Nothing Gold Can Stay Analysis

Throughout Robert Frost’s poetry is a vivid depiction of the duality of nature, it being both the creator and destroyer of all things. Frost also continually hones in on the night, which is often analogous to the position or behavior of his subjects. Often littered throughout his work is an atmosphere of isolation, purposelessness and uncertainty, which consolidates these themes. Nature plays a critical role in Frost’s poetry, being one of the most obvious concepts in his writings. In his poem, Nothing Gold Can Stay, Frost describes how nature starts, “Nature’s first green is gold, her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf’s a flower (Frost 738).” Spring dominates this opening quote, with its reference to the golden green shimmer of a spring afternoon and the blossoming of a flower. Frost manages to capture the essence of the season in a very compact and condense poem. The final line offered, “Nothing gold can stay. (Frost 738)” also plays off of a reoccurring theme in his work; nature is a fragile balance between life and death, a cycle that can tip at any moment. This is seen heavily in his poem Design.

“Snow falling and night falling fast, oh, fast in a field I looked into going past. (Frost 739)” Again, a black night is descending upon an empty field, which is contrasted by falling white snow. This field is void of life, smothered by darkness and is essentially a plane of nothingness. Frost goes on to write, “I am too absent-spirited to count. (Frost 739)” which is an interesting line when compared to the rest of the poem. Frost seems to touch on the nothingness of life itself, null of meaning and purpose similar to the field he overlooks. Darkness as a theme was a personal one for Frost, having lost a son to suicide and a daughter to a mental collapse. This attitude infects much of Frost’s work and is reflected in the anguish and despaired environment he