What does it take to make a poem a poem worthwhile?
Every now and then readers come across a poem, of course there’s certain things to help make that poem a good one. Some may say that Billy Collins poem “Introduction to Poetry” is a fantastic poem, while some may not like it at all. So, let’s find out why some think it’s a fantastic poem. While Collins brings meaning to the poem “introduction to Poetry” through the use of form, tone, rhythm, and irony.
All poems have a way of being written known as the form. The poem “Introduction to Poetry” by Billy Collins is written in a metaphorical way. Collins used many different metaphors in his poem. The metaphors show that there is more in a poem than just the words. For example, when
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The form of stanzas is what help and shape a poem. The stanzas in this poem are important because each stanza is a different metaphor of how poems should be looked at. Stanzas help writers to be able to write in short fragments throughout whatever it is they may be writing. Many different situations in this world have bits of irony in them, including poems. Billy Collins’ poem is a good poem to show an example of irony. Collins uses metaphors and similes which help him show irony. In that case, here’s an example of irony “but all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with a rope and torture a confession out of it” (Collins lines 12-14). In that quote I feel as if it means we read a poem to find a meaning, instead of just reading the poem for casual fun. Of course, when I read a poem I also try to figure out what it means, but sometimes there’s not a meaning behind the poem other than just a short fictional fun thing to read. I believe the irony Collins is giving us is that yes, we should read the poem, enjoy it, then find a meaning to go along with the poem we just read. In conclusion every book, story, poem, movie or song has little bit of irony in it. While the one reading this should have learned a few things about the poem “Introduction to Poetry” by Billy Collins. While the one reading this should have learned about form, tone, rhythm, and irony while reading this paper. While reading you can see how different
“Life is fine!” is not what one typically announces if their life really is fine (Hughes l.27). Often, people hide behind masks of being “fine” to hide their true issues, such as depression and despair. The poem “Life is Fine” by Langston Hughes as well as “On Turning Ten” by Billy Collins tackles the topic of depression. While both poems focus on this theme of depression, they greatly differ in their perspectives and outlooks for the future, one with a suicidal adult as narrator, the other a ten year old child.
Richard Blanco is a Cuban- American poet who was given the oppurunity to write an inaugaration poem for Barack Obama's second swearing-in. He wrote a poem titled "One Today" that praised the good and unique things about the United States and also the everyday people who's daily routines help to make America the proud country that it is.
Lorna Dee Cervantes' poem, “Poema para los Californios Muertos” (“Poem for the Dead Californios”), is a commentary on what happened to the original inhabitants of California when California was still Mexico, and an address to the speaker's dead ancestors. Utilizing a unique dynamic, consistently alternating between Spanish and English, Cervantes accurately represents the fear, hatred, and humility experienced by the “Californios” through rhythm, arrangement, tone, and most importantly, through use of language.
The Poem “Introduction to Poetry” is by Billy Collins, an English poet, and it is about how teachers often force students to over-analyze poetry and to try decipher every possible meaning portrayed throughout the poem rather than allowing the students to form their own interpretation of the poem based on their own experiences.
"Irony is a device that protects him (the artist) from the pain of his experience so that he may use it objectively in his art(Susquehanna. "New Critical")." In The Glass Menagerie, it is ironic how Tom speaks badly of his father and his leaving home but in the end he leaves home just like his father, the man "in love with long distances (Williams 30)''. The fact that Amanda wants what is best for her children is ironic because she worries so much over it that she doesn't realize what is best for them.
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.
The structure of the poem is free, and what it does is to give us the spirit of the sea. The poem is written in free verse, there is no restrictions of formal rhyme or meter. However, the length of the three stanzas of the poem is very even although it is not exact. It makes the flow of the entire poem became balanced. This form of structure is just like the wave of the sea. The period of the wave is natural and balanced; it is pretty even but it is not exact. Also, there are a lot of commas in the poem. Keeping using commas makes the sentences very long. In fact, the entire poem is constructed by 6 sentences only. It makes the feeling of the poem just like the sea, and lines of the poem are the wave of the sea. Each endings of the waves are
Apart from that, the poem consists of a series of turns that reflect different parts of the speaker’s feelings and the experiences he had. The significance of these turns is made possible through the use of stanza breaks. For example, the first
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
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
Poetry is a varied art form. Poetry is expression with words, using aesthetics and definition. Word choice in poetry is the single most important thing. Devices such as assonance, alliteration and rhythm work in a poem to convey a certain image or to facilitate understanding. Similes and metaphors can take two unlike objects, such as a potato and cinderblock, and if done the correct way use them to describe how Abraham Lincoln dealt with scoundrels. Poetry is beautiful. One of the best genres in poetry, let alone a great literary movement is Romanticism or the post-enlightenment Romantics.
Poetry allows the writer, the reader and even those listening to get a deeper sense of being. It gives us the opportunity to break free from simple and boring routine. If done correctly a poem will done correctly a poem will be able to stir emotion, and create wonder. In order to this however all the part that make up a poem must be in sync. Its tone, diction, imaginary, rhythm, symbolism and subject matter are all critical areas. A good poem will draw an emotional reaction from its audience, whether those are light and upbeat or darker more serious feelings they will come away with a new experience, changed by what they just experienced. Two such poems that embody what a good poem should be are “Lady Lazarus” by Sylvia Plath and “Harlem”, also published as “Dream Deferred” by Langston Hughes. These poems elevate the experience for reading, listening and writing poetry, and serve as an excellent reference for a poem should be.