In Billy Collins poem, Introduction to Poetry, a teacher attempts to educate students on how to approach the analysis of a poem. On a more complex level, the poem illustrates that the art of poetry is full of life, variety, enjoyment, and structure, which should be admired, explored, and appreciated. The use of metaphors is the dominant technique of the work, appearing in every stanza of the poem. A sense of structure and openness is created through the teacher’s comparisons.…
Another way to be able to find the theme of the poem is to look at the different shifts throughout the poem. In the beginning of the poem he starts to talk about himself like there he lives and where he walks to get home. IN the beginning he talk about himself because he wants the reader to get to know him better and who he actually. Then he starts talking more about the topic and is beginning to say how he feels. In addition at the end of the poem he fully expresses how he feels towards his instructor and about the certain topic.…
More traditionally poetry is used to share details of a poet’s thoughts, emotions and views on different things that he or she has experienced. The author of the poem “Sixteen”, Chelsea Rathburn, seems be using it to share experiences she has had facing motherhood as a single parent but Chelsea then explains that it is a persona, kind of like a fictional narrative. Chelsea is a creative writing professor at Young Harris Collage and is marred to James Davis May. Together the couple had a child named Adelyn; it is very simple to assume that she has the experiences in the poem, since it is about a daughter and a mother just like her and her daughter, but when interviewed Chelsea explains otherwise.…
The first place that we see the word “voice” is in the third line of the poem. The word is being used in a negative way within this line. The author says, “though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice.” The author’s reaching out to the reader in this instance. In general, the author states how we are on a self-discovering journey.…
In Gwendolyn Brooks’ poem “We Real Cool” there are several aspects of the poem that work together to present an interesting scene. The most outstanding characteristic I found was how the two beginning lines of the poem “THE POOL PLAYERS,” and “SEVEN AT THE GOLDEN SHOVEL” are written to look like stage directions as they are the only two lines that are written entirely in capital letters and there is a large amount of space separating those lines from the rest of the poem as we would see in a written play. This immediately gives the reader the sense that the setting/scene of this particular poem is artificial or staged in a way and the pool players are going to put on a show for the audience. By writing the first two lines to look that way Brooks forces the reader’s eye to follow the direction of the poem and to understand that what is happening inside the pool hall may not be an authentic moment but in fact a staged one. This dramatically changes the reading of the…
Growing up as a hispanic woman in America has always been more difficult than I thought it was going to be. There were many times where I felt excluded, judged or like I am not as good as other people. Throughout my life this has always affected my happiness because it was never as easy as I wanted it to be. With that being said, many people that are also a different race also struggle with this problem and this affects their wellbeing as well. I came to realize what a struggle being a person of color is to other people as well after carefully reading a short story by Junot Diaz called “Wildwood” and a poem by Claudia Rankine called “From Citizen Six” where both of the characters were treated unfairly, and ran into issues on a daily basis because…
Generally, readers either think the tone is either playful or resentful. In actuality, the poem consists of many more facets of tone. In life, growing up consists of realizing how our childhood experiences made impressions on us as adults. Since this is written in the persona of an adult, mature thoughts and feelings are displayed rather than childish ones. The biggest realization for the speaker is that he was abused as a child.…
The title "Smells Like Teens Spirit" may seem simple, but there is a significant meaning behind this title. Many may be fool by the fact that the title is going to be about the happy and exciting moment of youth for teenagers. This is due to the fact that the usage of the word "spirit" gives off more of a positive vibe due to how "spirit" is used in everyday life, such as "spirit day". However, "Teens Spirit" in this song refers to the teens' misbehavior and their struggle and hardship throughout the society. One struggle includes the peer pressure to do something stupid.…
Old Souls in Scar Ridden Bodies It is simply a part of life; no amount of fuss will stop the ticking hands of age. Growing old is the story told by every human born to live. In “Sonny’s Blues”, by James Baldwin, the reader follows the story of the musician Sonny as told through his brother’s perspective. Sonny is a recovering drug addict and his brother, the narrator, is a morally rigid school teacher.…
In Collins’ poem “On Turning Ten” he conveys a mood of regret through the idea of losing your youth as he reminisces his old…
The Setting in “Schoolsville” Brings to Life, the Reality of a Teacher’s Passion for His Students, through Structure and Comedy That Develops from the Imagination. How creative is the imagination? The narrative of Billy Collin’s “Schoolsville” contrasts the fantasy world and the reality of a former teacher. He reflects on his former students making up a community. “Schoolsville” has 8 stanzas, and each stanza is of various lengths.…
Poetry is a very beautiful and unique form of literature, but it often is given a bad reputation. The main reason being is people overanalyze it, instead of taking in the beauty of it. Billy Collins’s poem “Introduction of Poetry” explains how people overanalyze and take away from the beauty of a poem. The speaker suggests ways of reading poetry that allow the reader to understand the poem, but not take away from the beauty of it. Billy Collins quotes “I ask them to take a poem / and hold it up to the light / like a color slide” (lines 1-3) meaning take the poem that is being read and analyze it, but do not analyze it to the point you loose sight of the beauty or “colors”.…
In the poems “On the Pulse of Morning” by Maya Angelou, and “One Today” by Richard Blanco the poet's touch on the challenges facing the American people. Angelou speaks about the challenge we have as Americans to set aside our differences and accept each other,and the different cultures we have. Richard Blanco talks about how everyone is the same no matter how different we look on the outside. These are challenges we need to overcome as a nation.…
In Billy Collins’ “Introduction to Poetry,” he uses imagery to describe reading a poem with activities people are familiar with. For example, in line 2-3, he claims he wants the reader to “Hold it up to the light / like a color slide.” A color slide is a small rectangle of film that — held up to a projector — reveals an image. If the reader took a written poem and held it up to the light, there wouldn’t be much of a difference. However, if they looked at the poem as a metaphorical color slide, then they would be able to realize that, like a color slide, a poem holds images and information.…
Throughout the poem, we see Ulysses’ character building through a first-person introspective of the King’s experience, who reflects on his life. This allows us to understand what he’s thinking and what he would like to do in the future. Despite he’s a powerful king, he is feeling emotionally empty throughout the poem; he feels as people in his kingdom don’t know him. Tennyson shows Ulysses as not just exploring the world but also exploring himself, his emotions, his feelings, and his thoughts. This was only possible if everyone shared their thoughts with one another.…