Robert Frost's "After Apple Picking" is a poem that depicts the natural order of human life and the creative minds we as humans possess. Frost composes his poem in a way that allows the reader to understand the main point of this poem, relating nature to humanity. Robert Frost is known for his in-depth examination of philosophical themes through the imagery he uses, such as the harvest mentioned in the poem. Frost is thoroughly analytical of all aspects of apple-picking and is able to create comparisons between nature and humanity. His comparisons are drastic in what they Through the use of figurative language and a sophisticated form of lyrics, Robert Frost is able to mirror the processes of a harvest to the sin of humanity, the life and death of human beings, and exhaustion. .
Frost in "After Apple Picking" introduces the reader to the speaker of the poem who is describing the area around him as he begins to yield an apple from a tree. The speaker is very proper with his phrasing and is shown to be knowledgeable about Christianity. During his description, the narrator also describes his dream of having every apple on the tree without any flaws; however, he knows this never to be true due to his watching of the apples "appear and disappear" (Frost 18). The narrator also describes the apples which have fallen from the tree, remarking that they are less significant than the apples that have yet to fall. With the narrator's description of the harvest, a sense of boredom seems to invade the thoughts of the narrator.
The narrator's tone through the story is that of exhaustion, it is clear that he is no longer satisfied with his job of apple picking. He describes his desire to sleep as long-lasting (over the course of the winter; either hibernate or death itself) however he is worried that in choosing to sleep he will have nothing but nightmares. Within lines 7-8, the narrator affirms his fatigue when he states "Essence of winter sleep is on the night, the scent of apples: I am drowsing off" (Frost 7-8).