Analysis of Nothing Gold Can Stay
Robert Frost 1874 (San Francisco) – 1963 (Boston)
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.
| Scheme | AABBCCDD |
|---|---|
| Poetic Form | |
| Metre | 101111 010111 0101010 1101110 110111 110111 111111 10111 |
| Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
| Characters | 209 |
| Words | 48 |
| Sentences | 4 |
| Stanzas | 1 |
| Stanza Lengths | 8 |
| Lines Amount | 8 |
| Letters per line (avg) | 19 |
| Words per line (avg) | 5 |
| Letters per stanza (avg) | 153 |
| Words per stanza (avg) | 40 |
About this poem
"Nothing Gold Can Stay" is a short poem written by Robert Frost. It consists of eight lines and follows a simple, yet profound, theme of impermanence and the transience of beauty. The poem begins with the statement that "Nature's first green is gold," and goes on to describe how this golden hue gradually fades away, giving way to the "hardest hue to hold" - green. Frost uses vivid imagery and a naturalistic tone to illustrate the idea that all things in life are ephemeral and that nothing can remain in its pristine state forever. The poem is often interpreted as a metaphor for the fleeting nature of youth, love, and innocence. The concise language and evocative imagery of "Nothing Gold Can Stay" have made it one of Frost's most beloved and widely anthologized works. more »
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"Nothing Gold Can Stay" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 2 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/30884/nothing-gold-can-stay>.
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