In “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” Robert Frost uses simple language to describe ever-changing nature while creating a metaphor for the human condition. In a mere eight lines, Frost creates potent images to affect the reader and to imply multiple ideas for contemplation, including the inevitability of change over the course of time and the human struggle with loss. The poem is written in rhyming couplets, where every two lines, the end words exactly rhyme. Frost encapsulates his ideas within the couplets which help delineate certain stages of natural imagery and the human condition.

The first line of the first couplet— “nature’s first green is gold” (Line 1)—employs clear language and description. “Nature’s first green” describes the literal budding of spring in nature, with the word “first” (Line 1) also signifying the beginning of the day when the light first rises. Frost describes “[n]ature’s first green” as “gold” (Line 1) which may literally reference the golden-green color associated with early budding, or how nature’s color green can look golden at dawn. Symbolically, the comparison suggests other meanings. The word “nature” may refer to “human nature” and thus suggests the “green” of life, or first experiences.