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Nothing Gold Can Stay Essay

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Kai Taijeron Erica Reed ENG102_BH4_SP24 10 March 2024 The Natural Beauty What has time taken from you? Using nature, Robert Frost writes “Nothing Gold Can Stay”, connecting different parts of nature to greater values in life that change throughout the life cycle. He describes how fragile the beautiful moments of nature are and how eventually all beautiful and great things will eventually have to come to an end. In “Nothing Gold Can Stay”, Robert Frost uses metaphors, alliteration, and symbolism to explore the idea that nothing good or precious can last forever. Frost uses metaphors to convey the transient nature of beauty and goodness. “Nature’s first green is gold,” (LN1). In the first line, Frost describes the colors of a leaf in its early …show more content…

This line is a metaphor for the beginning of life being very fresh and young, but also very fragile. These metaphors also create vivid imagery of springtime to further explain the short lived qualities of purity and innocence. Frost reinforces the idea of the inevitable passing of time when he says, “Her early leaf’s a flower;” (LN3). This line signifies the mortality of spring, he describes the way the buds on a tree or plant will blossom into a flower that only lives for a brief time. Alongside metaphors, alliteration is also used throughout the poem to enhance its musicality and emphasize its key ideas. “Her hardest hue to hold.” (LN2). Hue is a great word choice used to describe the color of the leaf, gold, and create alliteration in this line. Like gold or wealth, this hue is hard to hold onto, and often taken for granted. This line could also be interpreted as the early color of the leaf, referring to youth. Youth is also taken for granted as people grow up, appearances change, and innocence is lost. Along with metaphors and alliteration, Frost uses symbolism to emphasize the beauty of nature. “So Eden sank to grief,” (LN6). This line has a much deeper meaning, referring to the biblical story

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