Part 1: Read & understand the poem Label Rhyme Scheme (continue the pattern - use letters)
“Nothing Gold Can Stay”
by Robert Frost
Paraphrase or write your own interpretation of each couplet

A
Nature’s first green is gold,

A
Her hardest hue to hold.
B
Her early leaf’s a flower;

But only so an hour.

The leaf subsides to leaf

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

Part 2: Analyze the poem
Answer the following questions about the poem.
Your responses
What does the speaker suggest about nature’s first color?

What point is the speaker making about time?

What is the speaker implying (suggesting) by using words like “subsides,” “sank,” and “down”?

How are leaves like Eden? (Eden is an allusion to the biblical story of the Garden of Eden. Google it if you don’t know it!)

How many times is gold mentioned in the poem?

What is the poem’s theme (message) about all of the golden things in life?

Part 3: Connect the poem to The Outsiders
Reread the scene from Chapter 5 of The Outsiders when Ponyboy first recites the poem to Johnny. What do the boys think the poem means? Why is it important? Use specific examples from the text to support your response.
(Type your response below)