Marginalia Billy Collins Summary

In “The Author to Her Book,” Bradstreet is inundated in indecision and internal struggles over the virtues and shortfalls of her abilities and the book that she produced. As human beings we associate and sympathize with each other through similar experiences. It is difficult to sympathize with someone when you don’t know where they are coming from and don’t know what they are dealing with. Similar experiences and common bonds are what allow us to extend our sincere appreciation and understanding for another human being’s situation. In this poem an elaborate struggle between pride and shame manifests itself through an extended metaphor in which she equates her book to her own child.

In the essay, Disliking Books at an Early Age, Gerald Graff talks about his transition from being displeased and uninterested in literature, to having intellectual discussions about it and even teaching it. He did not begin to enjoy reading until he had discussions about the books that he read, which showed him a different perspective. Overall, his essay explains how readers can only enjoy literature if they turn it into a social activity by freely interpreting and discussing the pieces they have read.

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

My English Literature major has helped me to achieve an outstanding level of appreciation, enjoyment, and knowledge of both American and British Literature. As a high school AP English student, I struggled through great works like Hamlet and To the Lighthouse. My teacher’s daily lectures (there was no such thing as class discussion) taught me merely to interpret the works as critics had in the past. I did not enjoy the reading or writing process. As a freshman at Loras, I was enrolled in the Critical Writing: Poetry class. For the first time since grade school, my writing ability was praised and the sharing of my ideas was encouraged by an enthusiastic and nurturing professor. Despite the difficulty of poetry, I enjoyed reading it.

Contemporary civilisation places immense significance upon writings that stimulate the human psyche. Weldon extrapolates upon this notion through her epistolary work Letters to Alice. The author imbues the audience with the extended metaphorical image of the “City on Invention”. This developed and intricate allegory facilitates comprehension regarding the depth of literary matter. Such complexity is explicated by the alliteration of “mind meeting mind” coupled with the sarcastic “It’s getting crowded”. The City exists as a metaphysical realm negligent of boundaries, thus exemplifying the human mind and appetite for growth. However, Weldon makes tantamount didactic statements that transcend metaphorical allusion and convey explicit points. The high modality language of “no one burns Emma” is symbolic of humanity and its inherent need to preserve and learn about the foundations of its society. Furthermore, Weldon employs a mocking tonality in “real history” to reveal her didactic perspective pertaining to literature, furthered by the authorial intrusion of “you must read”. Weldon re-enforces the relevance of literal compositions, outlining the dire need for its prevalence in society. By observing the past through an inscribed lens, humanity progresses. The written word acts as an artefact through which contemporary society may learn to better themselves by considering the nature of each

The most essential parts of active reading are always focusing on an article and thinking more than just passively read, striving to enter into a dialogue with the editors. First, briefly look over the article and read the main points of it, at the same time the readers can also write down their ideas about the topic. These two steps are significant because the readers will be more spirited than usual, so that they can catch the editors’ central idea better and have a deeper understanding of it. Next, make marginal notes or comments. The example of a student’s notes on a poem well shows that take notes can help the readers recall where important points are discussed. Not only can they summarize the article and give assent, but also they can ask questions about it. Finally, the readers are encouraged to keep a reading journal of an essay or chapter in a reader’s own words because this can stimulate one’s own thinking. The given examples are two students’ journals, which show their critical thinking on a poem and their ideas combined with their specific

Ruszkiewicz, John, Daniel Anderson, and Christy Friend. Beyond Words: Cultural Texts for Reading and Writing. New York: Pear

Prose appeals to ethos in this essay by appealing to the reader as a mother, educator, and student. By writing from the perspective of both a student and educator, Prose shows how both are affected by assigned literature. By discussing her own two sons, she appeals to readers who are mothers by expressing her concern about their education.

Happenings and the memories they bring about cause people’s emotions to be evoked, and notebooks are one way in which they can be recorded. In “On Keeping a Notebook”, an excerpt written by Joan Didion, the narrator talks about keeping a notebook that simply describe the main acts to express her feelings caused by it rather than recounting it. A notebook and its constituents represent the person’s character and denote the significant effect a certain occurrence has on them. Didion uses numerous rhetorical strategies to suitably reinforce her point and to appeal to her readers.

In the poem “Introduction to Poetry,” Billy Collins contrasts a teacher’s passionate view of poetry with his students’ objective ones. The teacher urges the students to take the time to carefully examine a poem instead of forcing a deeper meaning out of its words. Collins uses imagery such as “press an ear against its hive” and “feel the walls for a light switch” to emphasize using all of the senses to fully experience a poem and to explain that there are various ways of approaching it. This imagery’s connotation also contrasts greatly with that of the students’. The teacher depicts creative and interesting ways of learning the true meaning of a poem while the students would rather “tie the poem to a chair with rope/and torture a confession

The poem Suicide Note, written by Janice Mirikitani (1987), talks about a young lady, who has studied in an Asian-American female college. The lady, unfortunately, committed suicide by jumping through her dormitory’s window. She left behind a note, citing reasons that led to her actions. After a critical analysis of the note, her parents were held responsible for her actions; they were pressurizing her to perform better in her exams. The poem, thus, describes the real feelings and the emotions of this young lady, who believes that committing suicide is the only option left to please her parents and to escape the enormous pressure placed on her. The persona uses voice in the poem to bring our attention to the sufferings she was going through, and that led to the devastating event. Voice in poetry is the strong words of a line, stanza or a page that creates a relationship between the audience and the persona. Voice can, therefore, be categorized as imagery, patterns of sounds created, rhythm, tone, and diction (Gahern 166). The following is a description of how the voice in Mirikitani’s suicide note helps the reader understand the persona’s reasoning.

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 this literary analysis it is essential to compare and contrast Cathy Song’s poem “Heaven” and Bryan Thao Worra’s poem “Pen/Sword” to give the reader a better understanding of what the authors’ are conveying to their readers. The similarities in the style, word choice, and theme will be compared, along with the differences of style, word choice, and theme reflected throughout each poem. Furthermore, I will determine the meaning behind the broken up and/or the way the lines of each poem while describing why the lines are strategically placed throughout the pieces. This will allow me to identify the meaning that the authors’ are explaining to the reader. Each poet specifically writes to give the reader(s) a picture of what they are feeling and defining their emotion through their writing.

Modernism, in literature, can be seen as a shift in focus to the unassociated introspective reflection of characters in such texts as Go Tell It On The Mountain, by James Baldwin, Miss Lonelyhearts, by Nathanael West and The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger. This is a revision from the previous focal point of exterior events and places in correlation with the character’s reflections. Emphasis is placed on review upon feelings and thoughts, and even conversations with oneself, as opposed to the more directly event-driven reflections in texts of the pre-modernist era.

Literature, no matter what the topic of form it comes in, has the ability to raise issues, spark thought/imagination, and/or draw out emotions that have been buried deep within us as people. It is expected, from the authors, that readers will form opinions and criticisms for their works. Be it that the readers’ emotions parallel those of the writer or differ; some thoughts and opinions are expected.