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Innocence In Robert Frost's Nothing Gold Can Stay

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One of the numerous definitions of gold is “something likened to this metal in brightness, preciousness, superiority, etc. - a heart of gold.” This reminds me of one of the core ideas of Robert Frost’s poem, “Nothing Gold Can Stay”. Frost writes about losing innocence with knowledge, and childhood innocence can be described with the phrase “a heart of gold.” One important line of the poem is “So Eden sank to grief.” The word “Eden” is used to remind readers of the garden of Eden- a place where the first man and woman were innocent, but separate from the rest of the world. However, with knowledge, this carefree nature was gone. The cycle of knowledge causing people to learn about the harsh realities of the world continues today, and causes fanciful childhood reveries to be lost. However, innocence is just one way the idea of gold can be interpreted in the poem. Something else that is gold are …show more content…

Shakespeare does this as well. However, these two writers seem to contradict when Shakespeare writes that “All that glitters is not gold.” This quote means that diamonds, rubies, and other riches that glitter don’t make people happy, and the idea of happiness is thought of as golden because of it’s importance. Frost’s message of time passing, with reference to fall leaves, sunsets, and other beautiful moments in nature that glitter and are gold are just a few ideas in the poem. When Frost writes that gold is “Her hardest hue to hold,” it shows that gold leading to happiness isn’t actually what happens. One can’t hold on to happiness while being greedy. This quote is related to the story of King Midas, who with greed wishes for everything he touches to turn to gold. This backfires when his daughter turns to gold, which also fits with the idea that “All that glitters is not gold”- the glittering statue of his daughter doesn’t help the king be

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