The Difference Between Constantly Risking Absurdity And You, Reader?

Poetry is a reflection of the poet’s life experiences through the use of various poetic devices as well as imagery (Poetry, 2015). The audience is able to comprehend an understanding about the poet’s message and the influence of the idea. Poets generally write from personal experiences, which form a narrative or reflective piece relating to a place, person or thing (McCabe, S, 2010.) Clive James started his poetry career at the University of Sydney, however over a period of time James began to understand the meaning of successful poetry through crafting a poem with an interesting or personal life events. James understood personal experiences created interesting poetry, with the display for love of language (Patrick, 2009). James uses alliteration,

11. A poet can work its magic on the reader by “choice of images, music of the language, idea content, and cleverness of wordplay” (Foster 17).

The poem suddenly becomes much darker in the last stanza and a Billy Collins explains how teachers, students or general readers of poetry ‘torture’ a poem by being what he believes is cruelly analytical. He says, “all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it”. Here, the poem is being personified yet again and this brings about an almost human connection between the reader and the poem. This use of personification is effective as it makes the

Throughout our lives we all experience things that may make us feel uncomfortable or make us feel insecure, some people experience these more than others. By being put into situations like these people’s insecurities are shown. Here we will be looking at two characters from two different stories. The first character is Amir, he starts off as a young boy growing up wishing to please his father and make him proud of him for the work that he wants to do and we follow him as he grows throughout his journey. The second character is Lucy, she is an 18 year old single mom living on her own with her 8 month old son. In this essay we will look at common experiences that point out these two characters’ insecurities and how they either developed or were

Billy Collins uses dark rooms, oceans, hives, color slides and mouse mazes to describe his poem “Introduction to Poetry”, but also a way to analyze poetry in general. Growing up, students are advised by teachers how to analyze poetry. The speaker of Introduction to Poetry, Billy Collins, attempts to guide the readers by teaching them a unique and appropriate way to analyze poetry. The use of personification and imagery, by the author, gives the readers a new perspective to interpret and find the significance in poetry. In this particular poem, the speaker does not want the reader to listen to the teachers of the reader’s past, “tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a

“Dubbed ‘the most popular poet in America’ by Bruce Weber in the New York Times, Billy Collins is famous for conversational, witty poems that welcome readers with humor but often slip into quirky, tender or profound observation on the everyday, reading and writing, and poetry itself” (“Billy Collins”).“Billy Collins was the American Poet Laureate from 2001 to 2003” (534). His work was highly recognized due to his use of literary elements and his high intellect in the field of poetry. Collins constantly receives praise from others. For example John Updike has been quoted praising his poems saying, “lovely poems...limpid, gently and consistently startling, more serious than they seem, they describe all the worlds that are and were and some others besides” (“Billy Collins”). “Schoolsville” is a classic poem that has been read and enjoyed for many years. The literary elements used throughout the poem help readers relate more to the speaker’s life. Through the use of similes, form and others, Collins provides the audience with a timeless work that shows how reflecting on past experiences can help one in the present. While others may think that this poem is strictly comical and was written only for a sense of enjoyment, some readers interpreted the work as holding a deeper meaning that helps readers transfer the knowledge from the past into their present day lives.

Billy Collins has compiled twelve poetry compilations; made a six figure pay advance, just from changing publishers; served as poet laureate for two terms, which most only serve one term; served as New York’s poet laureate right after his two terms of the United States poet laureate; in total has sold over 200,000 poems since his debut book Pokerface in 1977; named “the most popular poet” by The New York Times. Billy Collins’ fame is almost incomparable to other poets. His poems are are the “not-so-serious” side of the spectrum. Billy Collins’ poetry is known for its dry humor, too. Although his writing is rather plain and is known for being quite humdrum, Billy Collins is the most skilled poet of his time because his poetry is uniquely characterized by his unique dry sense of humor.

To begin, in the poem “Introduction to Poetry” by Billy Collins he wants his readers to appreciate each poem as a piece of art. He wants his readers to look at the poem and get absorbed into the emotion of the poem instead of only wondering what the poem means. He uses personification in this quote “tie the poem to a chair with rope/ and torture a confession out of it” to express what we do to poems (356). We the readers should instead pay attention to the rhyme and style of the word. We should stop worrying about the meaning of the poem. This is similar to another author style in “Poem” by William Carlos Williams he uses a cat to movements in the “jamcloset” to show his readers that we should be like the cat. The cat takes its time to get around the “jamcloset” which is what the readers should do with poetry we must take our time to look at it and appreciate each word, line and stanza.

From controversial events to ordinary life stories, Billy Collins writes about various topics in different perspectives just like a chameleon, changing its colors to fit with its surrounding. Collins talks in a gentle, yet humorous way; he illustrates a profound understanding through a clear observation. His writing style blends humor and solemnity in one entity. Throughout his poetry, Collins demonstrates, in a witty and satirical voice, his insightfulness towards the objects, using numerous poetic devices, especially allusions and metaphors to effectively convey his messages, most of which revolves around the theme of death.

In today’s modern view, poetry has become more than just paragraphs that rhyme at the end of each sentence. If the reader has an open mind and the ability to read in between the lines, they discover more than they have bargained for. Some poems might have stories of suffering or abuse, while others contain happy times and great joy. Regardless of what the poems contains, all poems display an expression. That very moment when the writer begins his mental journey with that pen and paper is where all feelings are let out. As poetry is continues to be written, the reader begins to see patterns within each poem. On the other hand, poems have nothing at all in common with one another. A good example of this is in two poems by a famous writer by

Terry Moore presented a Technology, Education, Design (TED) Talk in May of 2011 entitled “How to Tie Your Shoes.” During which, he humorously explained the best way to tie one's shoes to a group of highly intelligent individuals. He displayed the age-old ways of how to tie shoes, and shows why his way is the best. Moore tries to show everyone that the processes people do every day have the possibility to be improved. Moore does a fantastic job delivering information about a seemingly silly topic, tying one’s shoes, through his own personal experiences and the informal words he used during his speech.

While reading the poem “Introduction to Poetry,” Billy Collins sends a message to the readers that they should be patient and impartial when it comes to analyzing a poem in order to see the true meaning behind the without being over analytical. There is a revieting situation that takes place because Billy Collins is delivering his message to all readers about the way that one should be able to read a poem. This poems educates the reader on how to be able to read and plunge into a poem, through using many techniques like mood, tone, and literary devices to do so. In the first two lines Collins demands that we tackle a poem with a invigorating eye. There should be an exploration of what the poem means to us. How does this poem apply to our

poem is not merely a static, decorative creation, but that it is an act of communication between the poet and

On his first day, he asks someone to read the introduction of the students’ textbook on poetry. The introduction was full of complex wording and ideas about how to understand poetry, which Keating thought was meaningless. He then tells the kids to rip out the whole introduction, saying that poetry goes well beyond the “technical aspects”.

Several poems in the anthology explore the intensity of human emotion. Explore this theme, referring to these three poems in detail and by referencing at least three other poems from your wider reading.’