Robert Frost poem?

Question

Nothing Gold Can Stay

Nature's first green is gold
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

whats the meaning of this poem?
i have slight clue, but im still a little confused.

i was thinking that.
thanks :)

Answer 1

From what I can see, nothing can stay the way that we want it to be. Think about the "greeness" of the earth when the earth when spring comes around. The "goldness" of that color doesn't stay here in New England because we have changes of seasons. The "greeness" dies off when we get into autumn and fall.

As for the leaves, I can see Frost talking about the changes in the seasons, also. He looks at the leaves as flowers, but even flowers cannot stay in New England because of the change of seasons. Things live and die, and that is life.

He talks about the loss of the Garden of Eden in the line "So Eden sank to grief" (line 6). Adam and Even couldn't stay in Eden when they ate the apple, and Eden was considered to be paradise, where everything is perfect. Adam and Eve changed that when the apple was eaten, and therefore was thrown out of paradise. Even that didn't stay gold for long.

"So dawn goes down to day" (line 7) is the ending of another day that Frost sees. The day begins and stays gold when it is here, then loses it's gold tone when it is gone.

Overall, the idea of the poem is that nothing that you could want stays the way you want it to be. Think about life. Is there anytime in which you were a part of something and said, "I wish that I could keep things this way forever?"

Answer 2

The meaning of the poem is in the title. Nothing gold can stay. Nothing good lasts forever.
To all good things, there comes an end.

Answer 3

The leaves turn from green to gold then fall off the tree. Nothing good lasts forever.

Answer 4

It means that nothing perfect or good can last forever.