What does the ‘apple bright’ stand for in the poem?

The correct answer is Option (1) → the speaker’s hidden anger, grown into something tempting and deadly

The apple grows on the plant of anger.

• The speaker hid his anger and fed it day and night, “Till it bore an apple bright”.
• A shining apple attracts the foe, so it is tempting. Tempting means hard to say no to.
• The foe steals into the garden to get it. In the morning he lies dead under the tree.
• So the apple is the speaker’s anger in its final form. It looks good but it kills.

Why the Other Options are Incorrect?

Option 2: the reward that the speaker earns for his patience — Incorrect. Wrong meaning: The apple is not a prize for the speaker. It grows from his anger and it destroys his foe.

Option 3: the foe’s greed for things that belong to others — Incorrect. Wrong focus: The foe does steal the apple. But the apple grew from the speaker’s wrath. It stands for that anger, not for the foe’s greed.

Option 4: the friendship that the speaker hopes to win back — Incorrect. Contradicted: The apple grows from anger at a foe. The speaker never tries to make peace with him.