Response to Literature “Nothing Gold Can Stay”

“Nothing Gold Can Stay,” is a beautifully written short poem by famous author Robert Frost. The author’s poem consists of an important truth being described elegantly through both figurative language and literal terms. The deep meaning of this poem describes that nothing in life, especially the most precious possessions, whether it be material items or loved ones, will last forever.

To begin, in the very first line of the poem, there was a phrase that clearly implied a metaphorical meaning, and was followed by a few more lines that symbolises the fact that things in life are not permanent. The author wrote, “Nature’s first green is gold” (Frost 1). Nature’s hue commonly consists of different shades of green, so describing it as “gold” scientifically doesn’t make sense, especially as there is no record of nature portraying the natural colour of gold. This is followed by, “Her hardest hue to hold; / Her early leaf’s a flower; / But only so an hour” (2-4). The fourth

line of the poem, in literal terms, means that the flower only stays for an hour, indicating that the line was merely an eloquently written metaphor, proving that life’s treasures, like flowers, are not meant to exist forever.

Equally important, the next few lines of the poem are also very captivating, and make an allusion to the Garden of Eden, a story in the book of Genesis in the Christian Bible. The text states, “So Eden sank to grief” (6). This piece of text is referring to the expulsion of Adam and Eve when they disobeyed the lord, and Eden sank to grief. This is supposed to indicate the fact that Eden, once a peaceful and beautiful safe haven for Adam and Eve, didn’t last forever. This further proves the point that the main theme of this poem is to represent the idea that nothing is

forever. Additionally, one of the two last lines that make up the poem state the title of the poem itself. The author states, “So dawn goes down to day; / Nothing gold can stay” (7-8). The seventh line of the poem simply indicates that dawn is limited, and eventually disappears for the daylight to appear.

This is supposed to compare to things in life being limited, and only available for a short amount of time. Moving on, line 8, the final line of the poem repeats the title; Nothing Gold Can Stay, showing us not only that the author agrees with this moral, but also reiterates the lesson

that nothing, especially seemingly perfect things, will remain forever. To conclude, this poem consists of the theme that nothing, including that which is pure and beautiful, can live forever. This was extremely obvious when the author added many metaphors and figurative language, like the

colour of nature being gold, the allusion to Adam and Eve being thrown out of the Garden of Eden. Robert Frost also includes the title of the poem in the very last line, selling the theme even more. The takeaway from this poem could be both positive and negative, depending on how you take in the figurative language and how you view the whole piece of writing.

Written by Hasini