Robert Frost’s “Nothing Gold Can Stay”
...his audience the strength and splendor of everyday life. The apparent contradiction “nature’s fist green is gold” (line 1) is a paradox. The ambiguity of this line could mean that the “green” of springtime has evolved into the “gold” of autumn or that the first growth is precious for it only lasts a short period of time. The “green” could also represent the freshness of a child. The “gold” symbolizes having great value or goodness. Therefore, Frost implies that one should look at youthfulness as being great in value. Youth is the beginning of time for a human and this is when one must begin to cherish every moment of one’s life. Youth will ultimately end in death. Gold is nature’s “hardest hue to hold” because the appearance rapidly changes and the model loveliness flees the mind. The perfect “hue” of gold darkens into green and is a change that symbolizes the shortness of idyllic heights. The “hue” is hard to “hold” because its beauty is held at such a high level. Frost’s poem has a balancing point with “then leaf subsides to leaf” (line 5). “Subsides” is a tender substitute for an anticipated term of growth. It is a sigh of displeasure as the leaf is replaced by another leaf rather than by a flower. The audience is again reminded that nothing can last forever, and one should appreciate the beauty of the “flower” while it is in blossom. With “so Eden sank to grief” (line 6), Frost moves from detailing vegetation growth to pinpointing the fall of humanity. Frost suggests that the perfection of the mythological or theological “Eden” is only temporary. Frost captures the unpleasant loss of immortality in the garden. “Sank” is a synonym for subsides and is used to illustrate how the paradises in both instances come to an inevitable end. The subsiding of the flowers and the sinking of humanity show how the precious times are only temporary. Frost creates another sense of fallin...