“Nothing Gold Can Stay” By Robert Frost

Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold 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.

What is a topic?

What are some possible topics for this poem? 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.

Possible topics . . . Nature Leaves and flowers Time—what happens in an hour A day—sunrise to sunset Change Changing friendships

How to find the theme Look for repeated words or phrases Look for synonyms Watch for comparisons Figurative language Study the beginning Study the ending

What is the theme A theme must . . . Convey the author’s message or Express the central idea Be timeless Be universal

Possible themes . . . All living things must die eventually. Youth and innocence cannot last. The fact that all good things must at some point come to an end.