New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired

After Apple Picking

“After Apple Picking” (1834)

Robert Frost

Robert Frost

Robert Frost (born March 26, 1874, San Francisco, California, U.S.—died January 29, 1963, Boston, Massachusetts) was an American poet who was much admired for his depictions of the rural life of New England, his command of American colloquial speech, and his realistic verse portraying ordinary people in everyday situations. He was the most highly honored American poet of the 20th century, receiving the Pulitzer Prize for poetry four times. Several of his poems yielded lines that became indelible in the American consciousness, among them “Good fences make good neighbors” (from “Mending Wall”), “And miles to go before I sleep” (from “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”), and “I took the one less traveled by” (from “The Road Not Taken”). (From Britannica.com)

Discussion Questions

Do you think the apple is symbolic or is it actually an apple? Why?

Why does Frost include the image of a ‘pane of glass’.

Suggest why apples play on the speaker’s mind when he dreams.

What physical pain does the speaker describe he endures from working the ladder?

Are the apples used for cider ‘of no worth’?

How does the woodchuck’s sleep differ from ‘Just some human sleep’?

The poem uses the word sleep six times. Does it, through repetition. Come to suggest a meaning beyond the purely literal?

Is the narrator in "After Apple-Picking" dying or dreaming?

How does Frost use imagery to convey the speaker's feelings about his job in "After Apple-Picking"?

Easy Reader

Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn