First Line Of The First Poem example essay topic

Robert Frost has a fine talent for putting words into poetry. Words which are normally simplistic spur to life when he combines them into a whimsical poetic masterpiece. His "Nothing Gold Can Stay" poem is no exception. Although short, it drives home a deep point and meaning. Life is such a fragile thing and most of it is taken for granted. The finest, most precious time in life generally passes in what could be the blink of an eye.

"Nothing Gold Can Stay" shows just this. Even in such a small poem he describes what would seem an eternity or an entire lifetime in eight simple lines. Change is eminent and will happen to all living things. This is the main point of the poem and is shown consistently throughout the eight lines. While birth and beginnings are an inevitable part of nature and life, most people do not see how quickly this beautiful and precious time passes.

Robert Frost states in the very first stanza this point. With two simple sentences it becomes clear how precious life truly is. "Nature's first green is gold" is the first line of the first poem and it depicts precisely what the majority of us take for granted. "Gold" is the beauty and value of what is really the most precious moment in life, which is birth. The second line of the poem is "Her hardest hue to hold".

In the moment it takes to stare in awe at such beauty, it can disappear, and with it the innocence and naivety of which is new to the world vanishes. These first lines can be looked at in a few ways. Not only does Frost depict "the first green" as a part of the season which is known as spring; it can be assumed he means all life and all things are subject to the ravages of time. Mortality is all around us and with it the stages of all life and time pass.

In terms of the opening lines, thought, youth and beauty are fleeting indeed. Frost's poem delves deeper into the being and essence of life with his second set of lines. The first line states, "Her early leaf's a flower". After the budding and sprouting, which is the birth of nature, is growth into a flower. This is the moment where noon turns to evening, where childhood turns into maturity, and where spring turns into summer. At this very moment is the ripe and prime age of things.

The young flower stands straight up and basks in the sun, the now mature teenager runs playfully in the light, and the day and sunlight peak before descending ever so quickly into dusk. The second line of the second set states, "But only so an hour", which makes clear that yet again time is passing by and that a beginning will inevitably have an end. Frost moves onto autumn and shows what little life is left begins to wither and fall, or as he put it in the first line of the third set "Then leaf subsides to leaf". The playful spirit of the young is lost in time as age quickly pours what seems like endless duties upon adults. Things once learned are forgotten and the sun creeps slowly below the horizon.

Time once again takes it toll on all things living as one step closer to death is taken. As one looks back upon how quickly time has passed one cannot help but be grieved ever so slightly. "So Eden sank to grief". Tragedy and loss are an essential part of life, and they are a key to the processes of growth, decay, and death.

The last set represents the end or closing of all things subject to change. The inevitable has happened when Frost states, "So dawn goes down to day. /Nothing gold can stay". The meaning of Frost's poem becomes clear now.

Although change is eminent, there is something we can do. We must cherish and remember the moments we have lived. We must live life to its fullest and have no regrets. In dying we are no different than any other living thing, as this is the way of life. All on this planet is fleeting and cyclical.