"Introduction to Poetry" by Billy Collins and "How to Read Poetry" by Gail Hemmeter both convey their viewpoint of understanding poetry. However, Gail Hemmeter's "How to Read Poetry" is more effective at conveying his viewpoint of understanding poetry. This is because he give a list of things to do in order to help understand poetry and he explains the different aspects of poetry and what they mean. In this essay I will be arguing why Gail Hemmeter's "How to Read Poetry" better conveys his viewpoint of understanding poetry.
In Gail Hemmerter's "How to Read Poetry" he writes many questions to ask when trying to understanding poetry. He does this so that reader can see his step by step process that he follows when reading a poem. The passage
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This is because the poem doesn't say anything to clearly show his understanding of poetry. Billy Collins "Introduction to Poetry" was a confusing poem attempting to explain how he understands confusing poems. Instead of explaining what the different aspects of poetry mean and how he views them, the poem makes the reader guess at what his poem is trying to say and there is no clear statement on Billy Collins understanding of poetry. "Introduction to Poetry" states," I say drop a mouse into a poem and watch him probe his way out or walk inside the poem's room and feel for s light switch." This part of the poem uses the idea of going into a poems room as a symbol for looking deep into the poem to find it's true meaning. Billy Collins is trying to say that there is not any specific process you have to go through in order to understand poetry. He's saying that they are many different ways to understand poetry and different understandings of poetry, that their is no certain steps to take when understanding poetry. He is trying to explain that to understand poetry you simply have to read it. However, his poem doesn't convey his viewpoint on the understanding of poetry because I had to use the steps in Gail Hemmeter's "How to Read Poetry" to figure out what this poem meant. It didn't clearly show his viewpoint on poetry and the understanding of poetry because …show more content…
However, Gail Hemmeter's ""How to Read Poetry" does a better job. This is because he gives a list of things for the readers to think about when reading a poem. This clearly explains that Gail Hemmeter's understanding of poetry is that to understand poetry there a process of things that you have to do. "Introduction to Poetry" by Billy Collins doesn't clearly show his viewpoint on the understanding of poetry because it's a confusing poem trying to explain confusing poems. So overall "How to Read Poetry" by Gail Hemmeter better conveys his viewpoint on the understanding of
In “How to Read Like a Writer,” Mike Bunn states that the most important part of reading is to find the writers technique of writing. He begins by saying in order to understand the meaning of “How toRead Like a Writer,” is to identify the choices of the writer and if the techniques that is used is one you want to use yourself. Bunn continues to say that instead of obtaining the context you should find how the writer pieced the work together. Bunn brought up a poet named Allen Tate who says that there are two different ways of reading.
Therefore Collins expressed various examples throughout the poem. “When I peer into the woods, I see a thick tangle where letters are hidden. As in a puzzle concocted for children.” The narrator compares letters that are hidden in a puzzle that was made are children. In a similar fashion Collins writes “Names lifted from a hat Or balanced on the tip of the tongue.”
There are similarities and differences between the poem and the article in authors propose, text structure, and facts.
In “Introduction to poetry”, the speakers audience are those who read poetry, while in “The Trouble with poetry”, he is speaking to poets themselves. In “Introduction to Poetry, the speaker is convincing the readers to let a poem engulf them instead of trying to “torture a confession” out of it or in other words search for the “true meaning” of it. He introduces the idea of surrendering to a poem instead of trying to figure out “what it really means”. On the other hand, in “The Trouble with Poetry”, the speaker is trying to urge aspiring poets to let inspiration come to them instead of searching for it. He suggesets that the more time you spend waiting for a “little flame”, the more insecure you will be about your abilities as a poet, which leads to written work that does not come from the
Poetry is a very unique type of writing. Poetry allows people to express their emotions in a way they feel comfortable. Every poem has a meaning to it, whether it is talking about food, interest, or a moment in their lives. Readers often mistake the poet as the narrator, although in many cases this is true. Many poets are the narrators and the poems are about their personal life.
In Mike Bunn’s reading “How to Read Like a Writer” he discuss the importance of being able to read as a writer. He explains why it’s necessary to be able to understand what the author is trying to get across. Being able to identify why a writer chose is a certain tone for his/her writing is what makes one a better reader. One should put to themselves in the author’s shoes and be able to connect with the writing and understand from what point the author is coming from. When reading like a writer it facilitates one’s ability to understand to do this.
Sometimes, it’s possible to read between the lines without knowing exactly what is being stated in those lines. Take Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s poem “Yuba City School,” for instance. In this poem, Neeraj, a young boy, and his mother have recently immigrated to California from Punjab, India. At his new school, Neeraj’s teacher repeatedly insults and shames him for not understanding English, and it takes its toll. Through the use of figurative language, Divakurani conveys that one does not need to understand what a person is saying word for word in order to comprehend and be affected by what that person’s true message is.
He could imagine his deception of this town “nestled in a paper landscape,” (Collins 534). This image of the speaker shows the first sign of his delusional ideas of the people in his town. Collins create a connection between the speaker’s teacher teaching life and retired life in lines five and six of the poem. These connections are “ chalk dust flurrying down in winter, nights dark as a blackboard,” which compares images that the readers can picture.
4. Abject in “About Face” Similarly to the crucial aspects above, the poem “About Face” represents some issues already mentioned. The poem “About Face”, by Patience Agbabi is a poetic depiction of the mythological painting of the goddess of the hunt Diana and a hunter Actaeon. First of all, the poem has an interesting structure and way of representing and conveying its meaning.
Poetry is an important part of literature which conveys an author 's ideas across to the reader through the use of descriptive language. Poetry helps an author to express their inner emotions and often incorporates various poetic devices which enriches the text. Poetry gives the reader a different perspective and when read closely, can give the audience a look into the authors imagination. Likewise, poetic devices enhance the writing and can drastically change the mood of the poem, as well as, how the reader interprets the poem. Poetic devices are important in literature because they help to convey a message, add spontaneity to a poem, and give the reader a strong visual.
I really enjoyed reading this poem and I felt as if it had a lot of meaning. In the Insomnia poem the use of literary really gave me a image to me was Collins’s use of detail, instead of just skimming through what he goes through each night trying to fall asleep he has a lists that of things that will go on and on about how many different things he thinks about each night making the reader actually understand what it is like for him trying to fall asleep and it shows how much trouble he has sleeping. Collins also uses descriptive words to show the reader that he has been having trouble and he's been counting animals and trying to fall asleep with the line, “I picture all fish in leaping a fence in a field of water, and all the fish are beautiful
Upon first look, Billy Collins “Taking Off Emily Dickinson’s Clothes” seems to be a wild fantasy for Emily Dickinson that he is entertaining. Upon closer examination, however, the poem reveals his subconscious desire to have sex with his mother and his frustration about his inability to do so, resulting in the displacement of his sexual desires onto Dickinson. From the beginning, Collins is very detailed with his description. In fact he is quite anal retentive in explaining everything about the encounter. He starts from her outside clothing, “first, her tippet made of tulle” (1) and on through her mass of clothing until finally reaching her “corset” (41).
The pictures he helps draw in your head help you to understand the point he is trying to get across. The themes of this book of poems like are very repetitive and reoccurring but personally I enjoy it. The author continuously talks about the same general things which makes it feel like more of a book then just poems. Often times
Poetry may not always be easy to understand. In most cases it is not due to the author's writing skills and their use of literary devices. Introduction to Poetry, by Billy Collins, demonstrates that one should enjoy the happiness in life and not simply rush through life to find happiness. Collins emphasizes the theme by using many literary devices. Specifically, he uses a series of comparisons such as metaphors.
Poetry is a piece of literature where the author shares his ideas of a subject or person. He is attempting to allow the reader an understanding of his feelings regarding this subject. Most of the time poetry can be very pleasing to the ear; however, at times it can be written in a manner that is odd. Some poetry is written in a way that the reader can “hear”, “feel”, “see” or “taste” elements in the poem. Some poems may rhyme while others may not need to in order to convey the message.