Monday, March 10, 2008

Robert Frost "After Apple-Picking"

"And there's a barrel that I didn't fill
Beside it, and there may be two or three
Apples I didn't pick upon some bough.
But I am done with apple-picking now". (3-6, 207)

In the poem “After Apple-Picking”, Robert Frost reflects on the occurrences of an individual’s life, as the speaker shows regret through the lines of the poem. In the above lines, the apples that the speaker is referring to can be said to represent life experiences that the speaker missed upon throughout his/her life; or it could be something that the speaker did not learn but wanted to learn. The barrels are said to be empty and as the speaker sees this, he/she becomes filled with regret. The speaker is in the state of reflecting and is not happy with the way his/her life has gone. However, I do not see this poem as entirely melancholy in nature. I see it more as a poem about an older individual who has gained wisdom from life and is now able to see simple things, such as fruit, as things that matter to life. The importance of Frost’s usage of “apples” is essential to the core meaning of the poem.

The speaker mentions bruises on the apples by stating,

“For all
That stuck the earth,
No matter if not bruised or spiked with stubble,
Went surely to the cider-apple heap
As of no worth." (32-36, 208)

These bruises represent the missed opportunities and the mistakes the speaker has made during his/her lifetime. Life, all together, is a great and precious thing, but just as with everything else, there are certain obstacles that life throws at people and analyzes their ability to deal with different types of issues. By saying, “went surely to the cider apple heap”, the speaker might mean that although the apples had a flaw, they still held an importance, or a worth, which he/she did not see until now. This idea could be easily correlated back with the speaker, who might have not seen an importance in his/her life during the younger years, but now that age has caught up with the speaker, he/she is able to see the significance of their own life.
It can be taken from the poem that the speaker is near his/her death. But although death seems to be near, the speaker is not angry at that fact and rather, is enjoying his/her last thoughts before falling into everlasting sleep. The speaker is now more peaceful due to his/her sudden vision of reality and the understanding of mistakes made throughout life’s past years. Apples, going back in Christianity, were the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden, which goes along with death and heaven due to their connections between each other. In order to understand this poem, I believe it is necessary to understand that in turn for something to be dead, it must have been alive before. The missed life experiences and the regret the speaker is left with are gained through wisdom and knowledge which only life could have brought forth. This poem is almost like a message to the younger generation which urges them to be appreciative of life.

1 comment:

Laura Nicosia said...

Some interesting ideas here! Remember not to try too hard to pigeonhole Frost into neat categories. Frost doesn't really try to "teach" neat lessons like "appreciate life." He's more concerned with presenting what he, himself experiences than trying to be didactic.