Nothing Gold Can Stay

In “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” Robert Frost uses simple language to describe ever-changing nature while creating a metaphor for the human condition. In a mere eight lines, Frost creates potent images to affect the reader and to imply multiple ideas for contemplation, including the inevitability of change over the course of time and the human struggle with loss. The poem is written in rhyming couplets, where every two lines, the end words exactly rhyme. Frost encapsulates his ideas within the couplets which help delineate certain stages of natural imagery and the human condition.

The first line of the first couplet— “nature’s first green is gold” (Line 1)—employs clear language and description. “Nature’s first green” describes the literal budding of spring in nature, with the word “first” (Line 1) also signifying the beginning of the day when the light first rises. Frost describes “[n]ature’s first green” as “gold” (Line 1) which may literally reference the golden-green color associated with early budding, or how nature’s color green can look golden at dawn. Symbolically, the comparison suggests other meanings. The word “nature” may refer to “human nature” and thus suggests the “green” of life, or first experiences. Beyond delineating color, the use of the world “gold” (Line 1) implies worth or value. This suggests that first experiences, especially those untainted by societal prohibition, have particular value. The second part of the couplet—“Her hardest hue to hold” (Line 2)—notes that this “green” (Line 1) freshness is transitory. The early bud must eventually flower, and the light must change with the journey of the sun. It is also impossible, as life unfolds, to remain the same. Change is inevitable. The “first green” (Line 1) can never remain in a person’s possession forever.

Frost reiterates this idea once more in the second couplet: “Her early leaf’s a flower; / But only so an hour” (Lines 3-4). The full joy of a moment is fleeting. “Her early leaf” (Line 3) suggests a time slightly past the budding described in the first line, when plants are in bloom. Generally, when a flower or tree blooms, it unfolds. Again, with this description, Frost alludes to humanity. To be “a flower” (Line 3) is to exist in an optimal stage, possessing life that’s full and rich with joy. Frost stresses that this state is fleeting since its peak lasts “only […] an hour” (Line 4). An hour can equate to a literal hour or any fixed period of activity, such as the “hour” (Line 4) of youth. Frost emphasizes the passing of any stage of great happiness, success, or pleasure.

The third couplet takes a noticeably darker turn both in imagery and meaning as Frost acknowledges the difficulty of the passage of time. “Then leaf subsides to leaf / So Eden sank to grief” (Lines 5-6) highlights a more human element by bringing in a reference to the biblical Garden of Eden. Frost uses “leaf subsides to leaf” (Line 5) to show that the “early leaf” (Line 3) has grown and fallen off the tree, giving way to a new leaf. Here, the repetition of the word “leaf” (Line 5) suggests the coming and going of many autumn seasons, which further implies the uncontrollable passage of time. A figurative reading of the line would indicate the turning of “leaves” as in pages of the book of life. This book imagery ties into the second part of the couplet—"So Eden sank to grief” (Line 6)—clearly alluding to a well-known book. According to the Christian bible’s chapter of Genesis, the perfection that the Garden of Eden provides is lost to Adam and Eve once they give into temptation. After the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge is consumed, God drives the weeping couple from the garden. Frost concentrates here on the feeling of despair. Once a joy is known, sorrow is felt at its loss. Those moments when things are “a flower” (Line 3) are perceived with a longing nostalgia, and a desire to return to the previous state when they were perfect. Because mankind is both flawed and mortal, Frost explains, it must accept change and loss as inevitable.

Frost acknowledges this in his last couplet, “So dawn goes down to day. / Nothing gold can stay” (Line 7-8). Change is cyclical in nature: The seasons pass, the leaves fall, things bloom and decay. “Dawn” moves into “day” (Line 7), where the bright exposure of the sun makes it impossible for the light to remain “gold” (Line 8). Anything new eventually must become known, or old. The use the phrase “goes down” (Line 7) instead of “rises” is deliberate as it fits with the theme of newness sinking into maturity. This represents both the cycle of life overall—birth to death—but also the daily cycle of the newness with which the day starts and the knowledge that it can’t be repeated once done. That Frost chose to title the poem with the same line as that which concludes it focuses the reader’s attention on its importance” “Nothing gold can stay” (Line 8). Life is precious in all of its stages, each of which is fleeting and can never be repeated once it is over.