Billy Collins Introduction To Poetry Essay

Billy Collins’ “Introduction to Poetry” expresses a contemplative tone that underscores the speaker’s longing for readers to appreciate poetry with a open mind in order to showcase the lost opportunities many do not experience due to the impatience and demanding qualities society currently retains.

Audie Murphy, decorated WWII veteran and Hollywood star, will appear at the Santa Rosa County Veterans Memorial Plaza on Saturday, November 14, 2015, at 19:00 to read his poem Freedom Flies in Your Heart Like an Eagle. Audie Murphy is the most decorated World War II combat soldier and Medal of Honor recipient (Audie Murphy Research Foundation). He was decorated with 33 awards for his superior fighting skills and gallantry on the battlefield, killing over 240 enemy soldiers and receiving awards from France and Belgium (Audie Murphy Research Foundation).

1.) I would argue that the speakers of the “The Chimney Sweeper” poems are fairly ambiguous, but their levels of experience and innocence are quite apparent. Also, I think think that the age of the narrators (generally) are clear. For example, I think the poem’s narrator in “Songs of Innocence” is a child. From what I know, chimney sweeps were mostly small boys (they fit in the chimney easier), and the poem’s narration is a first person recollection of being a chimney sweep. For example: “So your chimneys I sweep and in soot I sleep” (Blake 121). Not only this, but some of the diction seems purposely childish. An example can be seen when the narrator explains that he was sold before he could say “‘weep! ‘weep! ‘weep! ‘Weep!’” (Blake 121).

Grow up in a small town, but then moving to a big city could have been one of the main or a mixture of reasons that led to the writing of Banjo Paterson’s poem, ‘The Man from Ironbark’. This poem takes an entertaining look at how city people think about country folk. By the way the barber acts towards the man from Ironbark, it gives the reader an insight of some of Paterson’s own experiences.

Major Jackson is an American black poet. His poem “Might Pawns,” could be easily inferred to be about him, or about someone dear to him. Major Jackson’s poem, “Might Pawns,” uses a significant tone and unique symbolism to present that person issues does not affect ones intelligence, as one perceptive should be judged not where they came from, but how their mind speaks.

In a letter to his brother, the great painter, Vincent Van Gogh, once wrote,“Poetry surrounds us everywhere, but putting it on paper is, alas, not so easy as looking at it”. In this quote, Van Gogh summarizes a subject great writers like Ralph Waldo Emerson has devoted entire essays to defining and explaining, and that is the subject of poetry. As it can be seen, a poet undertakes that almost impossible job of transposing what he or she sees in Nature on to paper for others to read. Only a true poet can be successful in an attempt. It is not just Nature a poet tries to capture into words, but also social experiences and human truths. Gwendolyn Brooks (1917- 2000) and Robert Hayden (1913-1980) are two Harlem renaissance poets who are experts in writing poems the detail both African American social experiences and universal human emotions. In Gwendolyn Brooks’s poem, The Explorer, the speaker tells the events of an unknown subject walking down a hallway searching for a quiet peaceful room in which to rest. In Frederick Douglass by Robert Hayden, the speaker voicelizes that when everyone receives freedom, then the great, historical figure, Frederick Douglass will be remembered eternally in the lives of everyday people. The Explorer by Gwendolyn Brooks and Frederick Douglass by Robert Hayden can be compared and

Billy Collins appropriately created the title “Schoolsville” for this poem. The title is broken down and is imagined by readers of a little town occupied by former students who still act as they did in high school. From the beginning line, it is clear to the reader that the speaker is reminiscing his past by “glancing over my shoulder at the past,” (Collins 534). By stating, “I realize the number of students he has taught is enough to populate a small town,” also adds to the image created by the title (Collins 534). The speaker has taught so many years that his former students could populate a town.

In the book Love That Dog by Sharon Creech, Jack can be described as timid. In the story, Jack thinks that poetry is just for girls and he can’t do it. When Jack says “I can’t do it”, he is being timid because he is lacking his courage towards writing a poem. Another example of timid is seen when Jack says, “Boys don’t write poetry”. Jack feels timid because he hasn’t given poetry a try because he is lacking his courage of not writing a poem. Jack feels that he can’t do poetry because he lacks the courage towards writing one.

‘Be Music, Night’ by Kenneth Patchen is an intriguing piece of literary art. A picture is painted of human interaction with Earth immediately. The manner in which humans fall into her beauty and vastness is apparent in even the first lines of Patchen’s poem, but why is this important?

In “The Trouble with Poetry”, and “Introduction to Poetry” Billy Collins focuses on the issue of forced inspiration, and the lack of appreciation readers, and aspiring poets have for the feel of poetry.

Dawn is poem written by Federico García Lorca. Lorca wrote this poem to his family after he arrived in New York. Lorca writes about his visits in New York and how he felt miserable being there. The Dawn is a poem that talks about an author’s feelings or point of view about the dawn in New York. Garcia Lorca expresses how he felt miserable and empty during dawn in New York because it brought no hope to him. According to the writer, there was no dawn and so no morning and no hope for the day.

Characterization is used in poetry to help the author bring to life or describe one of the main focuses of their writing, in this case, poetry. In “Eating Poetry”, Strand

"On Turning Ten" by Billy Collins is a poem that addresses the idea of aging in a depressing and frustrating manner. At first sight, one would never suspect this poem revolves around the theme of death. Yet, it goes beyond literal death and focuses on the death of childhood. Written in the first person, this poem depicts the period of juvenescence as a time of innocence, imagination, creativity, and fantasies. Throughout the stanzas, Collins explores the idea of growing up and leaving childhood behind through the use of literary devices, such as hyperbole, metaphor, and tone.

Artistic expression is the creative manifestation of an artist’s thoughts and feelings. Wisława Szymborska’s poetry states much about what artistic expression is, and how to qualify, and value it, and the importance of breaking from restriction in terms of how critics, whether self-critics or otherwise, evaluate creative expression itself. In The Joy of Writing, she explores the act of writing itself and the power and freedom of artistic expression. Evaluation of an Unwritten Poem is a satire of a critic’s review of a poem. Szymborska demonstrates the fallacies and absurdities associated with judging the quality, cause and meaning of artistic expression, such as poetry.

In Laurie Ann Guerrero’s “Ode To My Boots” it is clear that the poet is addressing how she relates to her boots. The poet details how her boots give her a sense of courage, power, strength, and the ability to be acknowledged. Throughout the poem, the author praises the boots that she wears because it makes her feel empowered. Almost to the point as if she is having a conversation with them. Hence, this unique quality distinguishes and enables the poets’ ability to be able to compare herself to the power of boots. The poet also characteristically shows a solemn and serious tone, showing the reader that there is no room for humor, petty or frivolous thoughts. Also, the poets’ personality is shown through her chosen theme of boots, bearing wide