Robert Frost's 'Nothing Gold Can Stay'

One must make the most out of the opportunities given to them, because they won’t last forever. This theme is explored in the poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay”, by Robert Frost, in which he explains nature and uses it as a metaphor for the idea that nothing lasts forever and that things will eventually reduce in value. “Nothing Gold Can Stay” has a clear surface/deep meaning, speaker, structure, and use of poetic devices. This poem has a clear surface and deeper meaning. There is a clear surface meaning of the poem, which is that how nature is always changing and that even if something is beautiful then, it will eventually decrease in value and lose it’s beauty. “Her early leaf’s a flower; But only so an hour,” (Frost 3-4). But if one delves deeper into this poem, there is a deeper meaning that can be found. It is really discussing about how one should make the most out of opportunities and how one should enjoy a something fun while it lasts, because they won’t last long. Clearly, a surface meaning can easily be found in this poem, but a deeper meaning can be interpreted by reading between the lines.

The speaker in the poem is elusive and hard to identify. Frost tries to keep this poem general, so everyone can identify with it and not make the speaker too specific because. He is writing from a third person point of view, which means that in the poem ‘he’ is discussing a topic to the reader. “Her early leaf’s a flower” (Frost 3). The use of the pronoun ‘her’ is another reason why this composition is in the third person. The speaker is making observations about nature and the world in general, but he does so in a wistful and depressed tone. Using this type of speaker and tone, Frost is able to identify with the reader, which allows one to better understand this