生活中非常普通的苹果在文学中有着非常丰富的象征意义，它有时是亚当与夏娃吃掉的禁果，象征着人类的欲望与原罪；有时是神话中可以永葆青春的宝物，带有生命的意味；有时又化身为取人性命的毒物，散发着死亡的气息；有时则同女性产生联系，象征着爱情，也意味着生育。本文在广泛收集文学文本的基础上，以《圣经》和希腊、北欧神话为中心，同时参考世界文化象征物的相关知识，归纳出了苹果在文学作品中所具有的主要的象征意义，并对其文化成因进行了简单的探索。

Apples have significant symbolic meaning in literature, which in most cases are ordinary in daily life. Sometimes, it can be forbidden fruit eaten by Adam and Eve,signifying the lust and sin of human being; sometimes, it can be treasures maintaining youth forever in myths with the meaning of life; at times, it may be transformed to poison killing people's lives, pervading the smells of death; while it also may be related to women, signifying love or giving birth.This thesis concludes several main symbolic meanings of apples in literature, through widely collecting literature texts and referring to relevant knowledge of world cultural symbols, and then making preliminary attempts at cultural reasons.