Notice that it does so exactly halfway through the poem. However, this blossoming is short in length, as explained by the fourth line, “But only so an hour.” This line is where the beautiful scene of flourishing nature takes a turn. He explains that the leaf turns from green to gold as it blooms. As Frost writes, “Her early leaf’s a flower,” with “Her” meaning Mother Nature. The first four lines describe the flourishing of a leaf. The beginning image is the start of spring when nature is first blossoming from the earth. It is tempting to characterize Robert Frost’s creation as a nature poem, and you would not be wrong in doing so, but it is so much more. At first glance, the poem is simple, yet it steeps deep with imagery. While there are no words beyond two syllables in this poem, and the majority of them are monosyllabic, when taken together the lines have the ability to bring about strong emotions in readers. Summary and Imagery in ‘Nothing Gold Can Stay’ The First Half “Nothing Gold Can Stay” has only 40 words and uses simple words, but many messages exist within it. Other poets that are masterful at the short poem format, which requires the writer to be concise and evoke imagery in few words, include Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. Other short poems in the volume New Hampshire included “Dust of Snow” and “Fire and Ice.” You must be signed in to save work in this lesson.Perhaps even more amazing is that the American poet went on to win three more Pulitzer Prizes during his lifetime, in 1931, 1937, and 1943! He lived from 1874-1963.Īt the time that “Nothing Gold Can Stay” first published, Frost was 48 years old. How does the meaning of the poem act as foreshadowing for what will happen to Johnny? In the space below, compare the Frost poem with Johnny’s final quote. You still have a lot of time to make yourself be what you want. And don't be so bugged over being a greaser.

I don't think he's ever really seen a sunset.

He'll probably think you're crazy, but ask for me. It's just when you get used to everything that it's day. When you're a kid everything's new, dawn. “I've been thinking about it, and that poem, that guy that wrote it, he meant you're gold when you're a kid, like green. This quote from Johnny is one of the most famous instances of figurative language in the novel. Johnny never forgets the poem, and talks to Pony about it as he’s lying in his hospital bed after the fire.

In chapter 5, while they were hiding in the church together, Ponyboy recited for Johnny a Robert Frost poem entitled, “Nothing Gold Can Stay.” Johnny is deeply moved by the way the poem says exactly the way he felt about the gold and silver mist as it disappeared with the sunrise they’d watched through the church door. Throughout the novel, Hinton has used foreshadowing to alert us that something tragic will happen to Johnny, and the careful reader will notice that several of these instances of foreshadowing deal with the phrase, “Stay gold.”

Robert frost poem in the outsiders