J. Clark; SOLS 10.1, 4
Name ______________________________
Period _________________
“After Apple-Picking” Analysis Guide
DIRECTIONS: Work with a partner to answer the following questions about Robert Frost’s “After ApplePicking.”
1. Read “After Apple-Picking” to yourself.
2. Reread it, but, this time, close read and annotate.
3. Does “After Apple-Picking” have a regular rhyme scheme? Circle “yes” or “no.”
4. Infer:
a. In what season is the poem set? (Provide two supporting details.)
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b. In what geographic region? (Provide two supporting details.)
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5. Summarize lines one through six. Be as concise as possible without sacrificing detail.
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6. What might the ladder’s pointing “toward heaven still” symbolize?
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7. What might the unfilled barrel and apples symbolize?
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8. Is “After Apple-Picking” presented chronologically? Circle “yes” or “no.” How do you know?
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9. What time of day is it in lines seven and eight, and what is the speaker doing?
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10. Do lines nine through thirteen refer to a time before or after lines seven and eight? Explain.
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J. Clark; SOLS 10.1, 4
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11. Literally, what is the “pane of glass” the speaker skims from the trough, and why does the world look
strange as perceived though it?
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12. Symbolically?
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13. There is a point at which the speaker’s description of his dream ends and his commentary on said
dream begins. This shift occurs in which line?
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14. In lines twenty-seven and twenty-eight, the speaker reiterates that he has “had too much / Of applepicking.” What might “apple-picking” and “the great harvest” symbolize?
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15. Literally, what is troubling the speaker’s sleep?
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16. Symbolically?
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17. Assign an overall tone to the poem.
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18. Identify a theme and elaborate.
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19. Does “After Apple-Picking” function allegorically? Why or why not?
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J. Clark; SOLS 10.1, 4
20. Highlight/underline at least once example of imagery in “After Apple-Picking” and explain its effect
in the space provided.
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