What does the empty barrel signify in After Apple-Picking?

If we think about this poem as a poem about the speaker's attitudes at the end of his life, I think we can see what the barrel signifies.  I believe that it signifies the things in life that the speaker would have liked to do but was unable to do.

Scholars argue that the apple harvest is a metaphor for the speaker's life.  He has finished with all the work he is going to do, he is tired and ready to die.  But there is still this barrel he didn't fill as well as those apples he didn't pick.  In other words, he still has some regrets -- some things he wishes he could have done or feels like he should have done.

What does the empty barrel symbolize in "After Apple-Picking"?

In his poem “After Apple-Picking”, the poet Robert Frost at first glance seems to be merely describing the activities of a tired and exhausted apple-picker. The poet mentions an empty barrel in the third line: “And there’s a barrel that I didn’t fill,” which again initially seems to be merely referring to an empty barrel used for apple-picking, that the narrator simply was unable or unwilling to continue to fill with apples.

However, when looking more closely at this poem, it quickly becomes apparent that the poem is actually dealing with the problems and difficulties of life, using the apples and the apple-picking as a metaphor for people’s tasks and responsibilities in life. The apples could be seen as opportunities in life, which would then make the empty barrel a metaphor for various missed opportunities in life, meaning the author reflects back on his life and feels that he has not always done his best or has fallen short in even trying to do his best.

He is acknowledging the fact that the barrel is empty. In other words he is aware that there have been opportunities in his life that he has failed to take, yet he makes no attempts of filling the barrel, as he is simply too exhausted by life’s hardship and simply can’t go on: “there may be… Apples I didn’t pick upon some bough.” The narrator is too exhausted and too tired. He needs to rest, which he confirms by saying “Essence of winter sleep is on the night, The scent of apples: I am drowsing off.”