“Nothing Gold Can Stay”
By
Robert Frost
Nothing Gold Can Stay
Robert Frost
Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
Rhyme
Scheme
Meaning
Nature's first green is gold,
____
______________________________
Her hardest hue to hold.
____
______________________________
Her early leaf's a flower;
____
______________________________
But only so an hour.
____
______________________________
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
____
______________________________
So Eden sank to grief,
____
______________________________
So dawn goes down to day. ____
______________________________
Nothing gold can stay.
______________________________
____
Read the poem again. Complete the following items.
1. What does GOLD symbolize in this poem?
2. Identify an example of allusion.
3. Identify a metaphor.
4. Which line uses alliteration?
5. What is the overall theme (message) of the
poem?
List 5 things you can do when you
analyze a poem.
List 5 things you can do when you
analyze a poem.
1. Read the title carefully. Why/How does the title fit?
2. Read the poem multiple times, ALOUD if possible.
Poetry was meant to be heard.
3. Look for words, lines, or concepts that are repeated.
What is the poet emphasizing?
4. Look for things that are WEIRD! If it seems stupid,
there may be another way to view it. Is there another
meaning?
5. Look for allusion. Think through the allusion and how
it relates to the poem as a whole or to part of the
poem.
6. Look for devices of sound that have a specific reason.
7. Look for MOTION– up/down/around.
8. Look for similar references among lines.
9. Look for what the poem DOESN’T say as well
as what it does.
10. Look for uncommon words or words you
don’t know. Figure out why they were used.
1. Identify the rhyme scheme of this poem.
2. What connection can you make between Eden
and dawn?
3. What does the poet mean when he says,
“Nature’s first green is gold”?
4. What is the connection the poet is making
between Nature and life? Be specific in
explaining the implied analogy. Particularly
examine the line “So dawn goes down to day”
in your analysis.
5. Explain what the final line of the poem
implies. What literary term would we use
explain this implication?
1. Identify the rhyme scheme of this poem.
2. What connection can you make between Eden
and dawn?
3. What does the poet mean when he says,
“Nature’s first green is gold”?
4. What is the connection the poet is making
between Nature and life? Be specific in
explaining the implied analogy. Particularly
examine the line “So dawn goes down to day”
in your analysis.
5. Explain what the final line of the poem
implies. What literary term would we use
explain this implication?
Think about symbols!
1. Define the literary term symbol.
A literal thing in a work of literature that
also represent something else.
2. Think back to “FfA”. What was the primary
symbol used in that story? What did it
symbolize?
The maze symbolizes Charlie’s life because
life is a challenge and so is the maze. His life
becomes more complicated as his intelligence
increases.
Poetry Explication: What is it?
http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/poetry-explications/
A poetry explication is a relatively short analysis
which describes the possible meanings and
relationships of the words, images, and other
small units that make up a poem. Writing an
explication is an effective way for a reader to
connect a poem’s plot and conflicts [or theme
and symbols] with its structural features.
Structure
Make sure you cover:
1. The LARGE issues addressed in the poem
2. The details from the poem
3. The patterns in the poem
Tips:
1. Refer to the speaking voice in the poem as “the
speaker.” For example, do not write, “In this poem,
Wordsworth says that London is beautiful in the
morning.” However, you can write, “In this poem,
Wordsworth presents a speaker who…” We cannot
absolutely identify Wordsworth with the speaker of
the poem, so it is more accurate to talk about “the
speaker” in an explication.
2. Use the present tense when writing the explication.
The poem, as a work of literature, continues to exist!
3. DO NOT USE FIRST- OR SECOND-PERSON PRONOUNS!
My attempt
In Robert Frost’s poem, “Nothing Gold Can Stay,”
a mere eight lines encapsulates the essence of
innocence lost and suggests a whisper of hope for the
future. The speaker’s symbolic use of “gold” sets the
stage for the primary theme as he emphasizes the
fleeting nature of the rare, the precious, the beautiful–
the golden. From title to final line, this emphasis lends
a poignancy to the patterns of nature alluded to
throughout the poem. Since there is a “first green,”
there must be some less vibrant colors further along
the natural continuum. The speaker’s reference to the
“hardest hue to hold” implies that the precious
newness of “green” is worthy of being kept as special
and sacred, while the repeated “h” sound whisks that
newness away, as fleeting as a breath. The “early leaf”
likewise fades, lasting only an hour. In human
development, as in nature, the sweetly innocent soul
fades quickly, eventually falling altogether in the
downward motion of the words “subsides,” “sank,” and
“goes down” in lines 6-8. The speaker’s allusion to Eden
and the Fall of Man in line 6 underlines the futility of
seeking to retain our childlike innocence. The speaker
need not eschew all hope, however, for in the natural
cycle, spring ever blooms even following the coldest
winter. While the beauty and “first green” of nature
and humanity cannot last, nature’s cycle repeats
nonetheless. “Nothing gold can stay,” but it can be
noticed and cherished when it appears.