Nothing Gold Can Stay Figurative Language

Robert Frost, a celebrated American poet, frequently wrote about settings relating to the rural lifestyle he grew up in and the surrounding nature to convey the themes embedded in each of his literary works. His style of writing includes emphasis on the aesthetics of language and on the use of literary techniques to develop poems with multiple layers, portraying various universal ideas. Upon analysis, Frost’s style of writing appears to be consistent from piece to piece; he utilizes the same literary devices and aspects of figurative language in similar ways. This concept is recognized when comparing Frost’s poems Nothing Gold Can Stay and A Passing Glimpse. Although the poems do not share the same theme verbatim, they still deal with the same

In Nothing Gold Can Stay, Frost creates the visual image of the changing colors of leaves and flowers to represent the progression of life. Literally, the color “gold” in the poem represents the growth of new leaves that have not yet matured; figuratively, it resembles starting points and high points in life. Life is constantly progressing, however, which is why the plant eventually turns green. It can be assumed that the golden hue is the most beautiful and precious color, but the leaves and plants do not remain that color (8). Frost uses the visual image of color in order to portray the ideas that nothing lasts forever and life is constantly moving forward. Additionally, in A Passing Glimpse, he uses images of nature to depict beauty and emphasize what is missed when moving too quickly through life. He describes different types of flowers including bluebells and lupine (8-9); by including the visual of a train passing beauty beyond the train tracks, the idea of constant motion and restlessness is illustrated. Frost believes that it is important to take the time and appreciate, a claim that is represented in both