After Apple Picking

After Apple-Picking

After Apple-Picking is a short poem written by Robert Frost. It tells of an old dying man looking back on his life in regret for what he did not accomplish. The author uses metaphors, symbols, and diction to create different tones. The tones contrast and create a theme of life’s work and the desire for success and meaning.

The poem consists of two parts separated by a shift in tone. In beginning portion, prior to the shift, the poem has a dreamy and peaceful tone. Frost uses metaphor to help develop this tone. “Toward heaven still,” (line 2) is a metaphor for the peaceful end of the old man’s life. This metaphor is continued in the phrase “Essence of winter sleep is on the night.” (7) The poem is unclear and leaves it up to the reader whether this sleep is death but the phrase has a very peaceful connotation. The old man sees “Magnified apples appear and disappear.” (18) This is a metaphor for opportunities passing him by as time goes on year after year. All these Metaphors not only create a dreamy tone but also help to highlight the poem’s theme. Diction is also used to create the tone. “Strangeness,” (9) “heaven,” (2) and “dreaming” (17) are all examples of this. All three of these words contain very unreal and dreamlike connotations which play a major role in forming the poems tone. Finally, symbols prior to the poem’s shift also help to create a peaceful and dreamy tone as well as expose the theme. When the man states, “And there's a barrel that I didn't fill,” (3) the author not only influences the tone but also sets up the somber shift further in. The unfilled barrel is a symbol that represents the man’s empty life which will be further emphasized later in the poem. In the line “Of load on load of apples coming in” (26) the loads of apples are a peaceful symbol of life’s work going on. In addition, the poems subject itself “Apple-Picking” (title) is a symbol in itself for life’s work. In the poem when Frost says Apple Picking, not only does he mean the literal gathering of the fruit by the old man, but also life’s work in which every human participates. This ongoing symbol in itself creates a abstract yet gentle tone. The combination of all theses elements together give us a tone which paints a peaceful picture of society going about its work into the reader’s mind. This is setup by Frost to contrast with the post-shift tone and ultimately reveal the theme.

On the 27th line of the poem the old man states “I have had too much of apple-picking.” (27-28) This marks the shift between a dreamy yet peaceful atmosphere and a somber and tired tone. Metaphors after this shift help to create this new tone. “There were ten thousand thousand fruit to touch” (30) shows sadness in the many missed opportunities in the old man’s life. The phrase “Cherish in hand, lift down, and not let fall” (31) contributes to the theme by telling the reader to appreciate opportunities and not to let them slip away. At the same time the metaphor also shows us the old mans sadness in his own opportunities that he “let fall.” The poem ends with the metaphor “The woodchuck could say whether it's like his Long sleep, as I describe its coming on, Or just some human sleep.” (40-42) This shows the old man embracing the end. He is tired and knows it is coming. The whole thing is made ambiguous and Frost leaves it up to the reader to decide whether it refers to death or just sleep. Robert Frost also uses diction to create a somber and tired tone. Words like “overtired” (28) show that the man is indeed growing weary and help to create the tone. “Cherish” (31) evokes the feeling of holding on to all that one has left and creates a solemn feeling. The continual references of “Sleep” (38) not only do the obvious of encouraging the tired tone but also help the somber tone by alluding to death. Lastly, the many symbols after the Poem’s shift help to create the tone. “The great harvest I myself desired” (29) is a symbol for the success that one hopes. The prosperity that the old man never achieved influences the sorrowful tone. The “cider-apple heap” (35) is also a symbol. Normally the worst of the apples are made into cider. Now more and more of the old man’s apples that fall are being made into cider even if they are still alright. This shows the man growing tired. Instead of picking them up they are tossed to the “heap.” “Sleep” (38) is another prominent symbol for the end. It shows the man growing tired and death approaching. All these items contribute to the tired and somber tone after the poem’s shift. This tone contrasts with the dreamy and peaceful tone earlier in the poem. This variance shows the man’s realization that the end is soon and the wish that he had led a more fulfilling life. From this Frost makes his theme of living life to its fullest apparent.

Robert Frost wrote the poem After Apple Picking in 1914. Still, the poem’s theme holds up today. Through different elements of language Frost creates two tones which contrast. This contrast shows the reader the importance of making the most of life.