Not John Whalen Essay

Poetry can portray very visual imagery, so sometimes simple attention to the format of the poem can convey a lot, since imaginations are often stirred by a poem’s visual presentation. In, “Looking for a Friend in a Crowd of Arriving Passengers: A Sonnet,” by Billy Collins, the same line, “Not John Whalen.” is repeated continuously on thirteen separate lines throughout the poem, providing a visual display of a single individual waiting for a friend, as disembarking passengers file past him one by one. Through the use of word omission, a three-word, simple sentence structure and repetition, in the poem “Looking for a Friend in a Crowd of Arriving Passengers: A Sonnet,” Billy Collins conveys the understanding that he is searching a crowd.
Poems, books and even sentences can have different meanings by omitting words. The whole poem, “Looking for a Friend in a Crowd of Arriving Passengers: A Sonnet”, is constantly only using the same three words, “Not John Whalen”. (Collins) By omitting other adjectives and only using the word “not” it leaves room for questions. Who is not John Whalen? Is the speaker of the poem looking at a girl, and old man, a child, or a dog? These are the questions that the sonnet

In the difficult task of locating a friend in the crowd, the author seems singularly focused, as this short sentence structure is used for dramatic effect. The line, “Not John Whalen.” (Collins), comprises the first thirteen sentences of the poem. Using the adverb “not” at the beginning of each sentence attaches a stronger emphasis on the negative emotion than if each sentence were written in longer, complete sentence form. The simple sentence structure starts to get very repetitive, which creates a feeling inside of you that you too are also trying to find John