The Transience of Life, Beauty, and Youth: "Nothing Gold Can Stay" explores the transience of beauty, youth, and life itself. Nothing "gold"—essentially nothing pure, valuable, or beautiful—can stay forever, according to the poem. Everything is going to decay and die.
The poet is expressing the belief that purity is an illusion and that everything including gold will decay over time. Purity is defined as "the state or condition of being pure." So, purity is an idea that lacks reality or substance. Because gold does not decay over time it is considered pure (or at least a good representation of what is considered pure). However, just like beauty, youth also fades away eventually leaving only memories behind.
This poem can be interpreted in many different ways by different readers. Some may believe the poet is saying that beauty is not durable and cannot be trusted because it will fade away. Others may see this as a warning about the transient nature of life and how one should never trust anything or anyone completely. Still others may see this as a message that there is no such thing as true love and all relationships are meaningless.
Whatever interpretation you give to this poem, it's sure to make you think about what matters most in this world and what doesn't.
When the speaker adds, "Nothing gold can stay," he is referring to the concept that no beauty or joy—in fact, no good thing—can survive forever. More precisely, the poem opens with a contrast of spring buds—"Nature's first green"—and gold. As the poet says later in the line, "Spring brings forth the green and gold." So the implication is that all this beauty will wither away when summer comes around.
The word "nothing" serves as a counterpoint to the word "gold." It makes the statement that even though there is much beauty in the world, it will all be gone one day. This idea is reflected in the words "nought" and "none" which mean "no" and "without."
By saying that nothing gold can stay, the speaker is also saying that human effort and happiness are not permanent. Even if you work hard and succeed in something, it will eventually fade away. For example, if you win the lottery, you will still have money, but it won't last forever. Your new-found wealth will go up in smoke once you spend it all.
The word "instructs" here means education, learning. It can also mean information or data.
Nothing golden can endure. Robert Frost wrote the poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay." The poem's theme is that everything begins young and innocent, but it cannot last. Because there are so many forces in life that might corrupt us, good is "the hardest colour to keep."
Frost was a contemporary of T. S. Eliot, who wrote a famous poem called "The Hollow Men." In that poem, each of the characters is described with the same adjective: "golden-haired." They are all beautiful people living in an ugly world full of violence and corruption. For some reason, Frost felt compelled to write about the same topic several years later. But instead of repeating himself, he created his own style, which is more impressionistic.
There are two lines in the poem that reference gold: "Nothing gold can stay." It is not clear if the poet or someone else said these words. But they seem to fit the theme of the poem perfectly!
Frost was a great poet, and we will study him in greater detail in future lessons. For now, you should learn how to analyze poems using specific techniques such as figurative language, similes, and metaphors.
Have a question about this lesson? Or maybe you have some exciting news about a song that uses the term "gold"? Please comment below or contact me via social media.
To make sense, "Nothing Gold Can Stay" employs imagery from the natural world, such as leaves, flowers, and sunrises. These objects are described as having gold color, but this quality is fleeting because they will eventually wither and die.
In addition to describing people as well-dressed or -undressed, some writers use adjectives to make their poems more vivid. For example, if you were to read a poem about someone who was dressed in black, the writer could use the word "gloomy" to give that person's appearance even more emphasis. An adjective can also be used to describe any part of the poem: "a gloomy day / for walking". Without these words, we might forget how dark it was outside when the man walked home from work.
Another way that some poets make their poems more interesting is to use metaphors. A metaphor is when one thing is compared to another thing that is different but related. In "Nothing Gold Can Stay", the phrase "like gold that gilded lance" uses a metaphor to compare a person with blond hair and blue eyes to a golden spear. Because spears are weapons, this person may feel like she/he is ready to fight.
Copyright © 2020 - 2023 Authors Cast Inc.
