Poem

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.
Summary Line 1
Nature's first green is gold,

This line gives us the setting of the poemwe're in nature, in case you were snoozing. And we're talking about nature's first green, which makes us think about spring. The speaker, though, says this first green is actually gold. This makes us think of trees like the willow, which are golden early in spring, before they mature to green. But it also makes us think of the morning, when the sun rises and makes everything a bit golder than normal, all bathed in the dawn light.

Line 2
Her hardest hue to hold.

Now that our speaker has told us that nature is gold before it's green, he goes on to say that gold is the hardest hue, or color, for nature to hold, or keep. So the first color we see in spring doesn't stick around very long. The idea of nature having an easy or hard time holding onto something is an example of personification. And not only is nature personified here, it's actually made into a female figure. You know what else we notice about this line? Check out all those H sounds. That's some major alliteration right there. And it this short line, all those rapid-fire H sounds right in a row force us to slow down and really ponder over the meaning. Then there's the rhyme. Hold rhymes with gold, which means we've got a rhymed couplet here. And since these lines have the same number of syllables, we're gonna go ahead and assume there's a meter in play, too. In fact, there isiambic trimeter, to be precise. Be sure to click on over to our "Form and Meter" section for more.

Line 3
Her early leaf's a flower;

The speaker wants to be clear here, so he's going to elaborate on what he was talking about in Line 1. Just like nature's first green is gold, her first leaf is a flower. In spring, trees and bushes bloom with gorgeous flowers, which are replaced by green leaves in the summer. Frost is really getting into his poetic groove here, when he pops a metaphor into this line. The first flowers of spring aren't actually leaves in disguise; the speaker is using figurative language to intentionally blur the line between flowers and leaves. Eventually, in real life, the blooms die and drop off the trees, making room for the leaves, which come to soak in nourishment from the sun.

Line 4
But only so an hour.

This line completes the alternating structure of the first four lines. If nature's first green, gold, doesn't stick around long, then it only makes sense that the first version of the leaf, which is the flower, doesn't stick around long either. As the speaker says in this handy rhyme, the first leaf is a flower for only an hour. This doesn't literally mean that the trees or plants the speaker is referring to bloom for exactly an hour. But blooms, as you'll know if you've ever gardened, only last a few days, or weeks, depending on the plant. Or, Frost could be talking about how, when the sun comes up, everything is golden and flower-like. But then, when the sun gets high in the sky and everything becomes its normal color, what once looked like golden flowers now look like what they truly are green leaves.

Line 5
Then leaf subsides to leaf.

This line shows us what happens after the early leaf is no longerfiguratively a flowerit becomes a true leaf. But the speaker doesn't say "becomes," he says "subsides." This means that the first leaf sank down, or settled, to become another leaf. The use of the word "subsides" implies that the speaker thinks that the first leafthe flower of sortswas better than the actual leaf. The first leaf had to stoop down, or lower itself, to become the second one. Going with our two interpretations, this means that either spring blooms and flowers are more beautiful than the full leaves of summer, or that leaves in the early morning are much prettier than leaves at, say, midday.

Line 6
So Eden sank to grief,

The "so" at the beginning of the line means "just as," which means that in line, the speaker is comparing mankind's fall from the Garden of Eden to the change from gold to green he described in the first half of the poem. Just like the flowers subsided, or were downgraded to become leaves, Eden also sinks. This refers to the biblical fall of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. When Eve ate forbidden fruit, she and Adam, and all their descendents, were forever punished by being banished from Eden and subject to all of the grief that we humans know today. Both these events may seem like a big bummer, but keep in mind that the fall of Adam and Eve is often viewed as a fortunate fall, because even though it was tragic that humans sinned, their sin set the stage for all of history to be set in motion. In other words, if Adam and Eve hadn't gotten the munchies, Shmoop wouldn't be here explaining this poem to you. And that would be a travesty. So, the poem suggests, just as it was tragic that the first biblical humans were expelled from the Garden of Eden, it's tragic that the early golden flowers of spring and dawn grow into mere leaves. But it's possible that there's an upside to all this sorrow, too. Or at the very least, it's the way it goes, and we can't change it.

Line 7
So dawn goes down to day.

This line is yet another comparison to the colors of spring turning from gold to green, and the fall of Adam and Eve, but this time, dawn is going down to day. Think of refreshing, golden hues of sunrise turning into the scathing heat of a summer day. The use of the word "down" in this line makes us think isn't the sun supposed to rise in the morning? Wouldn't dawn rise up to day? Well, yes, literally, the sun does come up. But the speaker prefers dawn. Day is at a lower level because, possibly, it's lost the freshness and color of the dawn. We think again, though, of the fortunate fall. It's a good thing, Shmoopers, that dawn turns into day, even if the daytime horizon is significantly less spectacular than a sunrise. Sunshine is wonderfulit helps the plants grow and feels nice and warm after a chilly morning.

Line 8
Nothing gold can stay.

This last line connects us back to the title and reminds us of the only other mention of gold in this poem, which is in the first line. The line neatly wraps up all the metaphors: early spring leaves and flowers, the Garden of Eden, and dawn are all gold, and none of them can stay for very long in this world. Goldafter its brief appearance as a beautiful color, or a feeling of contentedness, or whatever is fresh and new and wonderfulhas to hit the road, leaving us with green leaves, people who know sin and guilt, and the bright, boring light of day. But take comfort. Even though we'll eventually lose the glaze of gold, now that we know it's not sticking around, we can appreciate it more. Also, we can go on with our daily lives. Leaves can soak up sun and rain to feed trees, we can enjoy all the wonderful complexities of knowledge, and the full light of sun can blaze on.

Setting
The poem places us right in the gold glow of a spring sunrise while reminding us that such beauty is only temporary. The poem mentions the Garden of Eden, and you can totally imagine yourself in a place like this biblical paradise while you're reading. The long golden branches of willow trees sweep the ground in the gentle morning breeze, and flowers are blooming everywhere in sight. Birds, bees, and butterflies flit around, and the morning mist makes everything shine. The sun is rising, and the purples, pinks, and yellows of the morning are brilliant. But all too soon, the sun is up and blazing, the flowers are wilting, and the trees have turned from golden blooms to green leaves. The demands of the day, of our lives and its worries, have jolted us out of paradise.

Themes
Transience
The most significant meaning we can take away from "Nothing Gold Can Stay" is that, well, nothing gold can stay. Let's face it: the most beautiful things in life often have the least longevity. The...

Man and the Natural World

Be carefulif you read the title "Nothing Gold Can Stay" alone you might not even think of nature, but of money. This is a trap, because the poem is centered on the natural world and the types of...

Spirituality
Even though the Garden of Eden is alluded to in just one line of "Nothing Gold Can Stay," this mention opens up the poem's meaning tenfold. It's the human complexities of this Garden, and not the b...

Speaker Point of View

Who is the speaker, can she or he read minds, and, more importantly, can we trust her or him?

The speaker of this poem is elusive. He (we say "he" only because Frost is male and that makes things a whole lot simpler) speaks without using the first person and keeps the topic pretty impersonal. Maybe he's the kind of guy who likes to make observations about the world and keep his personal life private. Actually, that sounds a whole lot like Frost. In fact, we kind of think that's the point. Sure, we could imagine all kinds of stuff about the speaker (maybe he's an old guy, reminiscing about the bygone days of youthful vigor or something), but the poem itself doesn't need a speaker. It sounds like a proverb, or an aphorism, or an adage. It sounds like something we recite, and say to each other, some wisdom that we pass on through the centuries. And that helps it ring truer than if we tied this poem to some lonely old dude staring at the leaves outside his window. This poem doesn't need a speaker, because it has one in us.

Questions
Bring on the tough stuff - theres not just one right answer. 1. What is the effect of the words "subsides," "sank," and "down" in the poem? 2. What is the effect of the poem's rhyme scheme and meter? In other words, why such a formal poem? 3. If you could add two lines to this poem, what would they be? 4. What is the effect of the speaker's choice to make the title and the last line the same? Do you wish it had a different title? What might that be? 5. Can you think of something in your life that lost its newness and beauty? How did that make you feel? Similar to the speaker? And how does the speaker feel, anyway?

Assonance
Definition: Assonance is a kind of internal rhyme that makes use of repeated vowel sounds. The vowel sounds are woven together to create a cool sonic effect. It's a trick of the trade that poets use to create and enhance meaning. Want more? Check out assonance in Notorious B.I.G.'s song "Juicy", or our discussion of assonance and consonance (kind of like assonance but with consonants) in Gerard Manley Hopkins's poem "Spring".

Consonance
Definition:

A kind of alliteration, consonance happens when consonant sounds are repeated. While the consonants stay the same, the vowels can change. Stella levels the laughter with an

alarming leer. Hear all those L sounds? That's consonance. Are you able to abide by our
bubbly babbling? For more, see our discussion of consonance and assonance (kind of like consonance but with vowels) in Gerard Manley Hopkins's poem "Spring."

Rhyme
Definition: Simple, right? A rhyme is just a repetition of sounds that sound, well, the same. Well, it's simple and it isn't. Strictly speaking, that definition is correct, but did you know there's also a whole bunch of different types of rhyme? Seriously, take a look:

Internal rhyme occurs within a line of poetry. End rhyme occurs only at the ends of lines. Go figure. Perfect rhyme sounds just like what it means. A perfect rhyme rhymes perfectly, as in cat and hat. Slant rhyme consists of rhymes that are close, but not quite there. Thinkdear and door or soul and all. Also known as half rhyme, imperfect rhyme, or weak rhyme. Hey! Who you callin' weak?

Eye rhymes look alike, but don't sound alike, like tough and bough or mintand pint.