Literary Analysis Essay on Nothing Can Stay Gold & Fire and Ice

Introduction

A proper analysis of literature is essential for a person to understand the style a writer uses in literature material and also the utilization of various devices in the literature material. In poetry, understanding the use of literary devices such as personification, symbolism imagery, and others can help one analyze a poem. The purpose of this paper is to examine the similarities and differences in "Nothing Can Stay Gold" and "Fire and Ice," poems written by Robert Frost.

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The Similarities

In the two poems, the poet (Frost) maintains one central theme that runs through the whole poem; Frost focuses on a single topic for his work in these two poems. In "Nothing Can Stay Gold," the central idea that Frost holds is the theme of change or transition. In "Fire and Ice," Frosts' central theme is destructive human emotions that people have, which will one day destroy the world.

There is the use of symbolism in both poems to represent different things. Symbolism is evident in "Nothing Can Stay Gold" by use of nature to represent the good things in life that we experience for a short time "Nature's first green is gold/ So dawn goes down to day." (lines 1& 7). Fire and Ice symbolize the destructive emotions that humans have which make them selfish and insensitive "Some say the world will end in fire/ Some say in ice." (Fire and Ice, lines 1-2). Frost uses fire as a symbol of human greed and the ice as a symbol of human coldness to the feelings of others.

There is the use of assonance and alliteration by Frost in his work in both poems. 'Her early leaf's a flower' (Nothing Can Stay Gold, line 2) shows how the poet repeats the vowel e in her and early. The repetition of the vowel o (hold/ those) in the line, 'I hold with those who favor fire' (Fire and Ice line 4) is evidence of the use of assonance by the poet. 'So dawn goes down to day' (Nothing Can Stay Gold, line 7), Frost repeats the consonant d (dawn/ down) thereby achieving alliteration in the poem. The repetition of the consonant s and w (some/ say and world/ will) in the line 'Some say the world will end in fire,' (Fire and Ice, line 1) shows how Frost applies alliteration.

In both poems, there is the use of imagery by the poet to help someone who reads the poems to perceive and understand issues that involve human senses. In the line 'So dawn goes down to day' (Nothing Can Stay Gold, line 7), someone can picture the morning as the day changes from dawn to full daylight. 'Some say the world will end in fire. Some say in ice' (Fire and Ice, lines 1-2) someone reading them can picture the destruction of the whole world by fire or ice.

The Differences

The first difference is in the type of poetic devices in poems. "Fire and Ice" is a single stanza poem while "Nothing Can Stay Gold" is a couplet with two lines that have rhyme at their ends with the whole poem having four couplets. Also, the poem "Nothing Can Stay Gold" has a rhyme scheme of aa bb cc and dd while "Fire and Ice" has a rhyming scheme of abc abc bcb at the ends of their lines.

Another difference is in the way the poet uses enjambment in "Fire and Ice" but not in "Nothing Can Stay Gold." 'Nature's first green is gold/ Her hardest hue to hold.'(Nothing Can Stay Gold, lines 1-2) In these two lines, the poet has finalized his idea in the first line before bringing another concept in the second line. 'To say that for destruction ice/ Is also great'(Fire and Ice, lines7-8), the poet moves the concept in the first line into the second line.

The Experience

From the first poem, "Nothing Can Stay Gold" one should learn to appreciate the important things in life. People have to cherish and value essential elements in life because those things must change after a short time. Life is a cycle that never stops; when one thing happens, it has to change for another to occur.

In the second poem "Fire and Ice", the poet warns people against destructive emotions, which can destroy their lives. People should watch what they desire most in case these desires make them do things that bring destruction. Also, the poet warns people against being insensitive to the feelings of others, as this can make people hate each other. And hate can only bring destruction to the lives of people.

Conclusion

There are definite similarities and differences in the poems "Fire and Ice" and "Nothing Can Stay Gold." The similarities are in the way Frost ensures that each of the poems has one central theme and using symbolism in both poems. Frost uses imagery and assonance and alliteration in both poems. The difference is in the use of enjambment in one poem and not the other; also, one poem has four couplets while the other has a single stanza. The use of literary devices can help someone doing an analysis of poems by the similarities and differences in their use in a poem.

Works cited

Frost, Robert. "Fire and Ice." Poetry Foundation, 2020. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44263/fire-and-ice. Accessed on April 12th 2020.

Frost, Robert. "Nothing Can Stay Gold." Poetry Foundation, 2020. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/148652/nothing-gold-can-stay-5c095cc5ab679. Accessed on April 12th 2020.