“The Children in the Apple-Tree”: The Meaning of Fruits in T.S. Eliot’s Poetry

Abstract

Since J. Alfred Prufrock asked the question “Do I dare to eat the peach?”, T.S. Eliot’s poems, essays and plays have provided food for thought for generations over the past century. Literary critics, historians and scholars of cultural modernity have occasionally noted the poet’s interest in depicting and commenting on how modern individuals perceive sources of nourishment, their transformative power and the consequences of their absence. This paper draws on previous studies of his work to explore and highlight the representation of fruits, fruition and fruitlessness in several of his poems. It also reconsiders earlier interpretations, shedding light on missing aspects and bringing attention to new insights into poems from his earliest to his last collections. The analysis employs several interpretive techniques, including symbolic analysis to uncover how fruit imagery in Eliot’s work reflects themes of existential questioning, spiritual emptiness and societal critique. It situates this symbolism within the broader modernist exploration of alienation and renewal. Additionally, the study assesses Eliot’s literary influences, such as European satire and French symbolism, and their impact on his thematic concerns. An ecocritical perspective is also used to examine how Eliot’s portrayal of food and nature engages with early 20th-century ecological and cultural issues, reconsidering materialism and spirituality.