This piece is a theoretical analysis essay. It's purpose is to offer insight of Robert Frost's "After Apple Picking" through the theoretical approach of psychoanalysis to a scholarly audience that is familiar with the text. Overall, the essay suggests that, through a psychoanalytic approach, “After Apple Picking” illustrates the speaker’s struggle to overcome unconscious sexual desires.
Overall, this piece was an eye-opening experience for me. First of all, I never would have imagined that I could anaylze a poem like I did in this particular piece. I also was surprised by my implementation of the pyschoanalytic lens; specifically, I never would have imagined that I could arrive to such an abstract conclusion. Overall, this piece best demonstrates my beginning development with theortetical analysis and poetry analysis.
Robert Frost’s “After Apple-Picking”
A representative of the postmodern criticism once said, “[One has] finally come to realize that no such thing as objective reality exists; there is no ultimate truth because truth is perspectival, depending upon the community and social group in which [he] lives” (Bressler 90). Thus, the search for multiple truths began. In fact, emerging under the influence of postmodernism, a literary criticism of structural analysis aimed to identify the very truths addressed by postmodernism. Structuralism is a common criticism today which is grounded in structural linguistics, as it asserts “overall unity and significance to every form of communication and social behavior” (Bressler 91). Scholars suggest this is an effective approach to understand the depth and complexity of literature, especially in appreciation of Robert Frost’s “After Apple Picking.” While the application of this particular theory may be plausible, it is limited and ineffective. Furthermore, a structural literary criticism would not present a fresh perspective on the depth of Frost’s work nor broaden the reader’s psychological understanding of the poem. Therefore, a psychoanalytic approach of the poem would strengthen its insight. “After Apple Picking” illustrates the speaker’s struggle to overcome unconscious sexual desires.
As the speaker is infatuated with erotic resemblances, it is important first to understand the conventional symbol of the ladder as it relates to the contextual understanding of the speaker’s struggle. Conventionally, ladders are understood as a gateway. From the material world to the spiritual, ladders are the symbol of conscious progression. In fact, according to a recent web article, the “ladder” is understood to symbolize ascension (Panek). Furthermore, the ladder suggests the extensive, strenuous process of reaching the highest realm of consciousness in which “each rung represents a gradual ascent of wisdom, knowledge, enlightenment and perfection earned one step at a time” (Panek). While the conventional understanding of the ladder suggests one may overcome the tedious struggles of life to achieve a more conscious, enlightened understanding of the surrounding world, what is the contextual understanding of the ladder as it relates to the struggle of the speaker? The same understanding of the ladder is evident in the poem, yet there is much deeper explanation. Consider the Freudian theory of dream work. Freud suggests dreams are responsible for two elements: the manifest and the latent (Wilson). The manifest refers to the element of dreaming that is meaningless such as the material remembered after the dreaming experience; the latent, on the other hand, is the element of dreaming that comprises the true meaning as to reveal the unconscious desires. The particular process of recognizing these two elements is the theory of dream work; the dreamer can identify these elements through condensation, displacement, symbolism, and secondary revision (William). Condensation simply refers to the two or more latent thoughts which compose the dream (William). Displacement is the second layer of the dream which directs the latent thoughts toward an irrelevant object in the dream (William). The third and fourth layers of the manifest dream function collectively. As the symbolism of complex concepts are converted into erotic, dream imagery, secondary revision conceals the appearance of incoherence; “in essence, secondary revision can be thought of as the ways in which the dream work covers up the contradiction and attempts to reorganize the dream into a pattern in sync with the dreamer’s experience of everyday life (William). According to the process of dream work, the ladder exemplifies the third step, symbolism; the ladder is completely sexual in meaning.
Infatuated with erotic resemblances, the speaker is fixated with the ladder as male genitalia. Furthermore, the ladder in the poem is a symbol of the speaker’s struggle and progression to overcome his unconscious sexual desires. In fact, there are many accounts in which the speaker refers to the position of his ladder suggesting his level of decline and improvement. In the first stanza, the speaker reference the position of his ladder directed “toward heaven” (l. 2), while the end of the poem marks the diminished position of the ladder (ll. 21-23). Clearly, the speaker appears to struggle with the ascension of his ladder and overcome his sexual desire. In fact, he still unconsciously dwells on his past life of intense sexual desire as emphasized by the imagery of the “long, pointed” ladder and its “sticking” through the “tree.” The word choice of “long” and “pointed” forms the image of male genitalia as it penetrates, “sticks through,” women – the mother to nature and the nurturing “tree.” This imagery not only supports the speaker’s sexual desires reflecting through the symbolism of the ladder, but it also emphasizes his erotic fixation. The symbol of the ladder within this poem is clear. The ladder is his erotic struggle to ascend to the conscious level of self-actualization in union with the one and only woman – the ultimate couple.
The very nature of picking the apples is described erotically similar to the nature of sexual intercourse. Again, consider the symbolism of the dream work process in which the dream reveals the unconscious desires through symbolic figures. In this poem, the ladder is one symbol of the speaker’s sexual desires. Another symbol or metaphor of his sexual desires includes the act of apple picking. Consider the moment in which the speaker details and recalls his dream of apple-picking: “My instep arch not only keeps the ache, /It keeps the pressure of the ladder round. /I feel the ladder sway as the boughs bend.” (ll.21-23). First of all, imagine the role of an “arch” and its influence during sexual intercourse. Perhaps, the “arch” refers to the arch in the speaker’s back as he extends toward the act. This image directly influences the “pressure of the ladder round.” Knowing the ladder is an extended symbol of the speaker’s male genitalia, the use of “pressure” is clear. The speaker is also sure to identify the female role: “And I keep hearing from the cellar bin…” (ll. 24). The female figure is emphasized by the imagery of a “bin.” According to Freudian dream theory, “boxes, cases, chests, cupboards, ovens, suitcases and other hollow objects represent the female genitalia” (William). Therefore, the hollow imagery of a “bin” implies the presence of female genitalia. Furthermore, a recent article suggests the symbolic figure of an apple has aphrodisiac qualities to symbolize the love rituals in European culture (“Fruits Fable and Folklore”). According to the tradition of Europe in the Middle Ages, “if a woman wanted a man to respond to her loving desires, she had to sleep with an apple under her arm and persuade the man to eat it the following day; he would then have eyes for her only” (“Fruits Fable and Folklore”). Considering the content of this poem, it seems as the aphrodisiac quality of the apple reveals the metaphor of the poem. From triggering the sexual intercourse to the literal act, the speaker details the elements which facilitate sexual intercourse: “Of load on load of apples coming in. /For I have had too much /Of apple-picking: I am overtired. /Of the great harvest I myself desired.” (ll.25-30). The aesthetic quality of “rumbling” and “load on load” suggest the physical interaction of sex (further supporting the role of “pressure”). Finally, the speaker finishes the erotic scene as he admits the “bough bends” and is “overtired.” If this evidence is not convincing enough, the speaker actually admits to the “great harvest [he] desired.” So as the speaker details his dream of apple-picking, he clearly reveals his erotic fixation and unconscious sexual desires.
The speaker contemplates his current, disturbing sexual desires. The speaker has a dream that reveals the overwhelming depth of his sexual desires. The fact that the speaker has a dream concerning his sexuality implies there is a foundation of sexual tension. In fact, according to the Freudian theory of dream work, such unconscious desires are evaluated and reorganized “into a pattern in sync with the dreamer’s experience of everyday life” (William). Therefore, the mind identifies the psychological struggle and counters it through the process of dreaming. Furthermore, when the dreamer realizes this process, he becomes more in tune with his conscious. This elevation of the conscious is evident as the speaker contemplates his encounter with the women or the “apples:” “And there’s a barrel that I didn’t fill /Beside it [the ladder], and there may be two or three /Apples I didn’t pick upon some bough. /But I am done with apple-picking now” (ll. 3-6). First of all, note the repetition of hollow-object imagery with the language of a “barrel.” The speaker again references to sexual intercourse in which he “fills the “barrel.” In this particular moment, however, he does not necessarily infatuate himself with the sexual imagery, but rather he contemplates its consequences. The speaker is aware that there are multiple women he has had the pleasure of initiating sexual intercourse, thus the reference of “two or three apples”, but he insists he is finished. Perhaps the speaker realizes the consequence of having multiple sexual partners is not so good after all. In fact, the speaker subtly touches on this concept. To appreciate this conscious awareness, it is important to understand the speaker’s method of his sexual encounters. First of all, he generalizes the women he “encounters” by identifying their vast quantity: There were ten thousand thousand fruit to touch…” (ll.31); this unifying method is vital to the speaker’s proceeding implication. As the speaker describes the sexual encounter, he recognizes three different elements in the process: “Cherish in hand, lift down, and not let fall.” (ll.32). The cherishment element is important because it suggest the speaker is aware of an initial appreciation of treasuring sexual intercourse. This particular awareness not only suggests a prominent value for the speaker, but it also suggests a respectable value for the partner – the woman; a ground-breaking concept during a time of inequality among men and women. Moreover, the speaker supports the dignity of women by acknowledging their victimizing position and denouncing its implications: “For all /That struck the earth, /No matter if not bruised or spiked with stubble, /Went surely to the cider-apple heap /As of no worth.” (ll. 32-36). So as to realize men’s conscious, or “lifting,” downfall of women and the worthless attribution to women, the speaker reveals his conscious awareness of degrading, sexual desires; and through careful contemplation, the speaker decides to put an end to it.
The speaker recalls his previous sexual encounters as the root to his death. This is the defining moment the speaker becomes to realize the degrading form of his sexual encounters. In fact, this dream may be a result of his concern with death as it relates to his sexual encounters with multiple women. Consider the speaker’s description of the pane of glass: I cannot rub the strangeness from my sight /I got from looking through a pane of glass /I skimmed this morning from the drinking trough /And held against the world of hoary grass. /It melted, and I let it fall and break.” (ll. 9-13). First of all, consider the pane of glass as a reflection of the speaker. The glass allows the speaker to visualize the person he has become. Furthermore, it reminds him of the person he is to become. In this sudden realization, the glass melts, falls, and breaks. In the same way, the speaker realizes that his life may diminish, fall, or break due to his shameful lifestyle. This is the reason the speaker ignites such a dream. While the speaker may have seen a reflection of his present life and life to come, he does not complete understand all of its implications. Therefore, the speaker constantly contradicts himself, and, ultimately, wakes from his dream without consolation.
Even though the speaker concludes with the intention to overcome his unconscious sexual desires, his contradictions suggest otherwise. The speaker scarcely emphasizes the value of the transcendental union; instead, he contradicts the value of union through his fixation of multiple relationships. First of all, what is a transcendental union? The union must exists between one man and woman; furthermore, this union must transcend the physical. The transcendental union extends beyond any objective element of the world and exists within the depths of the soul. While the speaker seemingly appreciates the notion of a transcendental union, it is clear the speaker neither understands this relationship nor fulfills it. As identified in the beginning of the poem, the speaker dwells on the relationship of more than “two or three apples” (ll. 4-5). In fact, the quantity of “two or three apples” is that which the speaker “didn’t pick up;” therefore, he has interacted with much more. Moreover, the implication of “picking up” and “filling” has a sexual connotation. Considering the implication of the apples, this particular emphasis of quantity suggests the speaker has had sexual intercourse with numerous women. As he has had sexual intercourse with more than one woman, the speaker further implies he has had multiple women in one sexual intercourse. Consider his description of the sounds which arrive from filling the cellar bin: “And I keep hearing from the cellar bin /The rumbling sound /Of load on load of apples coming in.” (ll. 24-26). First of all, note the symbolic repetition of female genitalia in which the speaker references the hollow “cellar” and “bin.” The “rumbling sound” is the key element which suggests the actual sexual intercourse, and the language of “load” implies the quantity. So in the context of “filling” the “cellar bin,” the speaker has had sexual intercourse with the “load” of women in just this one event. The speaker must overcome this sexual struggle to remain with one “apple.” Before he can reach to the highest rung of his “ladder,” the speaker reveals this struggle throughout the poem. Further evidence suggests the speaker never overcomes his struggle. Consider the very heart of his contemplation in which he begins to value the role of one woman. He still inhibits his argument when he fixates on the “ten thousand thousand” women. Even the repetition of “thousand” supports his fixation. Contradicting his effort to value women, the speaker just objectifies them in quantity. This particular form of contradiction is evident throughout the poem.
The speaker’s infatuation of erotic resemblances is not only the root of his struggle, but it is rooted in his “ladder” of progression; therefore, the speaker inhibits progression and will consistently fail to ascend his unconscious sexual desires. Just like his fixation of the multiple women, the speaker’s fixation of the erotic will continue to disintegrate his progression. Consider that the figure of the ladder is supposed to encourage progression from the material to the spiritual and from the unconscious to the conscious. The speaker cannot climb the ladder of it is the root of his struggle, literally. The ladder is also a symbol of the speaker’s male genitalia, the very root of sexual desire. The two roots cannot produce the same plant; instead, they will interrupt the growth of one another because neither have the necessary nutrients to grow. Employ this metaphor in the understanding of the speaker’s growth; he needs the right support to obtain the realm of the conscious. And, at this rate, the speaker will never rise to this horizon.
Robert Frost’s effective application of metaphor and symbolism illustrates the speaker’s struggle to overcome unconscious sexual desires. Furthermore, broadening the reader’s psychological understanding and offering a fresh perspective of Frost’s work is a result of utilizing the psychoanalytic approach. Psychological development and understanding is equally evident in Robert Frost’s “Nothing Gold Can Stay.” In the same way, readers can assess the depth and complexity of his poem through its psychological implications. From the subtle observations of nature to its complex implication of purity, the poem emphasizes the neurosis of the tainted and the pure. Consider the line in which the speaker suggests purity does not last forever: “Her early leaf’s a flower; /But only so an hour” (ll. 3-4). Not only is purity limited to the confinements of time, but it is also restricted to the confinements of an hour. The metaphor reveals the speaker’s internal neurosis of maintaining pure while balancing the temptations of society. Further examination of the text concludes the speaker’s contemplation of the tainted and the pure in which a balance will never exist among the two – once contaminated, the world will forever be polluted – leaving its readers with a broad understanding of its psychological implications similar to Robert Frost’s “After Apple-Picking.”
Works Cited
Bressler, Charles E. Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. 5th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 2011. Print.
Frost, Robert. “After Apple-Picking.” The American Poetry & Literacy Project, ed. 101 Great American Poems. New York: Dover, 1998. Print. Pages 44-45.
Frost, Robert. “Nothing Gold Can Stay.” The American Poetry & Literacy Project, ed. 101 Great American Poems. New York: Dover, 1998. Print. Pages 44-45.
"Fruits Fable and Folklore." Web log post. Squidoo. Squidoo, LLC, 2013. Web. 26 Apr. 2013.
Panek, Jospeh. "The Ladder." Web log post. A Seeker's Thoughts. The Blog Flux Local, 29 Nov. 2009. Web. 26 Apr. 2013.
Wilson, Kevin. “Introduction to Sigmund Freud’s Theory on Dreams.” Word Press, 22 October 2012. Web. 26 April 2013.
