and its origin is sometimes traced to a conversation with an astronomer about how the world might end — by the sun expanding (fire) or by a wandering star pulling Earth into a frozen darkness (ice). Frost turned that scientific question into a meditation on desire and hatred instead.
At only nine lines, it's one of the shortest texts in this library, but its rhyme scheme is tightly woven — fire, desire, and fire again rhyme across the whole poem, not just within a couplet — which makes exact copying, including line breaks, matter more than usual. A single dropped word changes where a rhyme lands.
What to watch for
- 1 apostrophe: sort each one into possession (the shepherd's staff) or a missing letter (don't = do not).
- Capital letters in the middle of a sentence: I've. Ask why each one is capitalized before typing it.
- Longest word: "destruction" (11 letters). Try spelling it aloud once before reaching it.
- 9 lines averaging about 6 words each. A comfortable line length for a single sitting.
Full text (reference)
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.