Thesis: Robert Frost utilizes a variety
of literary devices to convey his belief that innocence, though an essential
part of youth, must be relinquished before adulthood.
Color
symbolism in Robert Frost’s poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay” sets up the idea of innocence
in children. The beginning of the poem states,
“Nature’s first green is gold, / Her hardest hue to hold” (Frost 1-2). “Nature’s first green” is the first sign of
life in the spring and can be metaphorically compared to childhood. Describing this first sign of life, or
childhood, as gold elicits a feeling of goodness since gold is often symbolic
of wealth and prosperity. However, in
this poem gold is symbolic of a child’s innocence. The second line of the poem establishes how
hard it is to keep one’s innocence because inevitably one grows old. Frost sets up the idea that the innocence of
childhood is the beauty of life, yet it is one of the most challenging things to
hold on to.
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