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poem analysis
the study of poetry analysis
the study of poetry analysis
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In both of the poems, "Introduction to Poetry" and "Trouble with Poetry", Collins makes an interesting form of observation of the world he lives in while possibly explaining his daily life or experiences. These poems represent the idea of allusion by symbolizing the need for poetry. For example in sentence 9 of Introduction to Poetry he uses allusion to demonstrate there is a dream or accomplishment he wants to do with "his students". In sentences 16-19 of Trouble with poetry, he also uses allusion because it looks like he has an idea in mind and has plans set ahead. Behind this form of allusion there is also examples of vivid image that make the poems come to live. Right away, in the first sentences I can picture the speaker performing …show more content…
The Trouble with Poetry mainly focuses on time, whether it's actual time like; day and night or describing the atmosphere that is in his surroundings. Collins begins his poem with "walked along a beach.. cold Florida sand.." and ends with "poet of San Francisco.. treacherous halls of high school.." Possibly describing a time he has lived. His tone rotates throughout the poem expressing the pros and cons about poetry itself. He expresses sorrow in lines 1-24 wanting poetry to stop spreading almost like an act of selfishness, but his emotions shift in lines 25-47 to a positive tone referring to poetry being something he can escape to. On the other hand, in the opening of Introduction to Poetry, Collins begins with a sign of hope but instead fades away with a frustrated tone. Behind his words, he is possibly hinting a favor of kindness towards his students, taking time out of his day to lecture them about something he truly cares for. Or he could just be trying to change students' perspective towards poems. He wishes for all students to appreciate and experience the poem as well as hoping for them to seek in deep and find a message, like stated in lines 7-8 "walk inside a poem.. feel the
Many of Billy Collin’s poems concern the act of writing, be it a response to someone else’s work or a discussion of the poems themselves. His poetry is less threatening to the non poet community because his poetry is more transparent than others. His poems don’t usually have a deep underlying meaning that needs to be dwelled upon to understand, but rather simplified thought that can be understood by just reading it once. Collin’s poem After Reading Some Tales of the Hindu Gods is a prime example of this:
Humor and Irony are a unique combinations Collins displays in many of his poems, challenging the readers to interpret his work in different perspectives. In “Introduction to Poetry,” Collins offers a witty comparison between the definition of poetry and various other experiments. He asks the reader to “hold [the poem] up to the light/ like a color slide” (1-3), “press an ear against its hive” (4), “drop a mouse into a poem” (5), “walk inside the poem's room” (7), and “waterski across the surface of a poem” (9-10). Rather than stiffly explaining the definition of a poem, he finds creative and humorous approaches to explain his methods of enjoying the poems, and promote the readers’ interest towards discovering the true meaning of poetry. Just as the surrounding would seem different through color slides, he asks the readers to see the world in diverse viewpoints while reading and writing poems. Moreover, by listening to poem’s hive, dropping a mouse, and walking inside its room, Collins encourages readers to discover the concealed depth of poetry. He comments ...
As seen in examples of monogatari such as Tales of Ise or nikki with The Tosa Diary, poetry is a very much used tool in the writings. While other examples of the two writing styles use poetry, these two examples best demonstrate the breaks in the writing style changes from a narrative and turns into something that takes on a more personal voice when it clearly goes into its poetic style. These poems are made to compliment the setting, such as in a poem credited to the former governor in The Tosa Diary where there is a description of the waves as they illustrate the governor’s sadness as he leaves Kyoto (83). Another point seen from this poem is that the governor is meant to be very good at constructing his poems and with it comes an example of a good poem as opposed to something that a commoner would have to write. Likewise, in the tenth of the Tales of Ise there are poems describing the love a man has for a woman while he is also comparing the physical setting, such as the mountains. There are comparisons to Mt. Fuji and Mt. Utsu while they represent the waiting for his love or the beautiful vision that the man sees in his dreams with his love respectively (75-6). Such images of the scenery as seen alongside the desires or longing of those who write the poems are examples of how the poems are used to strengthen the narrative prose. Without the poems, the narrative prose in either the monogatari or the nikki would simply be a story and the significance would be lessened as there would not be the personal impact emanating from the characters and their feelings since a reader would only be able to read the description of the events and not get a feel of the thoughts from any of the characters.
“While the novelist is banging on his typewriter, the poet is watching a fly in the window pane” ("Billy Collins > Quotes"). According to Bruce Weber of the New York Times, Billy Collins, unique to his own “domestic,” “suburban,” or “middle class” point of view, is hailed as “the most popular poet in America” due to high critical acclaim and broad popular appeal that is only matched by Robert Frost . According to John Updike, his poems are “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”). In “The History Teacher,” a poem by Billy Collins, Collins uses irony, euphemisms, and understatements to invoke a sense of humor and expose the reader to fallacies of modern teachings as an act of preventing history from repeating itself.
In Conclusion, Billy Collins use of irony in both the setting and the description of the stereotypical students helped strengthen the allusion of the poem. The students in the poem are in an eternal school lifestyle as opposed to being in a normal town environment. Aspects of the setting, such as the landscape being made out of paper and the night sky being compared to a blackboard painted a descriptive picture in the mind of the reader, making the allusion more believable and relatable. Also, the use of stereotypes in this poem added on to the allusion of the school environment, giving life to the society in the town created by Collins. At first, the poem may seem like only an allusion, but with a closer look, you can see the reality behind it all.
Collins used his figure of speech throughout his poem to help interpret and enjoy the experience. Marilyn Nelson’s approach is not to different from Collins’, she used middle diction in the poem “How I Discovered Poetry”. Marilyn illustrates how she found her passion for poetry while her all white class found it uninteresting. In “How I Discovered Poetry” Marilyn illustrates this by writing:
At the beginning of the poem, the speaker starts by telling the reader the place, time and activity he is doing, stating that he saw something that he will always remember. His description of his view is explained through simile for example “Ripe apples were caught like red fish in the nets of their branches” (Updike), captivating the reader’s attention
Poets often use techniques such as tone, imagery, themes, and poem structure to create a more complex view of their stance on the subject. These features can make the poem more interesting to the reader and helps to develop their story. The use of imagery in a poem can take the reader on a journey filled with sensory images that help the reader to connect with the subjects of the poems. The tone of the poem determines the mood and feelings that the reader will experience. The theme of a poem holds the true meaning and point of the poem and is explained using the above literary techniques. While “Mirror” by Sylvia Plath and “Piano” by D.H. Lawrence both contain imagery and tone to convey the poets’ common theme of the longing for the past to revive itself, the poets use different poem structures that further convey their overall message.
The first literary device that can be found throughout the poem is couplet, which is when two lines in a stanza rhyme successfully. For instance, lines 1-2 state, “At midnight, in the month of June / I stand beneath the mystic moon.” This is evidence that couplet is being used as both June and moon rhyme, which can suggest that these details are important, thus leading the reader to become aware of the speaker’s thoughts and actions. Another example of this device can be found in lines 16-17, “All Beauty sleeps!—and lo! where lies / (Her casement open to the skies).” These lines not only successfully rhyme, but they also describe a woman who
Mr. Keating's teaching's style and his use of poetry impacts the tone, mood and how his students develop throughout the film. Mr. Keating has several passionate moments with the kids, usually through the help of a poem. Many of Mr. Keating's goals are taught through the use of poetry. Mr. Keating not only helped them improve as students but also as human being. His use of his experiences and of forging connections with the kids really helped them to improve in his class and in life as a whole. All in all, poetry is a beautiful art form that often gives a life message and helps people throughout their entire life by giving them an opportunity to let out their emotions.
What all poets have in common is a love of language -- its words, its meanings, its rhythms, its sounds, even its shapes (Literary Visions, p. 141). It is this language, in the form of allusions and symbols that gives meaning and interest to poems, and gives the reader an insight into the poet's unique view. "Poets use an intuitive process. They don't cognitively think about allusions, nor do they have to know the allusions. The poetry that succeeds best is one that touches the instinctive something we all share. That something celebrates the communion with what we are and what we believe" (Dorn, Video Program #116).
Throughout the poem and particularly in the first stanza, Heaney uses a wide range of literary devices such as intense imagery or sensory imagery, exceptionally meaningful metaphors and alliteration.
With time poems may have lost their voice, but not their importance. Up to this day, poetry is still one of the greatest forms of artistic expression; Poems speak to emotions and capture feelings. There is no right format of a poem, but yet a world of possibilities. Instead being unchangeable poems are innately open to interpretation; they should be spoken out loud in order to be “heard”, convey truth and cause impact. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T.S. Eliot is an extremely meaningful poem; it is one of Elliot’s best-known works and without a doubt a masterpiece (Hillis). T.S. Eliot introduces the poem with a quote from Dante's Inferno (XXVII.61-66), and with that sparks our curiosity. He then makes statements and questions that perhaps everyone has done, or will do at some point in life (Li-Cheng, pp. 10-17). The poem is a legitimate work of the modernist movement, the language used is contemporary; the verses are free and the rhythm flows naturally.
There is a wealth of imagery in the first two lines alone. The poem begins: