Robert Frost's Nothing Gold Can Stay

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An Interpretation of Robert Frost's

"Nothing Gold Can Stay"

This poem by Robert Frost, like so many of his other works, uses nature as its subject. It makes good use of many literary elements like alliteration, paradox, metaphor, overstatement, and a couplet rhyme scheme. Though it is only a short, eight-line lyric poem, it carries a deep meaning. Frost describes the "subsiding" of nature's beauty, but through deeper analysis we find that the poem encourages us to enjoy all things "gold," and look ahead to the coming of brighter and fuller life.

The poem begins with a literary paradox in line one, and it's meaning can be made clear through both literal and metaphorical interpretation. "Nature's first green is gold," in a more literal sense because the pale green leaves and buds of early spring are actually a gold color, as in that of the birch tree that Frost so admired (Ferguson). In terms of the metaphor the beauty of nature's first growth is golden and precious because it lasts only a short time, and because it is as line two describes with great alliteration, "Her hardest hue to hold (Meyers)." Though this line is rather clear in that it refers to the inevitable coming of summer, the ambiguity of line one will become clearer, as the unity principle is applied with the rest of the poem.

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Line three, again, involves comparison through the use of paradox and metaphor. "Her early leaf's a flower," compares the beauty in the budding leaf of early spring to that of the recognizable beauty of a flower. Line four, using a bit of overstatement, then tells that this beauty can last, "But only so an hour," as the leaf will soon unfold leaving its precious golden color behind. "Then leaf subsides to leaf," in line five. What Frost means here is that as summer comes the early flowerlike leaf "subsides" into its true leaf form, and into comparative green dullness (Bagby). Next, line six continues the extended metaphor except this time it relates the fall of mankind in Eden to the fall of nature's most beautiful "hour." "So Eden sank to grief," in the same way that gold faded to green, and flower subsided to leaf (Ferguson).

Now as Frost reveals the final couplet we can begin to pull things together to find the poem's meaning as a whole and the message behind it. "So dawn goes down to day," is added as the last extension of the metaphor. The beauty of early spring, the purity of Eden, and the morning sunrise are all golden. They are innocent and pure, not yet tainted by leafy dullness, by man's sin, or by the ever long day to come. They are unique, precious, and limited in their duration. This is where the eighth line comes in telling us that, "Nothing gold can stay," and confirming that these golden moments will soon pass. Frost repeats the title in the last line to emphasize how temporary these moments are, and to encourage us to cherish all that is golden (Marcus).

Still we must consider Frost's specific choice in his metaphors, especially the final one. Each moment seems to be at its peak or in its "Golden Age" before there is a "subsiding" of some sort, a loss of beauty with the passing of time. For some reason though, Frost phrases them all in paradox. A leaf bud subsidies into full bloom and the flourishing of life; Eden sank to grief while humanity is saved by the messiah; dawn goes down as the sun rises into a full day of brightness and life. Frost uses the paradox to show that what might seem as a subsiding of sorts, in text and in life, may still yet lead to fuller and brighter life.

His message in this poem is to enjoy the "gold" in life, and the purity in those moments before they are inevitably overcome by time, but to also realize that the fall from theses golden times does not always mean a turn for the worse. After the "subsiding" of spring we can look to the fuller life of summer. After the passing of dawn we can look to the fuller light of day, and in keeping the unity, after the sinking of Eden we can look to the fuller life of humanity to come. The beauty of these transitory things lies mostly in that they are so temporary, and can last for only so long. Yet their passing does not mean ultimate loss because, though not as beautiful, there are equally important gains to come. While looking ahead as these pure and peaceful moments pass, enjoy all that is "gold" as it comes, because such moments are like what Frost would later give as his definition of poetry, "a momentary stay against confusion (Pritchard)."

Works Cited

Bagby, George F. Frost and the Book of Nature. Copyright 1 by the University of Tennessee Press. Modern American Poetry Online. http//www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/frost/gold.htm

Ferguson, Alfred R. Frost and the Paradox of the Fortunate Fall. Frost Centennial Essays. Copyright 17 by University Press of Mississippi. Modern American Poetry. http//www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/frost/gold.htm

Marcus, Mordecai. The Poems of Robert Frost an explication. Copyright 11 by Mordecai Marcus. Modern American Poetry. http//www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/frost/gold.htm

Meyers, Jeffrey. Robert Frost A Biography. Copyright 16 by Jeffrey Meyers. Modern American Poetry. http//www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/frost/gold.htm

Pritchard, William H. Frost A Literary Life Reconsidered. Copyright 184 by William Pritchard. Modern American Poetry. http//www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/frost/gold.htm

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