Frost's Connection between Nature and Man

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Frost's Connection between Nature and Man

Robert Frost was one of the greatest American poets. He was an observer of nature, and therefore considered to be a "nature poet." Frost once said, "There is almost always a person in my poems." In Frost's poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay," although it seems to be about nature, there is an obvious connection to man. This poem can be interpreted in many ways. In the novel The Outsiders, the poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay" is used to describe a young boys connection to another social status through nature, some critics believe it refers to the loss of childhood as you mature, but it doesn't necessarily have to refer to the loss of childhood, it could be a loss of any kind.

Have you ever gone to summer camp and regretted the moment you had to return home to reality? That is what this poem refers to, any sort of loss that you have no control over. Frost's connection of nature to man's loss is apparent. The flower in the poem describes your want, anything you've ever wanted to last longer than possible. The next line, "But only so an hour" describes the limit or boundary to your desire. An example is the fairy tale of Cinderella and the ball. She danced and wanted to make the night last forever, but at the stroke of midnight all was lost. A reference to the lines, "So dawn goes down today, nothing gold can stay." Frost saw a beauty in nature that he wanted to last, that also connected to the beauty of desire that is often uncontrollable.

Opinions don't always coincide, especially when discussing poetry. This is so usually between critics and readers. A notable critic on Frost's work is John F. Lynen, who wrote the book The Pastoral Art of Robert Frost. Lynen states, "Frost sees in nature a symbol of mans relation to the world. This contrast between man and nature, is the central theme in Frost's nature poetry" (145-6).

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