1. “Nothing Gold Can Stay”
Robert Frost
Obj: Analyze Robert Frost’s poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay”

2. Poem Nothing Gold Can Stay
Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf's a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf, So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day Nothing gold can stay.
Robert Frost
Audio Link:

3. Rhyme Scheme
A rhyme scheme is usually the pattern of end rhymes in a stanza, with each rhyme encoded by a letter of the alphabet, from a onward (ABBA BCCB, for example).
Identify the rhyme scheme:
Today I Had a Rotten Day
Today I had a rotten day.
As I was coming in from play
I accidentally stubbed my toes
and tripped and fell and whacked my nose.
Rhyme scheme: _____________

4. Rhyme Scheme Identify the rhyme scheme in “Nothing Gold Can Stay”
Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf's a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf, So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day Nothing gold can stay.
Robert Frost
Rhyme Scheme:______________________
Rhyme Scheme: AABBCCDD

5. Alliteration
Alliteration occurs when a series of words in a row (or close to a row) have the same first consonant sound.
For example, “She sells sea-shells down by the sea-shore” or “Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers” are both alliterative.
Phrase is used to draw the reader’s attention to particular words or phrases that express the poem’s rhetorical argument.

6. Alliteration “Nature’s first green is gold” “Her hardest hue to hold”
This example shows that gold is even more prized a color in nature than green.
“Her hardest hue to hold”
This example emphasizes how fleeting a color gold is in nature –- the gold that comes with the sunrise, that is.
“So dawn goes down to day”
This example echoes that sentiment, showing how quickly sunrise simply becomes sunlight.

7. Allusion
Allusion- is a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance.
It does not describe in detail the person or thing to which it refers. It is just a passing comment and the writer expects the reader to possess enough knowledge to spot the allusion and grasp its importance in a text.
“So Eden sank to grief” – this refers to the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve brought death into the world by giving in to the temptation of the serpent, in the Old Testament.
This allusion shows how fleeting the perfect and the ideal are in our world.

8. Personification
Personification- is a figure of speech in which a thing, an idea or an animal is given human attributes.
The poem refers to Nature as a female. This is a long-standing association with the idea of “Mother Nature” providing sustenance to our world.

9. Student Response Select one of the following:
1. Write a paragraph explaining how the theme of this poem (the fleeting nature of the ideal and the perfect) is reflected in the events of the novel.
2. Write a paragraph explaining how the theme of this poem is either true about life, or untrue, depending on your opinion. Use examples from the novel and your own life as examples.
3. Write a poem about sunset. (Must include a rhyme scheme and at least 3 literary devices: simile, metaphor, personification, alliteration, etc.).