In Nothing Gold Can Stay, Frost outlines how Nature is fleeting and does not last forever. It awakens in spring, reaches its peak in summer, and starts to fade in autumn, and finally sleeps in winter. He uses a calm and probing tone to illustrate the cycle of life and death.
Frost uses Symbolism as an important literary device to showcase the fragility of nature. …show more content…
Personification is attaching human qualities to an otherwise inhuman object, be it an animal, nonliving item, or even a nonphysical entity. Frost uses a good example of personification in the line” Her Hardest Hue to hold” (1240). By using personification, Nature can be related to new life. When life first begins, it is at this time that it is hardest. An example is a newborn, ever so delicate and fragile in its first years of life. The next line,” Her early leaf’s a flower; but only so an hour”, compares Nature to a human in its prime. The word flower signifies nature creating offspring. The next line, “Then leaf subsides to leaf” Signifies autumn. This is a key indicator of life reaching its end as autumn is the time for life to slowdown and either perish or take shelter. This is can be compared to a human reaching old age and starting to give in to the end of their lifespan. The final line that completes the cycle is, “So dawn does down to day”. This signifies that nature is reached winter, and she has reached the end of the life cycle. This is compared to a human reaching the end of his/her life. The cycle continues and will begin anew. Personification is key to aiding the reader see what is meant by this poem as it allows you to compare the seasons of Nature to a human, or even any living thing. We are most delicate in the beginning of life. We reach our prime and reproduce, as in summer. We get old and wary as the years go by. We can compare this to autumn as life starts to get harder to find. Winter is the end for much life, and can be compared to the end of life for a