The commonality in theme that this bears to the epilogue Shakespeare wrote for The Tempest might not be immediately apparent, but again the language and diction of the poem provide clues as to what Frost was really getting at in this poem. The speaker mentions sleep and dreams or dreaming several times in the poem, both of which are commonly used as euphemisms for death (including by Shakespeare himself, in several famous speeches). Winter, too, is generally symbolic of old age, making the speaker's mention of "winter sleep" doubly evocative of increasing age and the awareness of mortality. The autumn scene of the apple picking itself...
The purpose of this poem is similar to that of the epilogue, but has a different perspective; rather than looking ahead at the
afterlife for something to count on and live for, "After Apple-picking" is a view from middle age on what matters in the here-and-now, with an awareness of human mortality at the forefront of the message to the reader.
Though separated by three hundred years in terms of their authorship, these poems touch on very similar themes. The issue of mortality is often forefront in people's minds, no matter what time period they are living -- and dying -- in. Frost, whether purposefully or not, carved a deep connection to Prospero with this poem.
