Nothing Gold Can Stay (Themes)

Themes

Change and Transformation

The transitions that things in nature undergo, their growth and mutation, can be viewed as a sign of nature’s glory. For example, the theory of evolution outlined by Charles Darwin in his book The Origin of the Species popularized the phrase “survival of the fittest,” which implies that some degree of worthiness should be attributed to anything that avoids extinction. Similarly, today we use the phrase “to evolve” with the sense that the thing in question is moving toward grandeur and purity, and to a state of being more functionally efficient. Our general assumption is that things change in order to become better. In this poem, though, Frost conveys a feeling of sorrow about the fact that things must change time. He concentrates upon the good things that are lost, rather than the terrible things that give way to a more sensible way of being, From nature, for instance, he mentions how a flower yields its beauty to become a commonplace and homely leaf. Frost, however, could just as well have taken the same plant and depicted it as a hard little seed in the dirt giving way to the flower. In the human realm, he uses for an example the Book of Genesis wherein “Eden sank to grief”: his same biblical source could have provided him with countless examples in which grief gives way to triumph. Frost’s examples are similar in that they are presented as original conditions. His poem seems to tell us that if original conditions are golden, and are subsequently lost, then life apparently is a bleak prospect. But it is not clear if Frost intended us to look at change as necessarily being negative. His last image, of the dawn giving way to day, seems to imply that our attraction to the superficial beauty of “gold” should be disappointed, as inevitably things take a more practical from.

Beauty

The use of the word “gold” in this poem shows intelligent and careful choice. The word “gold” represents both the color and its namesake, the metallic ore that is valued both for its aesthetic beauty and financially for its rarity. By using this word to explain the brief state of beauty through which the things of the world pass, the poem describes the value of the plant’s first shoot, of Eden, and of the sunrise. Unlike the metal ore, though, the examples Frost gives us of golden beauty are not rare; they are fleeting. Frost’s point is about the transitory nature of beauty: nothing gold can survive.

This relationship between beauty and its own demise has been consistent throughout the world’s history. Some societies find sorrow in the fact that beauty fades, as can be seen in this poem. In other societies, particularly those based on Eastern philosophies, there is less emphasis on a conceptual permanence that never really existed. Therefore, there is less disappointment over the fact that permanence cannot be reached and more appreciation for the role of fleeting beauty in the larger scope of life. For example, to this way of thought the flower referred to in line 3 would not be missed when it is gone, but would rather be appreciated for what it was in the short time it existed.

Sin

The transformations presented in “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” such as the withering of flowers and the earth’s rotation, are everyday processes that are a part of Earth’s natural order and are independent of human will. It is hard to tell, given this context, what Frost has in mind when he says that Eden “sank to grief.” According to the Book of Genesis in the Bible, Adam and Eve, the first humans, were expelled from the garden of Eden because they chose to do what God had told them not to do. The grief suffered by them, and therefore by the entire human race, was a consequence of their action: according to the Bible, Adam and Eve did not “sink” from the garden paradise into a world of misery, but rather they had jumped. In the context of the poem, though, Adam and Eve’s transgression was bound to happen eventually. Following the same rhythm and syntax of its preceding and succeeding lines, the line “So Eden sank to grief” is tied into those lines’ depiction of natural transformation and growth. Also, the word “sank” is similar in meaning to the words “goes down” and “subsides,” which describe the sunrise and plant growth respectively; these words imply resignation to gravity and exclude any connotation of deliberate action. The poem eliminates the possibility that they might have stayed in Eden and removes the implication that Adam and Eve were ultimately responsible for their sin when they chose to disobey God’s law. At first glance, Frost’s version seems to be gentle to humans, portraying them as no more prone to sin than plants or the rising sun. On the other hand, the poem casts a dark shadow over the nature of mankind, telling us that humans are not innately good but are eventually bound to sin.

Topics for Further Study

• In a poem of your own design, trace the fate of a color in nature. Is it permanent or temporary? Is it currently increasing or becoming more scarce? Give examples of where the color is, has been, and will be found.
• Discuss Frost’s rhyme scheme in this poem. Do you think that it helps the reader understand the poem’s message? In what way? Does this swaying rhythm make it hard to take the poem’s message seriously?
• Do you think the statement “nothing gold can stay” accurately relates to the way we metaphorically use “gold” to symbolize all things having to do with commerce? Why or why not?