Poetry Analysis of "Introduction to Poetry"

Williams describes the context and story behind this poem which is important, especially relating it to visual art and culture. He

What I believe Billy Collins in his poem “Introduction to Poetry” is how he believes poetry should be read. It teaches the reader how to go into a poem, in the form of a poem. What really stood out to me is how there is a lot of excellent use of literary devices to help create imagery for the reader to help grasp Collins’ message. On line 3, Collins uses a simile: “like a color slide” saying that the reader must look through the color slide (the poem) in order to focus in and search for the picture (the message). After this, Collins provides three metaphors to illustrate his message. In one of these three metaphors, he says “I want them to waterski across the surface of the poem waving at the author’s name on the shore.” Like the other two

With no rhyme scheme present, the poem gives off a “chaotic” feeling, like the children who bully the other kids on the playground. Collins also uses a facetious tone to describe the absurdity of the teacher’s interpretation of history. He portrays him as someone that can’t be sympathized with and ignorant of what happens around him. Collins’ description of the children tormenting others while the teacher “walked home past flower beds and white picket fences” shows a contrast between the two, implying that either one or both of them are in worlds of their

In Billy collins' speech, the main goal was to revive poetry in a new way for people to expand their understanding of poetry. First, he used animation to a create a vivid understanding and illustrate his poems. Additionally, the use of animated poems helped in clarifying some of the important aspect of poetry, which is the use of imagination and explication. Thus, I was able to develop a new interest of the types of poetry. Next, he was able to clarify that poetry require more comprehensive and intense thinking process, unlike the way it was seen in the animation. This is one of the most common mistakes people anticipate upon reading poems which is the underestimation of the poem complexity. Then, he was able to include humor in his poem which.

This poem included many similes that allowed the reader to have sequential images which eased the understanding of the poem. For example, " I like to imagine love can pull your essence like red thread through the cold needle of my life now without you." In this example, the simile that was used help in transcribing feelings into images by comparing essence to red thread. Additionally, the use of imagery such as "each an ego of forced air, heavy with the smells of onions, mushrooms, sage and rain.", helped in connecting the readers with poet's thoughts by using the sense of smell. Thus, the images of grief and memories installed upon us as readers allowed the theme sent from the poet to be explicitly understood.

This poem also has powerful metaphors intertwined into its text. This is exemplified in the sentence “and the wind, as before, fingers perfectly it’s derisive music.” Again the writer gives

“Fast, let him sting for it, now, now fool him slowly, anything, everything tricky, risky, nonchalant… Over his head, make him scramble to pick up the meanings.” (p.556) This means that the poem should be interesting and exciting to read and it has to keep the reader engaged, and make him search for the answers. The poet makes the reader unfold the layers of the poem like pealing onion. With each layer, the reader discovers something beneath all the layers.

Since the beginning of school, we have been taught how to analyze literature given to us. Teachers drill into our heads how to go through stories extensively and identify various points such as plot, setting, characters, etc. When poetry is introduced to us, it is meant to be a written art piece that invokes emotions to the reader. When we read poetry, we have a predisposition to pick them apart, investigate every word used, and try to find some hidden meaning between the lines. In the poem “Introduction to Poetry,” author Billy Collins conveys his disdain for the over interpretation of poetry through his use of metaphors, sensory imagery, and drastic tonal shift.

Billy Collins doesn’t just want you to look at only the meaning in poetry, but also to become enthralled by it at a surface level. He says that he would “want them to water-ski across the surface of a poem…” (p5, l9), which shows us that

The structure of the poem has been skilfully manipulated to emphasise Duffy's key points. Important ideas have been deliberately highlighted by isolating them in the form of one line verse paragraphs. We also have the run on line (enjambment) used again to create smooth flow downward. Lastly, we have the use of a form of dialogue; the narrator is speaking to her lover, but he does not reply. This serves to give us the effect of a dialogue without the strictly correct dramatic format. It is a distinctly one-sided dialogue which expresses the perspective of the narrator and perhaps invites the reader to enter the debate.

In the poem “Introduction to Poetry” by Billy Collins, the major theme the author chooses to cover is that poetry is meant to be experienced and that you should not over think it. More often than not a reader will go through a poem and try to figure out the underlying meaning after only reading it once. Metaphors and imagery are used side by side throughout the poem to prove this point.

His love for poetry is one element of this poem which draws you in, and catches you in its warm enveloping glove. In some poems, one has to dig and pry to understand the meaning. This is not a poem of such nature. The interpretation begins when you sit back and enjoy the imagery. The poem begins and ends with a tranquil image of a conversation as the sun sets one summer evening. Later he paints a wonderful image with the moon rising, and sun setting, casting a “blue-green” hue across the quite reflecting sky.

To begin, in the poem “Introduction to Poetry,” Billy Collins 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 with poems (356). We the readers should instead, pay attention to the rhyme and style of the word. That each poem also has many different interpretations. For example, Collins state that he asks his readers to “hold…up [the poem] to the light…/ press an ear against its hive…/walk inside…probe [your] way out.” Collins’ style is similar to the style used in the “Poem” by William Carlos Williams. He uses a cat to movements in the “jamcloset” to explain to his reader how we should read poetry. The cat takes its time to get around the “jamcloset/ first the right/forefoot/carefully…/the hind” stepping down onto the pantry. We must take our

In many poems, clever authors hide messages in the plot and in all of the words and similes. They tie things together with certain words that work together brilliantly. They show the world through their work the realities and hardships of life. They bring us to the knowledge that try as we might, there are

Writing about poetry can be one of the most demanding tasks. It is intellectually challenging since it requires to play close attention to the language. We can elaborate an interesting thesis by rereading, taking notes, annotating the text, and writing down ideas. In order to analyze a poem first we need to enjoy and not worry about the interpretation on a first reading; then, on the next readings we must ask several questions in order to appreciate how the poem works. Some important questions that Meyer points out are: who is the speaker? Is the speaker addressing anyone in particular? How do we respond to the speaker? Is there a specific setting of time and place? What does the title emphasize? Is the theme presented directly or indirectly? Do any allusions enrich the poem’s meaning? How does diction reveal meaning? Are many words repeated? Are figures of speech used? Do any objects, persons, places, events, or actions, have allegorical or symbolic meaning? Is irony used? What is the tone? Does the poem use onomatopoeia, assonance, consonance, or alliteration?