Nothing Gold Can Stay

In the previous post, I mentioned one of the things that makes The Outsiders a good book to teach at the young adult level is that the Robert Frost poem included in the Novel, "Nothing Gold Can Stay", is just about perfect for the age group.  The message is just intriguing enough to get their attention, but simple enough so that they understand it, and the tight structure of the poem makes it perfect to teach rhythm, meter count, rhyme scheme, et cetera.

Below is a copy of the worksheet I've been using with my classes when we do this poem.  It's not perfect (at some point I need to redesign the second half to make it more interactive) but it's what I use.  So I thought I would post it here.

Some of this is my own design, but some of it is me just re-wording other stuff I found off the web, and some of it is copied and pasted from other websites. But since I edited it all together into one handout, I'm counting this as something I put together.  (And of course anyone who finds themselves teaching this poem is welcome to use some or all of this themselves  Google: drive, docs, pub.)  Video HERE
Update--over the past couple years I've been teaching this poem, I've stopped handing out the last 3 sheets.  I just do the first sheet now, and instead of handing out the last 3 sheets, I just get the students to study the poem themselves, and have them tell me what they notice.  They notice most of the stuff in the sheets by themselves anyways.  Occasionally I  might drop some hints.

Match each line of the poem with its corresponding meaning.

1.       Nature's first green is gold, 2.       Her hardest hue to hold. 3.       Her early leaf's a flower; 4.       But only so an hour. 5.       Then leaf subsides to leaf. 6.       So Eden sank to grief, 7.       So dawn goes down to day 8.       Nothing gold can stay.

_____However these golden flowers only last for a very short time ____But gold is nature’s most difficult color to keep for any length of time ____Beauty is short lived and needs to be appreciated while it lasts, because soon it will be gone. _____In the same way, in mythical times, the beautiful mythical garden of Eden was destroyed, just as now every year golden flowers and green leaves are destroyed when they grow old and die. ____For example, every spring for a short time there are golden flowers on tree branches before the green  shoots of leaves take over the branches of a tree ____In the same way, every morning the beautiful pink and golden colors of sunrise of dawn fades into the normal boring colors of afternoon. ____ Before things turn green in nature, they start out as golden. _____Eventually, the golden flower must give way to a green leaf.  And eventually, this green leaf itself will turn into a brown leaf as it gets old and decays.

Vocabulary:

Eden /ˈiː.d ə n/ noun [ S ] ( also the Garden of Eden )

in the Bible, the garden where the first humans, Adam and Eve, lived in perfect happiness before they did not obey God and were ordered by Him to leave

hue /hjuː/ noun [ C ] COLOUR

1. (a degree of lightness, darkness, strength, etc. of) a colour

In the Caribbean waters there are fish of every hue.

subside /səbˈsaɪd/ verb [ I ] LESS STRONG

1. If a condition subsides, it becomes less strong or extreme

The police are hoping that the violence will soon subside.

As the pain in my foot subsided, I was able to walk the short distance to the car.

So, we can re-write the Robert Frost poem in the following prose:

In early springtime, gold flowers form on branches before the shoots of leaves take over the branches of a tree. These tiny gold flowers do not last long (because of the leaves that eventually form on the branches). Even the leaves eventually decay as all things seem to do: Eden, leaves, and a day. Beauty is short-lived and needs to be appreciated while it lasts.

But does this have the same impact?  Is it as beautiful or as meaningful as the poetry?  Why or why not?

How does poetry work in English?

Rhymes

First, notice the rhymes.

In English, we often use rhymes in poetry.  Rhymes are words which have a different beginning sound, but the same last sound.

gold/hold

flower/hour

leaf/grief

day/stay

Rhyme Scheme: aabbccdd

A closed couplet is two lines of rhymed verse in which the meaning is made complete by the end of the second rhyme.
Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.

Syllables

Next, notice the syllable scheme.  How many syllables are in each line?  Is it the same for each line?

Meter

Meter is the formal measure of the natural rhythm of language as it falls into regular patterns of stress.

iambic trimeter: unstressed stressed rhythm with three stresses per line.

__________/________/______/__________

"So dawn goes down to day."

(unstressed, stressed, unstressed, stressed, unstressed, stressed)

Alliteration

This is the repetition of consonant sounds in the beginning of words to achieve a harsh or pleasing sound quality to the line or stanza.
"green is gold"
"her hardest hue to hold"
"dawn goes down to day"
Analysis of alliteration: The alliteration of the "g" sound in "green" and "gold" link these two words through sound. Not only does the poem assert that the first green is gold in meaning but it does so also in sound by echoing the sound of green with gold. Also, the alliteration of the "d" sound in "dawn," "down," and "day" makes these words stand out to the reader's ear. The emphasis in sound and in meaning is that the light of dawn goes down or is lost to the harsh light of day.

Economical Phrasing

This poem expresses complex ideas in a succinct manner.

For example, instead of saying:

In mythical times, the beautiful mythical garden of Eden was destroyed, in  the same way that today every year golden flowers and green leaves grow old and die.

The poem simple says:

So Eden sank to grief

It is up to the reader to fill in the missing information and the missing meaning just from this small phrase.

Paradox

A paradox is a situation or statement which seems impossible or is difficult to understand because it contains two opposite facts or characteristics. 

In other words, it’s a statement that appears to make no sense at first, but if you think about it longer you can find a way for it to make sense.  What paradoxes can you find in this poem?

Imagery

Imagery is the representation of sensory experience through language.
"early leaf's a flower"
"Dawn goes down to day"
Analysis of imagery: The visual image of a tiny gold flower peeking out before the first signs of a leaf take over is a harbinger of spring. We easily miss its beauty because it is so small or because it lasts for such a short time. The image of dawn becoming day evokes the sight of early morning rays sifting through pink tinted clouds becoming harsher rays overhead. The loss of delicate light is lamented in the entrance to daytime. Both images give concrete illustrations of the ephemeral nature of the world's beauty.

Notice also how the author uses mythical imagery to create a fantastic feel.  What mythic images can you find in the poem?