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Nothing Gold Can Stay
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.
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| Nothing Gold Can Stay |
Analysis
Introduction:
In the poem Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost from New Hampshire, a process in the human sphere is compared to a process in Nature to reveal the problem of Man's fate. The permanence glorification of Nature echoes in the voice of author. Smallest aspect of Nature amplify in a manner to bring the fate of a Man.
Development of Thought:
The first five lines are descriptive and one may he led into thinking that the poet is regretting the transience of natural beauty. But then the loss of beauty in the leaf - in the change from gold to green - is compared to the loss of innocence in Eden. Thus, the sadness and inevitability are tinged with the knowledge that corruption is a necessary part of maturing. "So dawn goes down to day"; the natural process suggests that each man, too, undergoes a similar loss as he progresses from childhood to maturity. Growth of a man is very much connected with nature, so allowing the nature to enhance is the prime concern of every individual.
Critical Remarks:
In this poem, Frost's analogical method (showing Nature and Man to be parallel) is quite explicit. But his method strengthens this description. The bright leaves, Eden, the dawn, the life of the ordinary man - all are brought together in a single line of vision. The smallest things are capable of enfolding the problem of man's fate.