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Poem Analysis: Introduction To Poetry By Billy Collins

Decent Essays

“Introduction to Poetry” by Billy Collins Questions: In what sense does the poem offer suggestions for approaching poetry? What advice does the speaker provide in lines 1-11? By using figurative language to express suggestions, the speaker suggests that a poem should be visually examined and that a poem should also be listened to. The speaker expresses the idea of visually examining a poem by saying that it should be held up to a light like a color slide. When holding a color slide up to a light, in most cases a person is doing this to visually examine the color slide. As for listening to the poem, the speaker suggests that an ear should be pressed against its hive. When pressing an ear against anything, it is typically to listen or hear something. …show more content…

The situations in which hearing is involved are the most descriptive situations in the poem. The poet uses phrases that deal with hearing more effectively than he does the other senses. Furthermore, digging is an action that can be most understood with hearing. The sound of a person digging is not an uncommon sound, therefore it is easier for this sense to be stimulated. Digging does not always involve a strong smell and the sight of digging is not necessarily exciting. Hearing a person digging is more distinct and easier to relate to and discern than smelling and …show more content…

The two roads that the speaker ponders over may literally be roads in the poem, but they represent the paths of life. Many times in a person’s life, he or she has to make decisions. Some decisions may be easy while some may be difficult. In this poem, the speaker is facing the challenge of making a difficult decision. He has to decide which road he wants to take, which represents a person deciding which path to take in life. The final stanza ends with: “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” This line expresses that the speaker’s decision has made an impact in his life. Choosing one road over another has made “all the difference,” similar to any type of difficult decision being

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