Analysis Of Nothing Gold Can Stay

Robert Frost's poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay" uses a metaphor of nature to explain loss and time passing. The poem explains that nature cannot hold onto leaves and flowers. Spring turns into summer, which turns into fall, and then winter. Time goes on and there is no way to stop it. Colors fade and gold things change. Each line of the poem contributes to the idea that nature and good things fade away or move on. The poet uses imagery to explain his ideas, and the color gold to show importance.

The metaphor of nature is a great way for the poet to use imagery. When reading the poem one can picture the leaves falling and the sun setting on the day. The idea that "nothing gold can stay" is shown in the imagery. Frost does a great job of using imagery in his poems. In this one he uses sight, but not much else. One can see the colorful flowers blooming in spring, but there is not any other type of imagery used.

The lines of the poem show nature and time passing.

Lines one and three: "Nature's first green is gold / . . . Her early leaf's a flower" both show nature. They explain springtime as a beautiful time of year. "Nature's first green is gold". This line explains that spring is important because it brings life. The "first green" is the leaves and life of spring. Using the color gold makes the reader understand that the "first green" is valuable and important. "Her early leaf's a flower" is another reference to springtime. In the spring some of the first things to grow are the flowers. They are beautiful and full of life and

color.
While some lines of the poem are about spring and nature, some are about loss and time passing. Lines two, four, five, and seven explain the idea that time goes on. Color fades away, time passes, seasons change, and days pass. "Her hardest hue to hold. / . . . But only so an hour. / Then leaf subsides to leaf." Even nature cannot hold onto a color or a season. Flowers die and leaves fall. Seasons change and time goes on.
Lines six and seven compare the fall of Eden to days passing. It is a biblical allusion. It uses Adam and Eve's fall from the Garden of Eden to show how the day moves on. "So dawn goes down to day." Dawn becomes day and eventually becomes night. Days pass similar to how Eden fell. There is no way to stop the passing of time or the fall of the Garden of Eden.
A main idea of this poem is the color gold. The first line is "Nature's first green is gold." This shows how valuable it is. It is the first thing that nature presents. The color symbolizes
wealth and value. By using the color gold the poet has shown the importance of nature. The last line of the poem is "Nothing gold can stay." These two lines sum up the entire idea of the poem. It explains that nature and spring are important, but that time goes on. Nothing can stay the same, even something as important as nature. This could also be an inference to how the earth is changing. As more people inhabit the earth less nature remains. Frost does a great job of linking the first and last line in order to make the reader think.
I think the idea of this poem is that nothing, no matter how great, can stay. Seasons change, days pass, people move on, and wonderful things have to leave. "Nothing gold can stay"