The Regrets of a Time Gone By :: essays research papers fc

The Regrets of a Time Gone By Poetry is a language of understanding. The reader must be able to comprehend the various known connotations for words as well as be able to pick up on the uncommon and unknown meanings of words. Poets are masters of language. They constantly manipulate words to make a specific connotation fit the ideas and scenarios that they choose to describe. Therefore, poetry is a language that requires a reader to closely read and pay attention to certain aspects in order for he or she to understand the poet’s message. The poet, Robert Frost, takes the idea of a harvest and uses it as a metaphor to expound upon different aspects of life. In the poem, â€Å"After Apple-Picking,† Frost uses imagery, figurative language, and a reminiscent tone to demonstrate to the reader the various emotions and complications of life. What at first glance from the title seems to be a poem about picking apples is really a metaphor about retirement. The first idea the poem illustrates is that the speaker has no true desire to depart from his work. His â€Å"long two-pointed† ladder that still rest upon the same tree â€Å"toward heaven still† is a metaphor symbolizing his reluctance to leave and accept that the day is coming to an end (line 1)(line 2). He becomes unable to fulfill his last day’s work as though the completion of the task would make the finalization too real. He mentions the â€Å"barrel the [he] didn’t fill† and refers to â€Å"some apples that [he] didn’t pick† that still hang from â€Å"some bough† as though he is leaving something behind that he truly cares about or some matter of unfinished business (line 5). The speaker struggles between feelings of regret and feelings of satisfaction as he ponders his accomplishments and the opportunities that he let pass him by in life. His emotions run the gamut from lament to fulfillment as he slightly regrets the fact that he is â€Å"done with apple-picking now (line 6).† He mentions an â€Å"essence of winter sleep† present in the air which is easily interpreted as a sense of hibernation or a long restful and peaceful slumber that is sure to come very soon (line 7). Grounding this poem in reality reassures the fact that it is after a long day, or era, and the speaker is reflecting on all that has passed him by in that time.