A Formalistic Analysis of Robert Frost’s “Nothing Gold Can Stay”

If there is one thing in life that is constant; it is change. We have been hearing this phrase

over and over ever since; despite it, nobody could argue the truthfulness it bears. So much so that

this has become a reoccurring pattern across literature, such as in novels, short stories, and

poems— just as how Robert Frost incorporated this theme into his poem, “Nothing Gold Can

Stay”; However, every art should not only be appreciated with the messages it holds. Thus, the

significance of discussing the format, rhetorical, and technicality of this poem.

The poem is in the Iambic trimeter with four couplets: AABBCCDD. In poetry, there are

two types of syllables; the stressed and the unstressed, and they are referred to as the Iambic

meter that makes the da-DUM sound (Rana, 2021). In the case of Frost, he made use of this tool

to have three alternating stressed and non-stressed syllables to give emphasis to his word choice

and how it encapsulates each stanza into one while maintaining its cohesion to the whole piece.

Meanwhile, couplets refer to the two consecutive verses having similar linguistical construction

bridged with rhythm and rhyme. For instance, the first two lines of the poem of interest are

/Nature’s first green is gold/ and /Her hardest hue to hold/ wherein both ends sound the same.

With this, the audience could connotate that the essence of the two verses adheres together and

should be translated as one thought. This pattern is carried throughout the poem, in which the

second, third, and fourth couplets end with /flower & hour/, /leaf & grief/, and /day & stay/. To

sum up, writing a poem is not just relating mere words through rhyming and forcing them to

overtone a desired meaning.

 As previously mentioned, diction matters. Aside from the fact that it helps the reader

understand what each line means, it also has something to do with the cohesion of the sounds.

This is achieved with the help of literary devices, such as rhyming, alliteration, consonance, and

assonance. Wherein rhyming is the repetition of a sound at the end of a word, alliteration is the

reoccurrence of a sound at the beginning. For example, the aforementioned rhyming of the

ending words among the four couplets. In terms of alliteration, it could be heard in the second

and seventh lines having the four words starting with the /H/ sounds with /her/, /hardest/, /hue/,

and /hold/, and three words starting with the /D/ sounds, which are /dawn/, /down/, and /day/.

Meanwhile, consonance refers to the repetition of consonance despite its location in the line

(MasterClass, 2021). For instance, the /r/ sound could be heard repeatedly in the third verse with

the words /her/, /early/, and /flower/. Likewise, assonance refers to the reiteration of vowels that

could be found anywhere in verse (MasterClass, 2021), such as in the fourth line where the /uh/

sound is in the words /but/, /only/, /an/, and /hour/. Without these four literary devices, any poem

would sound like an ordinary sentence.

One key characteristic of a poem is its underlying meaning. This is where the literary

devices of symbolism and metaphors would take the spotlight. The formulation of these two is

highly critical, especially if the poet wants the audience to pick up their desired message. This

poem of Frost, however, is overflowing with both. The first line, /Nature’s first green is gold/

contains the symbolism of spring through the phrase /nature’s first green/; moreover, the

predicate /is gold/ is a metaphor referring to elegance and highly valued. Another example of

symbol and metaphor can be found in the fourth line, indicating that seasons are temporary,

connotated by the word /hour/. In addition, to add further cohesion to the piece, Frost reiterated
the symbolism of gold in the last line with /nothing gold can stay/ giving more emphasis that

even the most cherished thing in life could perish away. These two literary devices act as the

backbone of Frost’s work; in fact, any poem’s backbone is the proper usage of symbolism and

metaphors.

All in all, having the ability to dissect a poem in its linguistic form is substantial in

further appreciating both the poem’s creativity and the poet’s artistry. The three techniques used

in analyzing in a formalistic approach could be used to further delve into the theme of the poem,

which in this case, is how nature is constantly changing with time. Nothing Gold Can Stay is

more complex than it seems, and no money nor time can purchase the knowledge it requires to

understand its timelessness and pricelessness.

References

MasterClass. (2021, August 16). Poetry 101: What Is a Couplet in Poetry? - 2023. MasterClass.

Retrieved March 19, 2023, from

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/poetry-101-what-is-a-couplet-in-poetry

Rana, N. (2021, May 8). Iambic Trimeter, Tetrameter, and (Pentameter) Examples in Poetry.

Pandora Post. Retrieved March 19, 2023, from

https://www.pandorapost.com/2021/05/examples-of-iambic-pentameter-tetrameter-and-tri

meter-in-poetry.html#What_is_Iambic_Meter_in_Poetry