Yeats's "Song of Wandering Aengus" ends with the lines: "And pluck till time and times are done/The silver apples of the moon/The golden apples of the sun." Which of the following is NOT a symbolic meaning of the apples ?
Correct answer: C. They symbolize the coming apocalypse.
- A. They symbolize the return to a lost paradise.
- B. They point to alchemical elements, which in turn symbolize the body and the soul.
- C. They symbolize the coming apocalypse.
- D. They symbolize a fulfilled longing.
Explanation
The apples suggest recovered paradise, spiritual and bodily fulfilment, and the satisfaction of a lifelong quest. They do not primarily signify the coming apocalypse, so that reading does not fit the poem's ending.
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