In the poem, "After Apple-Picking," by Robert Frost, a man has been picking apples all day on a ladder. Night is going to fall soon and he is tired, so he must leave the field for the day. That morning, he had a vision when he looked at a bunch of grass through a sheet of ice he removed from a drinking trough. He thought it looked like the world was melting. He then dropped a thin piece of ice. As he recalls the vision, he is falling asleep. In his dreams that night he will dream of apples. He feels annoyed with the apples needing harvesting, because he has to be careful with them, and making sure they do not fall, although there are so many of them. If an apple does fall, it must be thrown into a heap to make the cider. These apples are considered almost worthless. He thinks that these thoughts of the worthless, dropped apples will haunt him in his sleep. He wonders if his sleep will be a long, deep sleep, like the hibernation of a woodchuck, or just a normal sleep. .
For Frost, the poem is clearly intended to describe his feelings about poetry, after writing it over a long period of years. Frost's life was full of achievement which is symbolized by the hard work of apple picking. He also had a hard life in which many tragedies previously occurred. In the poem the speaker represents Robert Frost who is contemplating his life and what it will be like when he dies. The season of winter and sleep both represent the later stages in someone's life and death. The most important symbol is the apple, which represents the activities and opportunities in life. The man in the poem says with regret that he left some apples, meaning that many opportunities in his life have been passed up, but he also dreams of the many apples he did pick.
"And I keep hearing from the cellar-bin .
That rumbling sound .
Of load on load of apples coming in," (lines 24-26).
This represents the many achievements and good times that he was fortunate enough to enjoy.
