Feeling of Death

Robert Frost’s poem, “After Apple Picking,” published in Frost’s second collection of poems in 1915, describes the end of a long day of apple picking. The speaker begins by saying that his ladder is still pointing toward heaven, which conveys a sense of the afterlife. He goes on to describe one barrel of apples that was not filled, which could be a metaphor describing his fulfillment in life. When he is done apple picking, the speaker describes the change from fall to winter. He describes his feeling of sleepiness that is associated with the winter. This seasonal change and the deep sleep that the speaker is about to enter may represent the transition from life to death.
In the beginning of the poem, the speaker is giving up on apple picking, but there is definitely a sense that this has a larger meaning: 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. Essence of the winter sleep is on the night. (lines 3-7)
Before this quotation, the speaker notices that his ladder is pointed toward heaven. After he notices that, he expresses that he is giving up on apple picking. In this passage, the speaker conveys a feeling that he wishes he had picked more apples. He has to give up because of the impending winter sleep. The entire passage might be about giving up on life. The barrel he did not fill and the few apples he did not pick may represent some things in life that he was unable to do. Although he did not do everything he wanted to do in life, he still accomplished a lot of things. The things he did accomplish are represented by the full barrels of apples. After giving up on apple picking, the speaker begins to doze off. He is entering the deep, seemingly eternal sleep that comes after apple picking. He begins to dream about the apples going to waste that he did not pick, and he worries: For all That struck the earth, No matter if not bruised or spiked with stubble, Went surely to the cider heap As of no worth. One can see what will trouble This sleep of mine, whatever sleep it is. (32-38)
He is seeing all of the apples flash in front of him before this deep sleep, which seems similar to the feeling of life flashing before one’s eyes just before death. This sorrow for the apples that he did not pick could represent the speaker second guessing some of the choices he made in life and thinking about what things he was not able to accomplish during life. The fact that the speaker is uncertain about what this deep sleep will be makes it seem like he is referring to his death. He is having the same feelings about a sort of winter hibernation after a metaphorical harvest that one would have when approaching death. The speaker is feeling the same nervous uncertainty that a person who is close to death would have. He is scared, and he does not know what is happening to him. This poem explains the feeling of uncertainty that goes along with death. When the end of the harvest is approaching, the speaker feels like death is approaching. He does not know what kind of sleep he is going to experience. He sees his life, or the apple picking season, flash before his eyes. He also sees the apples falling on the ground that he did not pick. These represent the experiences in life that he did not have. At the end of the poem, he approaches the mysterious, uncertain sleep, which represents the question of life after death, and whether or not it exists. As the speaker approaches the winter season, he is dealing with fear and uncertainty, the same feelings that are common when death is approaching.

Works Cited
Frost, Robert. “After Apple Picking” The Robert Frost Reader. Ed. Edward Connery Lathem and Lawrence Thompson. New York: Henry Holt, 1972. 40-41. Print.