英文诗歌《after apple picking》.docx

英文诗歌after apple pickingNo. 1 Those poets I read, and reread, in high school, college and in my early twenties have had a more obvious influence on my writing, of course. of these, unquestionably, perhaps inevitably, Robert Frost was my first poet. Frost's influence is so pervasive in American poetry, like Whitman's, as to be beyond assessment. Like the verse of Lewis Carroll, the poetry of Frost has entered my soul. Frost's deceptively plain language, the subtle rhythm of his poetry, his beauty of phrasing, his irony and stoic resolve, are never in stronger evidence than in my favorite Frost poem, "After Apple- Picking," which I read first in high school at about the age of fifteen. This poem of surpassing beauty and melancholy had a particular significance for me since I did pick apples, pears, and cherries in my family's fruit orchard, standing on a ladder, though I was never allowed to climb as high as my father on his "long two-pointed ladder." I understood from experience how the poet's "instep arch not only keeps the ache,/ It keeps the pressure of a ladderround." Frost allowed young writers like me to see that the experiences of our domestic, seemingly ordinary lives could be transmuted into worthy art; not Shakespeare's exalted kings and queens and nobility, in poetry so refined and intricate it seemed, to young readers, another language entirely, were his subjects, but men, women, children like ourselves. This is a distinctly American poetry, accessible to all. It isn't the content of what we write about but the seriousness and subtlety of our expression of this content that determines the worth of our effort. No. 2 Thats the poem that ran through my head as I knelt on the brick path to our front door, tugging dead ferns from the ground and scooping piles of brown pine needles into bags that Neighbor Susan tells us can be any color. The sky is the color of skim milk and it has rained most of the day, but theres a false warmth to the air that sometimes teases me into thinking this is not late Octoberuntil I see those dead ferns, and watch leaves scuttling end-over-end down the early-darkening street. Im not melancholy, just reflective: appreciative of our good life, in a house with two bathrooms and kitchen appliances that match, and a brick front path to be proud of, and a forthcoming new job at Big Ol University (BOU), and a month between MPOW and FPOW to be used for all kinds of fun things (and I find painting bookcases and mixing cookie dough very relaxing, compared to my day job, so dont worry Im not getting any rest). Tomorrow morning Sandy goes off to a conference for five days, so I can do things in my after-work play time during my last full week of work like eat organ meat, watch shoot-em-up movies, and have lengthy conversations at Rex Audio about home entertainment systems. Ill miss her soon enough, but at least for the first two daysmy party hat is on and its liver flambe and Full Metal Jacket, hoo-ah! No. 3 In the poem ?After Apple-Picking?, Robert Frost has cleverly disguised many symbols and allusions to enhance the meaning of the poem. One must understand the parallel to understand the central theme of the poem. The apple mentioned in the poem could be connected to the forbidden fruit from the Garden of Eden. It essentially is the beginning of everything earthly and heavenly, therefore repelling death. To understand the complete meaning of Frost?s poem one needs to be aware that for something to be dead, it must have once had life. Life and death are common themes in poetry, but this poem focuses on what is in between, life?s missed experiences and the regret that the speaker is left with. Regret is defined as ?a feeling of disappointment or distress about something that one wishes could be different? (). While there is no doubt that the speaker in this poem has had a very productive and worthwhile life, one gets the impression that there is still an empty feeling in his life, of which he can do nothing about. In lines 3-6, he reflectively states, ?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?. Here, it is necessary to expand that idea the idea of the apples as a metaphor for life, and say that they also represent missed life experiences. As the speaker looks back on his life, he sees unfinished tasks, and thus he feels regret. It is important . Throwing all sexual connotations aside, "After Apple Picking" is about a dying man who is pondering the accomplishments in his life, and contemplating on the opportunities that he has let pass by. As our narrator drowses off into his final sleep, he is tired of having had so many options, but still he knows that his mind will have time to think and wonder if he should regret. As the poem starts, he is standing on his long ladder pointed towards heaven, and looking down on the apples that he didn't pick. But, he shows no sign of regret, for he admits that he is "done with apple-picking now." Though he seems quite confident in this declaration, the reader questions his sincerity as he looks down at the barrel he didn't fill. For this is his last waking hour, and questions are sure to come while "the essence of winter sleep is on the night." Our narrator goes on to talk about his strange view of the "hoary grass" through a small sheet of ice. As he is looking through this piece of "glass", it begins to melt, thus symbolizing how his view of the world is about to end. Although completely aware of his waning time, he is comforted by knowing "What form his dreaming was about to take. With a somewhat optimistic outlook, he is confident of the positive nature of his thoughts in the afterlife. He supposes that his "dreams" shall be of his many accomplishments; a "stem" to "blossom" overview of his life's works. The narrator also figures that his dreams will show him how he was sturdy, swaying little, when boughs of the trees were bending in the wind. He will see himself as strong under the heat of a barrage of apples come rolling in. After admitting that he has had too much of apple-picking, he seems ready to watch the "Highlights" in his dreaming. While thinking of how successful he has been in his "apple-picking", he begins to wonder of the fruitful opportunities that he has let slip through his hands and fall through to the ground. Although the fallen apples were perfectly ripe and unharmed lying on the ground, they were not even considered and thrown into " the cider-apple heap/ As of no worth." Finally enlightened to the truth of his choices, he is truly concerned of "what trouble" his sleep may bring him. He now looks at his sleep with a more preoccupied face. He wonders if in fact he has always chosen the right path, and if he has really taken advantage of all of his opportunities.