The Triumvirate welcomes you!
"The term triumvirate (from Latin, "of three men") is commonly used to describe a political regime dominated by three powerful individuals" (Wiki).
1. Homework: (a) Read chapter 11 (b) Read "Snowstorm" by Ralph Waldo Emerson. Using a printed copy, mark all the sound devices you find. If you have misplaced your copy, you can find one online.
2. Engage in a blog discussion of "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frost. Focus on how Frost uses sound to enhance meaning.
When I first encountered this poem I was reading “The Outsiders” in seventh grade language arts class. At the time, neither the story nor poem in itself held much being or had much worth in my life. However, I think it’s one of those things that once you revisit it at a later point in your life, after childhood stories have turned into experience, which becomes clearer each and every day. With that said the meaning of Robert Frost’s “Nothing Gold Can Stay” is how the innocence and beauty existing in the world are temporary and will not last for an eternity, just how “Eden sank to grief.”
Expanding further on that, I also believe one can dig deeper into the poem and reveal that another aspect that makes things in life precious and full of worth is the fact that all things are impermanent. After understanding this, I believe Frost is trying to tell his reader that one can only realize what makes the good things in your life good ones after understanding that everything is temporary.
The first thing I noticed the first time through to poem was the consonance sound to the lines “Nature’s first green is gold, / Her hardest hue to hold.” Her, hardest and hold all have a similar consonant sounds to them as well as green and gold. Green and gold also serve as a paradox, one a color of growth and beginnings (green) and the other something of greater value (gold). Many of the other lines also create more paradoxes (leaf and flower, Eden and grief).
Robert Frost say's "Nature's first green is gold" and by that, he's saying that the color green is the beginning of spring. When flowers start to bloom and trees begin to grow leaves again. The color green I feel like, also represents life--a rebirth. Therefore Nature's FIRST green, or sight of life, is the new vegetation. I also thought of Adam and Eve, the beginning, the creation. Because he says "Eden sank to grief." The garden of Eden was where Adam and Eve were placed and it was where all of creation took place. I think the "sank to grief" is the fall of mankind when Eve was tempted and ate from the Tree she wasn't supposed too. So with the reference to Eden, the idea of new life is also there. But then the "grief" is that things will come to an end. Everything is transient. I feel like Frost wrote this poem about the cycle of life. He starts with the "first green", then the "leaf" becomes a "flower" and then the "leaf subsides to leaf". Then "grief", then "dawn goes day". I feel like he's saying that things change and life goes on. There is always going to be a cycle and things that are once beautiful, will fade away. Because "nothing gold can stay".
I'm not sure what Frost is saying though, when he says the "green is gold."
It also seems paradoxical--"green is gold" and "leaf's a flower"--how is that possible?
He definitely uses a lot of musical devices, mainly alliteration: "her hardest hue to hold", "down to day", and "green is gold". There is a rhyme scheme, every two lines rhyme. In the line "leaf's a flower" the "f" sound is there. I'm not sure if that's a specific one because in leaf, it's at the end, while in flower, it's the beginning.
alliteration: (h sound) her, hardest, hue, hold, her
consonance: repetition of "r," "s," and "t" sounds
assonance: repetition of "o" (oh) only, so, gold, hold, so, so, goes, to, gold.
and repetition of "e" (ee): green, early, only, leaf, grief, eden
The use of repetition helps structure the poem and connect key words like grief, green, and gold... hard, hue, hold... dawn, down, day. These groups of words all develop and highlight the theme.
The alliteration in line 2 causes you to stop and focus on that phrase: "Her hardest hue to hold." It helps introduce the idea of transience or temporariness, which is the theme that the poem addresses.
I think by "early leaf's a flower," he means that the beginning is beautiful. When I imagine a plant first sprouting up, I imagine the small leaves that appear before anything blooms (early leaf.)
"But only so an hour" shows the brevity of this beauty.
"First green is gold"--- the beginning of everything (life, love) is always beautiful and seems perfect and valuable like gold. Yet it is a hard "hue to hold" because once innocence and naivete is lost, "Eden" (the beginning, perfection) "[sinks] to grief."
I didn't realize it and initially saw this as an entirely pessimistic poem, but I agree with Michelle and Lauren about the idea of rebirth or starting new. In the end, when "dawn goes down to day," I get the idea that something more realistic and meaningful is beginning.
Rhyme scheme: AABBCCDD. Alliteration: "Her hardest hue to hold." "So dawn goes down to day."
Something I found unique with this poem is that the title is not the first line of this poem. Rather, it is the last line of the poem. The first line in the poem describes the spring season. The green means the new leaves that are growing. The flower that blooms ends up not lasting long because Frost writes, "But only so an hour." In the last few lines Frost explains how these changes happened. This is where I get confused a bit, "So Eden sank to grief." This probably has some biblical connection, but I'm not too sure. Overall, there is a lot of alliteration and Frost also employs a simple rhyme scheme.
The title of this poem encompasses its main theme, that nothing good or beautiful in life lasts. The focus on nature embodies that view on beauty and organic things. When I first read this poem out loud, I read it at a very slow pace. I didn't even notice how slowly I was reading. I was making sure to capture each sound as Frost intended it to sound, and I realized that the way that the poem is written makes it necessary to read it slow to fully understand it. And I think that Frost purposely uses alliteration, assonance, and consonance to slow the reader down.
The poem starts off with a paradox. The idea of green being gold does not make sense, but the word "green" has a different connotation. Some people refer to plants and trees as green so nature's first plant or tree is gold. Frost is probably noting some tree that blossoms golden leaves rather than green ones. Or he could be referring to the turn of the leaves' color from green to gold in the progression of autumn. In any case, the greenness, as pointed out before, represents some kind of birth or renewal. Gold is pointed out as being "her hardest hue to hold" indicating that gold, or beauty/worthiness is something that is temporary and hard to hold onto for a long time. This idea of transience continues as the leaf is a flower, but only for an hour. This means that the leaf appears to be beautiful and delicate as a flower, but only in the beginning. It's like the feeling when you're experiencing something new, the thrill that accompanies it makes it feel exciting and beautiful. However, the leaf turns into an leaf eventually. The last three lines start out with a biblical allusion to the Garden of Eden. The fall of a leave is compared to the fall of mankind, as through the actions of Adam and Eve. "So dawn goes down to day / Nothing gold can stay". The inevitability of brevity is like the progression of dawn to day; it's a natural occurrence.
"Nothing Gold Can Stay" uses the sound in every line to enhance the beauty of what nature and innocence was. The sounds that the person makes when reading it outloud is very pleasing to be heard, I guess people just like to hear the same sound repeated.
The first line starts off with the repeating of the 'g' sound in both 'green' and 'gold'. The second line carries into the third line with the 'h' sound from 'her' 'hardest' 'hue' 'hold' and 'her (again). The end rhyme at the end of the two is there between 'gold' and 'hold'.
The thrid line, there is two repeated sounds. The 'l' sound from 'early' and 'leaf's', and the forth's line 'only'. The 'f' sound from the 'leaf's' and 'flower' is there too. Then at the end of those two lines in an end-rhyme of 'flower' and 'hour'.
There are other end rhymes, where 'day' rhymes with 'stay', and 'leaf' rhymes with 'grief'. He then chooses to interconnect these rhymes with other sounds in the lines they are in to sound even more pleaseing to the ears and mind, like how there are many 'd' sounds in the line that ends with 'day'.
Alright, so literally he is talking about nature -- typical Frost :)
The rhyme scheme is AABBCCDD (coupled end rhymes). The repetition of the ‘h’ sounds in line 2 are very “soft” when spoken, as opposed to the hard ‘g’ sounds in line 1. The differing sounds provide an interesting contrast. Alliteration is also abundant in this poem: “Green is Gold” (1) “Her Hardest Hue to Hold” (2, major alliteration) and, “so Dawn goes Down to Day” (7).
The “first green” could be referring to the first morning after a long night, when nature’s greenish colors begin to break through the dim darkness of night. And the gold --not a metallic object, but a color-- being the steadily rising sun that engulfs the land. That first light, especially in the morning, is different from regular daylight; it’s richer, more vibrant, and in some places, absolutely blinding…
But I think what Frost is describing is the beginning of Spring -- the season of life and rebirth.
In spring, life begins again, which really is the “hardest hue to hold.” Everything dies eventually, and while they are journeying through life inevitably experience grief and sadness. In the beginning, the “leaf’s a flower,” but not for very long. As it becomes weathered by time and beaten down by the struggles accompanied by life, it really is just a leaf.
I think Frost is saying that even though life provides us with golden moments, those moments can only flourish, or stay in bloom like nature in spring, for so long. It is human nature to grieve, even for the most “put together” people. Frost supports this notion by saying a nearly-perfect place, Eden, “sank to grief.”
I like what Grace said about the “inevitability of brevity.” The glory we experience in the morning, or “dawn” (beginning of life) can only be so rich. And can only last so long before fading into “lusterless” daylight.
Thanks, Sharon and everybody for all the analysis... I don't know if I can spot other sound devices.
I think in the first two lines, Frost is saying that new things in general are precious and beautiful, but are only worth a great deal in the beginning when they are new. I believe he could be talking about anything, here. I specifically thought of relationships, depressingly enough. Not a good one. I agree with Michelle about the biblical allusion to Adam and Eve and the idea of creation being weaved in. "Eden [sinking] to grief" could be the loss of naivety, like Sharon, I think, said. Once a child grows old and begins to experience things it has previously been sheltered from or when a relationship progresses and all innocence is taken or when, in nature, a flower begins to brown, having taken all that it can from its surroundings. All of these changes cause these things to be less meaningful.
Going off of what Megan said, I think you guys nailed all of the sound devices.
A lot of times green is used to describe someone new and inexperienced. In the pioneer days a greenhorn was someone traveling west for the first time. I think in this case the alliteration of "green" and "gold" refers to the idea that something is much more exciting when it's new, but overtime we adapt to something and it loses it's luster. Everyone is excited when things begin growing again at the start of spring, but but by late May and early June people just complain about the heat and how they're allergic to pollen.
Going off what Sharon said, the alliteration of "hard" "hue" and "hold" links together the idea that no matter how hard we try to cling to the new, fresh ideas, they will eventually melt away.
Another interesting thing I realized is that unlike many other poems, Frost is not mourning or lamenting the loss of these new ideas. The title of the poem is "Nothing Gold Can Stay". I think emphasis should be placed on the word "can" meaning that it's merely a fact of life, not a human flaw. Scientifically, it's also how we're engineered to function. Sensory adaptation means that after repeated exposure to a stimulus, our response weakens. We naturally gravitate away from things we've already seen or experienced towards new things.
Robert Frost's poem has a simple rhyme scheme such as AABBCCDD, which some of you have mentioned. Also, each line contains literary allusion such as g sounds (green, gold) in the first line, h's in (her, hardest, hue, hold) and d's in the last line (dawn, down, day).
Green is the first mark of spring, the start of "new life". Green is a theory or sign of spring; gold is the fact. Gold, precious and permanent as a metal, is here not considered as a metal but as a color. Its hue is described as hard to hold, such as wealth itself.
I also thought, the line "so Eden sank to grief" was interesting because I wasn't sure if Frost meant that paradise can't last or that as time goes on we are too caught up in our own lives to appreciate nature?
Words are our interpretation of Nature. Poems are at the foremost frontiers of the written and spoken sharing of thoughts' universe. Why don't we create words anymore?
Nonetheless, Mr. Frost's eight line poem reflects the patterns one finds in nature. Although words can barely convey meaning on their lonesome, Frosts words share some sounds; alliteration is used in the first "green..gold" and "Her hardest hue...hold" as well as "dawn... down to-day" to spice and invigorate readers senses artificially as the picture the images of flowering buds in spring.
Frost builds the poem rather fluidly and manages to give us sensational readers a little tingle in our eardrums with the Iambic Trimeter and rhyme scheme. It sounds like music as do the seasons. We use words to describe Nature's music and Mr. Frost eloquently devises his words with an unmatched consonance so as to convey Nature's concept that "Nothing Gold Can Stay".
The first half of the poem is more hopeful sounding than the second half. "Nature's first green is gold" is followed up with an inevitable statement. This type of phrasing is used for the rest of the poem and it makes the poem sound a bit pessimistic. James talked about how the "can" made the tone more accepting towards these unavoidable happenings. I noticed that Frost used the word "to" a lot in this poem. I think what he is trying to show is that there is always going to be a next step, even if its going to be less enjoyable than the one before and that we should accept that.
The sounds he uses create a mood, familiar and almost monotonous. When I read it it seemed very simple, but then reading it again I paid more attention to the words and found that the message was different than I thought. I think the sound repitition actually draws attention to the words and the meaning, because they are more interesting than the poem appears to be.
I think everyone has already tackled the sounds of the poem pretty well.
I think that Frost is trying to say that nothing in life is permanent. Just like "Eden sank to grief" nothing that is beautiful can last forever. Life does not only have beautiful things but also has grief and hardship.
But I also think that because beautiful things are coupled with grief, you appreciate something that is beautiful more. If someone only experienced things that were beautiful and gold through out their life, they would not appreciate the value of what they have.
Elizabeth (Holland!!)~ I believe Robert was alluding to when the forbidden fruit was taken off the tree that caused "Eden to sink to grief". Even though Eden, this beautiful place of no suffering, is lost the gold will live on because it is metal and metal won't shrivel up and die like the plants lost in Eden. This lead me up to the use of the "g" sounds of green, gold, and grief. As though the are connected. Meaning that the green plants of Eden were like gold but they were lost so we grieve but gold is left behind...I don't know really. I just made that up.
gold=hold flower=hour leaf=grief stay=day ~ Just rhyming words I thought fit to put down.
*So when are we going to read an Alice in Wonderland poem?
The first thing I noticed was the rhymes and how it was formatted, AABBCCDD. In the first two lines, the words become a bit smoother with the repetition of the 'h' sounds. The tone I get from the poem sounds soft and hopeful in the sense of a fresh start. Like he says, "Her early leaf's a flower" meaning a new beggining to life, but right after, Frost explains it only last for "an hour." I think the main message to this poem that Frost is trying to point out is, that although life is filled with golden moments, ones that are cherished and remembered, it doesn't last forever, or can last forever. "Her early leaf's a flower; but only so an hour...so dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay." I believe that dawn is represented as spring/summer coming to end, and that all the sunshine and joy that comes from the seasons, must end and will end eventually.
The most noticable use of sound in this poem is the perfect masculine rhyming scheme, with the end of each line rhyming (gold:hold, flower:hour, leaf:grief, day:stay.) This rhyming scheme helps to organize the poem into four ideas, each with a different rhyme. This makes the poem easier to understand and break down, thus enhancing meaning. Aside from the rhyming, the rhythm is very consistent and makes the poem very flowing. I counted six distinct syllables per line, but I took some liberty here (I counted flower as one syllable, because rythmicly, it sounds like one sound.) Every line had six, except the last line, which only had five. By ending the poem with a five syllable ending, Frost created a powerful feel to the last words, setting them apart from the rest of the poem. Not to mention the fact that this line, "nothing gold can stay" is also the title, creating a sort of symmetry to the poem. Just to throw something else out there, the rhyming scheme and rhythm almost give the poem an organization similair to an essay. The rhyming sets out distinct ideas, like paragraphs or arguments, while the rhythmic quality of the title and last line give the poem an intro and conclusion. In a way, this enhances his meaning because rather than just being a whimsical observation, his idea that everything beautiful is fleeting, seems well supported.
I had to read lines 3 and 5 a few times to understand their meanings. I think Michelle mentioned something about the paradox in line 3?
Here's my take: "Her early leaf's a flower" is saying that the first leaf of spring is like a flower. Even though a leaf is boring and simple compared with the intricate design and colors of flowers, the fact that it is the first one makes it a flower. The beginning is always colorful and beautiful (James touched on this with the sensory adaptation) The "leaf subsides to leaf" line is saying that what was once interesting now is plain. The leaf that had all of the excitement of a blushing tulip is now the average leaf.
I like this poem. It wasn't mourning the fact that everything passes and everything loses the excitement it once had. Things just 'are'. I don't know how to describe the feeling..calming?
One thing to notice about the poem is that every line is six syllables, plus or minus one. The exceptions to the six syllable trend are lines 3 and 8. Line 3 seems to feed into the rest of the poem, but line 8, "Nothing gold can stay," is certainly important to the poem. Perhaps Frost used number of syllables in a line to accentuate certain key messages to his poem. Or maybe I'm looking far too into this.
This poem uses the AABBCCDD rhyme scheme, as others have pointed out. It also utilizes assonance, alliteration and consonance. (i wont point those out because Sharon explained those very well). All the musical devices makes the lines fluid. However the whole poem does not flow, but has moments of pauses when going from AA-B and ect. It might just be the way I'm reading it, so I could be wrong.
The poem starts of with "Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold". I think he is saying that the first green signifying the return of spring is precious. However, it cannot hold its precious nature for very long. "Her early leaf's a flower, But only so an hour". Again, Frost is reinforcing the first two lines of the poem by saying the first leaf is beautiful like a flower, but only for a moment. The next two lines "Then leaf subsides to leaf, So eden sank to grief" is saying how everything that was once special become normal. In the second to the last line, i think, Frost is saying that we always move on like "dawn goes down to day". The final line sums up the main idea of the poem, that nothing "gold" can last. I think we can all relate to this poem pretty well.
Well, I'm going to not repeat what everyone has already said. What stood out to me the most was the alliteration. The repetition of the consonant sounds "g", "d",and "h" add a extra punch to the words and emphasizes them more. In this way, the alliteration helps convey the message by emphasizing specific words. Using alliteration and rhyme also enhances meaning by grabbing readers attention. Another thing that makes the poem especially well written and captivating is that it uses iambic pentameter (or trochaic?), which makes the poem very musical. The iambic pentameter also creates a sad and serious tone, which also helps convey the message. I also noticed that the poem uses anaphoras by repeating "So" and "Her".
Okay, is it possible to say anything different than has already been said? First off, I noticed it has a very simple rhyme scheme: AABBCCDD. There's a repetition of the word her in the second and third lines, repetition of the word leaf in the fifth line, and repetition of the word so in the sixth and seventh lines.
There's alliteration that can be seen in "g's" the "h's" and the "d's" of the poem. In his poem, frost of course talks about nature. I think he is saying that things that are good never last, and that they are "golden." It represents general hardship in life saying that things don't last--"nothing gold can stay." Things that are good are always the hardest to maintain because it requires a certain maintenance that is strenuous--"Her hardest hue to hold." Overall, the poem is striking even though the length is so limited. His use of alliteration and repetition make the poem effective and easier to read, thus, easier to remember and connect to.
The most obvious musical pattern in this poem lies in its end rhymes, (consists of a AABBCCDD pattern) where “gold” to “hold, “flower” to “hour”, “leaf” to “grief”, and “day” to “stay”. With in those end rhymes those words also includes assonance, for example the vowel “o” is present between “gold” and “hold”, while the vowel “e” can be heard in “leaf” and “grief”. The entire line 2, “Her hardest hue to hold,” consists of alliteration with the repeated initial consonant sound of “H”. Using the end rhymes in this poem draws readers’ attention to the last line of the poem; and by ordering the last line of this poem to be the same as the title puts furthermore emphasis on the meaning of this poem.
You can all thank my Lacrosse coaches for running practice until 10:15 tonight...
Well, everyone has hit the topic of the different types of rhyming square on the head. For myself, the most powerful lines were the first two and the last two.
The first two lines alliterate both the 'g' and 'h' sounds. If you say all of the alliteration in the first lines, you will realize that both 'g' and 'h' are rather throat-involved sounds. I found these two lines very easy to say and it seems like the way I would have tried to say it. These sounds with the simple AABBCCDD rhyme scheme make the poem kind of fun and whimisical, yet at the same time serious and down to eart.
The last two lines sum up everything said in a very concise sentence. "So dawn goes down to day./ Nothing gold can stay". Everything gives way to something else more grand and beautiful.
I feel the need to chime in with my biblical thought process here. The concept of Eden was not one involving creation in any way shape or form. It is believed that while Adam and Eve were in the garden, no creation took place. Cain and Abel (spelling?) were their children who sadly did not get along. However, Eve could not bear children (therefore, pro- CREATE) until after the fall. The way I saw the allusion to Eden playing into the poem was as follows.
Eden was deemed perfect from the start. Everything lasted for eternity. Adam nor Eve could perish in The Garden of Eden. However, after a time this perfection became mundane, as many of you have stated. This boring perfection gave way to a new form of splendor, creation. When Adam fell, creation could now occur. Who can argue that there is anything more wonderful than seeing the creation of something new, be it a child or something else?
When "Eden sank to grief" it was simply falling to a state of imperfection and mortality. Exaltation and immortality are joy, whilst mortality is grief.
This is my view on the Bible's story at least...maybe I am off by the rest of your standards. I am just trying to clarify the poem in some way, shape, or form.
Robert Frost uses the first four lines to portray how beautiful and good things don't tend to last for very long. The beautiful first colors of spring and the early leaves occur, yet soon after they do they are gone. I think that the reference to Eden had to do with how the garden of Eden was so perfect and beautiful for a short period of time. Soon after it was created, it was not perfect anymore after eve and Adam messed up. Their perfect garden ceased to be perfect, just like the colors and leaf that frost describes. Frost is trying to say that because things go so fast, we have to appreciate them even more. We have to realize what is so beautiful that we have and cherish it because it may not be there forever or could possibly leave soon.
This poems simplicity and directness makes it very effective. The rhyming scheme gives the poem somewhat of an elementary feel to it while the content gives it the wholesomeness of a universal truth.
Nature's rhymes with Her and Then rhymes with Eden. I don't think anyone commented on this rhyming scheme but if they already did I apologize.
The first line is paradoxical because it seems impossible for something to be green and gold at the same time but gold is obviously used to mean perfect or something like that.
Robert Frost is famous for writing poems about nature that have dual meanings. They have very beautiful literal meanings and they also have deep metaphors that use a lot of symbolism to achieve dual interpretation. This poem is talking literally about both dawn and spring. The first greens of the day are tinted gold by the rising sun but at the same time they are as beautiful as gold. This effect is enough to make a leaf as beautiful as a flower. It is hard to hold this hue because dawn only lasts an hour. But then a leaf becomes just a leaf again. Just like Eden went from perfection to grief, or the life we have now, and dawn goes from perfection down to being a day because nothing gold can stay. Symbolically I think this poem is talking about childhood. When one is a kid everything is perfect, but as one grows up things stop being tinged with gold. One bites from the forbidden apple and things change from the perfection of dawn to the hustle and bustle of day. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing though. Everyone has already analyzed the sounds so I won't bother to copy and paste what they noticed about his alliteration, consonance, assonance and rhyme scheme. But I will say that he uses his rhyme scheme and alliteration to make this short poem even tighter and faster. When he connects the lines with end rhymes, it makes the space in between the ends on the lines shorter. Alliteration also speeds up the rate at which I read a line. "Her hardest hue to hold." and "So dawn goes down to day" fly through my mouth with their like sounds. This also happens with the consonance of "early leaf." It is also interesting that he went with syllable length of lines in the pattern (66776665) the only line that doesn't fit is the last one, giving it further emphasis.
To truly understand and study how Robert Frost uses sound to portray and enhance the meaning of his poem, "Nothing Gold Can Stay," we must first come to a conclusion as to the overall meaning of the poem. This fundamental aspect of interpreting how he uses sound has caused me the most grief. Robert Frost describes nature in a most beautiful of ways. He tells of the beauty and gold tones of the start of fall, and continues to say how, like many other things in life, this beauty cannot last. Although it will be replaced with something beautiful in its own respect, it is different. To help the reader feel this even more, Frost uses a strong sense of sound. Along with the basic rhyming scheme others mentioned, Frost encorporates an amount of alliteration. This alliteration is primarily used in the first three lines of the poem, which set the theme in motion. The alliteration is blended into the rhyme, which carries the poem 5 more lines to its finish.
I think to answer the question the sound and rhyme in the poem show distinct changes because the rhyme pattern is so clearly defined. This is consistent with the poem's perspectives regarding things changing. The clear transitions in rhyme mirror those in nature. The end of one thing is the start of another. The balance between beginning and end (this pair) is also reflected in the AA, BB, CC, DD style of the scheme and the poem's sounds.
A perspective which I think is interesting is the Frost might be pointing to the ephemeral nature of certain things as being the basis for their value. "Nothing Gold Can Stay" => "Nothing that can stay is gold"
This is the most concentrated poem I have read thus far. In eight lines, Frost manages to include enormous meaning. I think Frost managed to do this by conveying his poem through a sort of dualism between meaning and effect. At one level, the poem tended to emphasize the brilliance and beauty of nature's fleeting phenomenon, but at another level the poem describes a sense of birth through death. By describing the beauty of the first leaf and other beauties in nature, as well as their distinct ephemeral nature, Frost only conveys the positive side of these events. But Frost also shows how these events are marked by what can almost be described as melancholy: how the early leaf subsides, turning from pretty to the mundane leaf, how "Eden sank to grief", and most interestingly, how "dawn goes down to day" (rather than logically rising to day).
In respect to how sound enhances meaning, most of the posts above me have already covered most of it. I'm not sure if anyone brought this up, but I noticed a degree of symmetry in the assonance and alliteration in the poem. The first line alliterated Green is Gold (G G), the second line alliterated (H H H), the third line alliterated (L L), the fourth line assonated (O O O). This marked a 2,3,2,3, pattern in assonance and alliteration. There was also congruity in the poem dealing with syllables. Each and every line had 6 syllables.
Its late, and I'm not sure what the boundary between analysis, and over analysis is, so I tried to refrain from coming up with egregious conclusions about the poem.
This poem has meaning to me because with along with being a great poem to read it also reminds o many far more important works, in an unintentional move. It is a humbling poem.
Frost really explains these changes so well, consider them little or big but from Eden falling into grief or the flower growing then dying you can tell that Frost has a significantly different perspective on life than most people. That was most enjoyable about this poem for me.
I also noticed the AABBCCDD pattern and I think that it makes the poem more like a nursery rhyme and Frost also uses assonance (gOld & hOld, flOWer & hOur, lEAf & grIEf, dAY & stAY) in combination with the rhymes at the end of each line.
Also, there is alliteration littered throughout the poem. "Her hardest hue to hold" (2) "So dawn does down to day" (7).
Consonance is used throughout with the repetition of "r, s, and t" sounds.
I think that the repetition helps to connect the words in the poem that frame the theme. It might be Frost's way to point those words out.
34 comments:
When I first encountered this poem I was reading “The Outsiders” in seventh grade language arts class. At the time, neither the story nor poem in itself held much being or had much worth in my life. However, I think it’s one of those things that once you revisit it at a later point in your life, after childhood stories have turned into experience, which becomes clearer each and every day. With that said the meaning of Robert Frost’s “Nothing Gold Can Stay” is how the innocence and beauty existing in the world are temporary and will not last for an eternity, just how “Eden sank to grief.”
Expanding further on that, I also believe one can dig deeper into the poem and reveal that another aspect that makes things in life precious and full of worth is the fact that all things are impermanent. After understanding this, I believe Frost is trying to tell his reader that one can only realize what makes the good things in your life good ones after understanding that everything is temporary.
The first thing I noticed the first time through to poem was the consonance sound to the lines “Nature’s first green is gold, / Her hardest hue to hold.” Her, hardest and hold all have a similar consonant sounds to them as well as green and gold. Green and gold also serve as a paradox, one a color of growth and beginnings (green) and the other something of greater value (gold). Many of the other lines also create more paradoxes (leaf and flower, Eden and grief).
Robert Frost say's "Nature's first green is gold" and by that, he's saying that the color green is the beginning of spring. When flowers start to bloom and trees begin to grow leaves again. The color green I feel like, also represents life--a rebirth. Therefore Nature's FIRST green, or sight of life, is the new vegetation. I also thought of Adam and Eve, the beginning, the creation. Because he says "Eden sank to grief." The garden of Eden was where Adam and Eve were placed and it was where all of creation took place. I think the "sank to grief" is the fall of mankind when Eve was tempted and ate from the Tree she wasn't supposed too. So with the reference to Eden, the idea of new life is also there. But then the "grief" is that things will come to an end. Everything is transient. I feel like Frost wrote this poem about the cycle of life. He starts with the "first green", then the "leaf" becomes a "flower" and then the "leaf subsides to leaf". Then "grief", then "dawn goes day". I feel like he's saying that things change and life goes on. There is always going to be a cycle and things that are once beautiful, will fade away. Because "nothing gold can stay".
I'm not sure what Frost is saying though, when he says the "green is gold."
It also seems paradoxical--"green is gold" and "leaf's a flower"--how is that possible?
He definitely uses a lot of musical devices, mainly alliteration: "her hardest hue to hold", "down to day", and "green is gold". There is a rhyme scheme, every two lines rhyme. In the line "leaf's a flower" the "f" sound is there. I'm not sure if that's a specific one because in leaf, it's at the end, while in flower, it's the beginning.
Frost uses end rhyme (aabbccdd) and within that, he uses assonance and consonance-
assonance: (gold, hold. flower, hour. leaf, grief. clay, stay.)
consonance: gold, hold.
flower, hour.
leaf, grief.
clay, stay
--
alliteration: (h sound) her, hardest, hue, hold, her
consonance: repetition of "r," "s," and "t" sounds
assonance: repetition of "o" (oh)
only, so, gold, hold, so, so, goes, to, gold.
and repetition of "e" (ee): green, early, only, leaf, grief, eden
The use of repetition helps structure the poem and connect key words like grief, green, and gold... hard, hue, hold... dawn, down, day. These groups of words all develop and highlight the theme.
The alliteration in line 2 causes you to stop and focus on that phrase: "Her hardest hue to hold." It helps introduce the idea of transience or temporariness, which is the theme that the poem addresses.
I think by "early leaf's a flower," he means that the beginning is beautiful. When I imagine a plant first sprouting up, I imagine the small leaves that appear before anything blooms (early leaf.)
"But only so an hour" shows the brevity of this beauty.
"First green is gold"--- the beginning of everything (life, love) is always beautiful and seems perfect and valuable like gold. Yet it is a hard "hue to hold" because once innocence and naivete is lost, "Eden" (the beginning, perfection) "[sinks] to grief."
I didn't realize it and initially saw this as an entirely pessimistic poem, but I agree with Michelle and Lauren about the idea of rebirth or starting new. In the end, when "dawn goes down to day," I get the idea that something more realistic and meaningful is beginning.
Rhyme scheme: AABBCCDD.
Alliteration: "Her hardest hue to hold." "So dawn goes down to day."
Something I found unique with this poem is that the title is not the first line of this poem. Rather, it is the last line of the poem. The first line in the poem describes the spring season. The green means the new leaves that are growing. The flower that blooms ends up not lasting long because Frost writes, "But only so an hour." In the last few lines Frost explains how these changes happened. This is where I get confused a bit, "So Eden sank to grief." This probably has some biblical connection, but I'm not too sure. Overall, there is a lot of alliteration and Frost also employs a simple rhyme scheme.
The title of this poem encompasses its main theme, that nothing good or beautiful in life lasts. The focus on nature embodies that view on beauty and organic things. When I first read this poem out loud, I read it at a very slow pace. I didn't even notice how slowly I was reading. I was making sure to capture each sound as Frost intended it to sound, and I realized that the way that the poem is written makes it necessary to read it slow to fully understand it. And I think that Frost purposely uses alliteration, assonance, and consonance to slow the reader down.
The poem starts off with a paradox. The idea of green being gold does not make sense, but the word "green" has a different connotation. Some people refer to plants and trees as green so nature's first plant or tree is gold. Frost is probably noting some tree that blossoms golden leaves rather than green ones. Or he could be referring to the turn of the leaves' color from green to gold in the progression of autumn. In any case, the greenness, as pointed out before, represents some kind of birth or renewal. Gold is pointed out as being "her hardest hue to hold" indicating that gold, or beauty/worthiness is something that is temporary and hard to hold onto for a long time. This idea of transience continues as the leaf is a flower, but only for an hour. This means that the leaf appears to be beautiful and delicate as a flower, but only in the beginning. It's like the feeling when you're experiencing something new, the thrill that accompanies it makes it feel exciting and beautiful. However, the leaf turns into an leaf eventually. The last three lines start out with a biblical allusion to the Garden of Eden. The fall of a leave is compared to the fall of mankind, as through the actions of Adam and Eve. "So dawn goes down to day / Nothing gold can stay". The inevitability of brevity is like the progression of dawn to day; it's a natural occurrence.
"Nothing Gold Can Stay" uses the sound in every line to enhance the beauty of what nature and innocence was. The sounds that the person makes when reading it outloud is very pleasing to be heard, I guess people just like to hear the same sound repeated.
The first line starts off with the repeating of the 'g' sound in both 'green' and 'gold'. The second line carries into the third line with the 'h' sound from 'her' 'hardest' 'hue' 'hold' and 'her (again). The end rhyme at the end of the two is there between 'gold' and 'hold'.
The thrid line, there is two repeated sounds. The 'l' sound from 'early' and 'leaf's', and the forth's line 'only'. The 'f' sound from the 'leaf's' and 'flower' is there too. Then at the end of those two lines in an end-rhyme of 'flower' and 'hour'.
There are other end rhymes, where 'day' rhymes with 'stay', and 'leaf' rhymes with 'grief'. He then chooses to interconnect these rhymes with other sounds in the lines they are in to sound even more pleaseing to the ears and mind, like how there are many 'd' sounds in the line that ends with 'day'.
HI--
Alright, so literally he is talking about nature -- typical Frost :)
The rhyme scheme is AABBCCDD (coupled end rhymes). The repetition of the ‘h’ sounds in line 2 are very “soft” when spoken, as opposed to the hard ‘g’ sounds in line 1. The differing sounds provide an interesting contrast. Alliteration is also abundant in this poem: “Green is Gold” (1) “Her Hardest Hue to Hold” (2, major alliteration) and, “so Dawn goes Down to Day” (7).
The “first green” could be referring to the first morning after a long night, when nature’s greenish colors begin to break through the dim darkness of night. And the gold --not a metallic object, but a color-- being the steadily rising sun that engulfs the land. That first light, especially in the morning, is different from regular daylight; it’s richer, more vibrant, and in some places, absolutely blinding…
But I think what Frost is describing is the beginning of Spring -- the season of life and rebirth.
In spring, life begins again, which really is the “hardest hue to hold.” Everything dies eventually, and while they are journeying through life inevitably experience grief and sadness. In the beginning, the “leaf’s a flower,” but not for very long. As it becomes weathered by time and beaten down by the struggles accompanied by life, it really is just a leaf.
I think Frost is saying that even though life provides us with golden moments, those moments can only flourish, or stay in bloom like nature in spring, for so long. It is human nature to grieve, even for the most “put together” people. Frost supports this notion by saying a nearly-perfect place, Eden, “sank to grief.”
I like what Grace said about the “inevitability of brevity.” The glory we experience in the morning, or “dawn” (beginning of life) can only be so rich. And can only last so long before fading into “lusterless” daylight.
Thanks, Sharon and everybody for all the analysis... I don't know if I can spot other sound devices.
I think in the first two lines, Frost is saying that new things in general are precious and beautiful, but are only worth a great deal in the beginning when they are new. I believe he could be talking about anything, here. I specifically thought of relationships, depressingly enough. Not a good one.
I agree with Michelle about the biblical allusion to Adam and Eve and the idea of creation being weaved in. "Eden [sinking] to grief" could be the loss of naivety, like Sharon, I think, said. Once a child grows old and begins to experience things it has previously been sheltered from or when a relationship progresses and all innocence is taken or when, in nature, a flower begins to brown, having taken all that it can from its surroundings. All of these changes cause these things to be less meaningful.
Nick... well put. :)
Going off of what Megan said, I think you guys nailed all of the sound devices.
A lot of times green is used to describe someone new and inexperienced. In the pioneer days a greenhorn was someone traveling west for the first time. I think in this case the alliteration of "green" and "gold" refers to the idea that something is much more exciting when it's new, but overtime we adapt to something and it loses it's luster. Everyone is excited when things begin growing again at the start of spring, but but by late May and early June people just complain about the heat and how they're allergic to pollen.
Going off what Sharon said, the alliteration of "hard" "hue" and "hold" links together the idea that no matter how hard we try to cling to the new, fresh ideas, they will eventually melt away.
Another interesting thing I realized is that unlike many other poems, Frost is not mourning or lamenting the loss of these new ideas. The title of the poem is "Nothing Gold Can Stay". I think emphasis should be placed on the word "can" meaning that it's merely a fact of life, not a human flaw. Scientifically, it's also how we're engineered to function. Sensory adaptation means that after repeated exposure to a stimulus, our response weakens. We naturally gravitate away from things we've already seen or experienced towards new things.
Robert Frost's poem has a simple rhyme scheme such as AABBCCDD, which some of you have mentioned. Also, each line contains literary allusion such as g sounds (green, gold) in the first line, h's in (her, hardest, hue, hold) and d's in the last line (dawn, down, day).
Green is the first mark of spring, the start of "new life". Green is a theory or sign of spring; gold is the fact. Gold, precious and permanent as a metal, is here not considered as a metal but as a color. Its hue is described as hard to hold, such as wealth itself.
I also thought, the line "so Eden sank to grief" was interesting because I wasn't sure if Frost meant that paradise can't last or that as time goes on we are too caught up in our own lives to appreciate nature?
Words are our interpretation of Nature. Poems are at the foremost frontiers of the written and spoken sharing of thoughts' universe. Why don't we create words anymore?
Nonetheless, Mr. Frost's eight line poem reflects the patterns one finds in nature. Although words can barely convey meaning on their lonesome, Frosts words share some sounds; alliteration is used in the first "green..gold" and "Her hardest hue...hold" as well as "dawn... down to-day" to spice and invigorate readers senses artificially as the picture the images of flowering buds in spring.
Frost builds the poem rather fluidly and manages to give us sensational readers a little tingle in our eardrums with the Iambic Trimeter and rhyme scheme. It sounds like music as do the seasons. We use words to describe Nature's music and Mr. Frost eloquently devises his words with an unmatched consonance so as to convey Nature's concept that "Nothing Gold Can Stay".
The first half of the poem is more hopeful sounding than the second half. "Nature's first green is gold" is followed up with an inevitable statement. This type of phrasing is used for the rest of the poem and it makes the poem sound a bit pessimistic. James talked about how the "can" made the tone more accepting towards these unavoidable happenings. I noticed that Frost used the word "to" a lot in this poem. I think what he is trying to show is that there is always going to be a next step, even if its going to be less enjoyable than the one before and that we should accept that.
The sounds he uses create a mood, familiar and almost monotonous. When I read it it seemed very simple, but then reading it again I paid more attention to the words and found that the message was different than I thought. I think the sound repitition actually draws attention to the words and the meaning, because they are more interesting than the poem appears to be.
I think everyone has already tackled the sounds of the poem pretty well.
I think that Frost is trying to say that nothing in life is permanent. Just like "Eden sank to grief" nothing that is beautiful can last forever. Life does not only have beautiful things but also has grief and hardship.
But I also think that because beautiful things are coupled with grief, you appreciate something that is beautiful more. If someone only experienced things that were beautiful and gold through out their life, they would not appreciate the value of what they have.
Elizabeth (Holland!!)~ I believe Robert was alluding to when the forbidden fruit was taken off the tree that caused "Eden to sink to grief".
Even though Eden, this beautiful place of no suffering, is lost the gold will live on because it is metal and metal won't shrivel up and die like the plants lost in Eden. This lead me up to the use of the "g" sounds of green, gold, and grief. As though the are connected. Meaning that the green plants of Eden were like gold but they were lost so we grieve but gold is left behind...I don't know really. I just made that up.
gold=hold flower=hour leaf=grief stay=day
~ Just rhyming words I thought fit to put down.
*So when are we going to read an Alice in Wonderland poem?
The first thing I noticed was the rhymes and how it was formatted, AABBCCDD. In the first two lines, the words become a bit smoother with the repetition of the 'h' sounds.
The tone I get from the poem sounds soft and hopeful in the sense of a fresh start. Like he says, "Her early leaf's a flower" meaning a new beggining to life, but right after, Frost explains it only last for
"an hour."
I think the main message to this poem that Frost is trying to point out is, that although life is filled with golden moments, ones that are cherished and remembered, it doesn't last forever, or can last forever.
"Her early leaf's a flower; but only so an hour...so dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay." I believe that dawn is represented as spring/summer coming to end, and that all the sunshine and joy that comes from the seasons, must end and will end eventually.
The most noticable use of sound in this poem is the perfect masculine rhyming scheme, with the end of each line rhyming (gold:hold, flower:hour, leaf:grief, day:stay.) This rhyming scheme helps to organize the poem into four ideas, each with a different rhyme. This makes the poem easier to understand and break down, thus enhancing meaning.
Aside from the rhyming, the rhythm is very consistent and makes the poem very flowing. I counted six distinct syllables per line, but I took some liberty here (I counted flower as one syllable, because rythmicly, it sounds like one sound.) Every line had six, except the last line, which only had five. By ending the poem with a five syllable ending, Frost created a powerful feel to the last words, setting them apart from the rest of the poem. Not to mention the fact that this line, "nothing gold can stay" is also the title, creating a sort of symmetry to the poem. Just to throw something else out there, the rhyming scheme and rhythm almost give the poem an organization similair to an essay. The rhyming sets out distinct ideas, like paragraphs or arguments, while the rhythmic quality of the title and last line give the poem an intro and conclusion. In a way, this enhances his meaning because rather than just being a whimsical observation, his idea that everything beautiful is fleeting, seems well supported.
I had to read lines 3 and 5 a few times to understand their meanings. I think Michelle mentioned something about the paradox in line 3?
Here's my take:
"Her early leaf's a flower" is saying that the first leaf of spring is like a flower. Even though a leaf is boring and simple compared with the intricate design and colors of flowers, the fact that it is the first one makes it a flower. The beginning is always colorful and beautiful (James touched on this with the sensory adaptation)
The "leaf subsides to leaf" line is saying that what was once interesting now is plain. The leaf that had all of the excitement of a blushing tulip is now the average leaf.
I like this poem. It wasn't mourning the fact that everything passes and everything loses the excitement it once had. Things just 'are'. I don't know how to describe the feeling..calming?
One thing to notice about the poem is that every line is six syllables, plus or minus one. The exceptions to the six syllable trend are lines 3 and 8. Line 3 seems to feed into the rest of the poem, but line 8, "Nothing gold can stay," is certainly important to the poem. Perhaps Frost used number of syllables in a line to accentuate certain key messages to his poem. Or maybe I'm looking far too into this.
This poem uses the AABBCCDD rhyme scheme, as others have pointed out. It also utilizes assonance, alliteration and consonance. (i wont point those out because Sharon explained those very well). All the musical devices makes the lines fluid. However the whole poem does not flow, but has moments of pauses when going from AA-B and ect. It might just be the way I'm reading it, so I could be wrong.
The poem starts of with "Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold". I think he is saying that the first green signifying the return of spring is precious. However, it cannot hold its precious nature for very long. "Her early leaf's a flower, But only so an hour". Again, Frost is reinforcing the first two lines of the poem by saying the first leaf is beautiful like a flower, but only for a moment. The next two lines "Then leaf subsides to leaf, So eden sank to grief" is saying how everything that was once special become normal. In the second to the last line, i think, Frost is saying that we always move on like "dawn goes down to day". The final line sums up the main idea of the poem, that nothing "gold" can last. I think we can all relate to this poem pretty well.
Well, I'm going to not repeat what everyone has already said. What stood out to me the most was the alliteration. The repetition of the consonant sounds "g", "d",and "h" add a extra punch to the words and emphasizes them more. In this way, the alliteration helps convey the message by emphasizing specific words. Using alliteration and rhyme also enhances meaning by grabbing readers attention. Another thing that makes the poem especially well written and captivating is that it uses iambic pentameter (or trochaic?), which makes the poem very musical. The iambic pentameter also creates a sad and serious tone, which also helps convey the message. I also noticed that the poem uses anaphoras by repeating "So" and "Her".
Okay, is it possible to say anything different than has already been said? First off, I noticed it has a very simple rhyme scheme: AABBCCDD. There's a repetition of the word her in the second and third lines, repetition of the word leaf in the fifth line, and repetition of the word so in the sixth and seventh lines.
There's alliteration that can be seen in "g's" the "h's" and the "d's" of the poem. In his poem, frost of course talks about nature. I think he is saying that things that are good never last, and that they are "golden." It represents general hardship in life saying that things don't last--"nothing gold can stay." Things that are good are always the hardest to maintain because it requires a certain maintenance that is strenuous--"Her hardest hue to hold." Overall, the poem is striking even though the length is so limited. His use of alliteration and repetition make the poem effective and easier to read, thus, easier to remember and connect to.
The most obvious musical pattern in this poem lies in its end rhymes, (consists of a AABBCCDD pattern) where “gold” to “hold, “flower” to “hour”, “leaf” to “grief”, and “day” to “stay”. With in those end rhymes those words also includes assonance, for example the vowel “o” is present between “gold” and “hold”, while the vowel “e” can be heard in “leaf” and “grief”. The entire line 2, “Her hardest hue to hold,” consists of alliteration with the repeated initial consonant sound of “H”. Using the end rhymes in this poem draws readers’ attention to the last line of the poem; and by ordering the last line of this poem to be the same as the title puts furthermore emphasis on the meaning of this poem.
You can all thank my Lacrosse coaches for running practice until 10:15 tonight...
Well, everyone has hit the topic of the different types of rhyming square on the head. For myself, the most powerful lines were the first two and the last two.
The first two lines alliterate both the 'g' and 'h' sounds. If you say all of the alliteration in the first lines, you will realize that both 'g' and 'h' are rather throat-involved sounds. I found these two lines very easy to say and it seems like the way I would have tried to say it. These sounds with the simple AABBCCDD rhyme scheme make the poem kind of fun and whimisical, yet at the same time serious and down to eart.
The last two lines sum up everything said in a very concise sentence. "So dawn goes down to day./ Nothing gold can stay". Everything gives way to something else more grand and beautiful.
I feel the need to chime in with my biblical thought process here. The concept of Eden was not one involving creation in any way shape or form. It is believed that while Adam and Eve were in the garden, no creation took place. Cain and Abel (spelling?) were their children who sadly did not get along. However, Eve could not bear children (therefore, pro- CREATE) until after the fall. The way I saw the allusion to Eden playing into the poem was as follows.
Eden was deemed perfect from the start. Everything lasted for eternity. Adam nor Eve could perish in The Garden of Eden. However, after a time this perfection became mundane, as many of you have stated. This boring perfection gave way to a new form of splendor, creation. When Adam fell, creation could now occur. Who can argue that there is anything more wonderful than seeing the creation of something new, be it a child or something else?
When "Eden sank to grief" it was simply falling to a state of imperfection and mortality. Exaltation and immortality are joy, whilst mortality is grief.
This is my view on the Bible's story at least...maybe I am off by the rest of your standards. I am just trying to clarify the poem in some way, shape, or form.
Robert Frost uses the first four lines to portray how beautiful and good things don't tend to last for very long. The beautiful first colors of spring and the early leaves occur, yet soon after they do they are gone. I think that the reference to Eden had to do with how the garden of Eden was so perfect and beautiful for a short period of time. Soon after it was created, it was not perfect anymore after eve and Adam messed up. Their perfect garden ceased to be perfect, just like the colors and leaf that frost describes. Frost is trying to say that because things go so fast, we have to appreciate them even more. We have to realize what is so beautiful that we have and cherish it because it may not be there forever or could possibly leave soon.
This poems simplicity and directness makes it very effective. The rhyming scheme gives the poem somewhat of an elementary feel to it while the content gives it the wholesomeness of a universal truth.
Nature's rhymes with Her and Then rhymes with Eden. I don't think anyone commented on this rhyming scheme but if they already did I apologize.
The first line is paradoxical because it seems impossible for something to be green and gold at the same time but gold is obviously used to mean perfect or something like that.
Robert Frost is famous for writing poems about nature that have dual meanings. They have very beautiful literal meanings and they also have deep metaphors that use a lot of symbolism to achieve dual interpretation.
This poem is talking literally about both dawn and spring. The first greens of the day are tinted gold by the rising sun but at the same time they are as beautiful as gold. This effect is enough to make a leaf as beautiful as a flower. It is hard to hold this hue because dawn only lasts an hour. But then a leaf becomes just a leaf again. Just like Eden went from perfection to grief, or the life we have now, and dawn goes from perfection down to being a day because nothing gold can stay.
Symbolically I think this poem is talking about childhood. When one is a kid everything is perfect, but as one grows up things stop being tinged with gold. One bites from the forbidden apple and things change from the perfection of dawn to the hustle and bustle of day. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing though.
Everyone has already analyzed the sounds so I won't bother to copy and paste what they noticed about his alliteration, consonance, assonance and rhyme scheme. But I will say that he uses his rhyme scheme and alliteration to make this short poem even tighter and faster. When he connects the lines with end rhymes, it makes the space in between the ends on the lines shorter. Alliteration also speeds up the rate at which I read a line. "Her hardest hue to hold." and "So dawn goes down to day" fly through my mouth with their like sounds. This also happens with the consonance of "early leaf." It is also interesting that he went with syllable length of lines in the pattern (66776665) the only line that doesn't fit is the last one, giving it further emphasis.
To truly understand and study how Robert Frost uses sound to portray and enhance the meaning of his poem, "Nothing Gold Can Stay," we must first come to a conclusion as to the overall meaning of the poem. This fundamental aspect of interpreting how he uses sound has caused me the most grief. Robert Frost describes nature in a most beautiful of ways. He tells of the beauty and gold tones of the start of fall, and continues to say how, like many other things in life, this beauty cannot last. Although it will be replaced with something beautiful in its own respect, it is different. To help the reader feel this even more, Frost uses a strong sense of sound. Along with the basic rhyming scheme others mentioned, Frost encorporates an amount of alliteration. This alliteration is primarily used in the first three lines of the poem, which set the theme in motion. The alliteration is blended into the rhyme, which carries the poem 5 more lines to its finish.
AABBCCDD
I think to answer the question the sound and rhyme in the poem show distinct changes because the rhyme pattern is so clearly defined. This is consistent with the poem's perspectives regarding things changing. The clear transitions in rhyme mirror those in nature. The end of one thing is the start of another. The balance between beginning and end (this pair) is also reflected in the AA, BB, CC, DD style of the scheme and the poem's sounds.
A perspective which I think is interesting is the Frost might be pointing to the ephemeral nature of certain things as being the basis for their value. "Nothing Gold Can Stay" => "Nothing that can stay is gold"
This is the most concentrated poem I have read thus far. In eight lines, Frost manages to include enormous meaning. I think Frost managed to do this by conveying his poem through a sort of dualism between meaning and effect. At one level, the poem tended to emphasize the brilliance and beauty of nature's fleeting phenomenon, but at another level the poem describes a sense of birth through death. By describing the beauty of the first leaf and other beauties in nature, as well as their distinct ephemeral nature, Frost only conveys the positive side of these events. But Frost also shows how these events are marked by what can almost be described as melancholy: how the early leaf subsides, turning from pretty to the mundane leaf, how "Eden sank to grief", and most interestingly, how "dawn goes down to day" (rather than logically rising to day).
In respect to how sound enhances meaning, most of the posts above me have already covered most of it. I'm not sure if anyone brought this up, but I noticed a degree of symmetry in the assonance and alliteration in the poem. The first line alliterated Green is Gold (G G), the second line alliterated (H H H), the third line alliterated (L L), the fourth line assonated (O O O). This marked a 2,3,2,3, pattern in assonance and alliteration. There was also congruity in the poem dealing with syllables. Each and every line had 6 syllables.
Its late, and I'm not sure what the boundary between analysis, and over analysis is, so I tried to refrain from coming up with egregious conclusions about the poem.
This poem has meaning to me because with along with being a great poem to read it also reminds o many far more important works, in an unintentional move. It is a humbling poem.
Frost really explains these changes so well, consider them little or big but from Eden falling into grief or the flower growing then dying you can tell that Frost has a significantly different perspective on life than most people. That was most enjoyable about this poem for me.
I also noticed the AABBCCDD pattern and I think that it makes the poem more like a nursery rhyme and Frost also uses assonance (gOld & hOld, flOWer & hOur, lEAf & grIEf, dAY & stAY) in combination with the rhymes at the end of each line.
Also, there is alliteration littered throughout the poem. "Her hardest hue to hold" (2) "So dawn does down to day" (7).
Consonance is used throughout with the repetition of "r, s, and t" sounds.
I think that the repetition helps to connect the words in the poem that frame the theme. It might be Frost's way to point those words out.
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