Poem Analysis: Introduction To Poetry By Billy Collins

Genesis Trejo
02/25/2015
Period 3­Nebe In the poem, “Introduction to Poetry,” Billy Collins presents an issue that is prominent in the world of literature. He is the speaker in the poem and addresses the reader as a student. His scholastic tone is first exposed in the title. The title suggests that Collins does not go too in depth of how to analyze poetry as it is an only an “introduction.” Collins wants the reader to get an idea of what they should do to have a more complete and coherent interpretation of a poem. His poem is also formatted in almost a step­by­step guideline, divided into distinct stanzas, to add to the already prominent scholarly tone of the poem.
Each stanza has a particular objective for the reader. Through imagery and appeal to the
senses, Collins is able to convey the main idea, or thematic message, of the poem which is that reading poetry should be done in a manner of exploration.
It is obvious to note that Collins is an advocate for creative approaches towards poetry and wants a reader to avoid a dry analysis approach of poetry. The first stanza asks the reader to approach the poem visually. Collins suggests the reader should try to see all the “color[s]” of a poem. He asks them to “hold it up to the light” as if the poem was a new specimen. The second stanza asks the reader to explore the poem audibly. The speaker asks us them to do an auditory exploration of the poem. Collins depicts that a poem has a “hive” which implies poems are rich in sound like the buzzing of bees.
The third stanza attempts to illustrate a poem’s complex structure by comparing “prob[ing]” a poem to the allusion of a lab mouse making its “way out” of a labyrinth in a science experiment.

Reading and analyzing a complex poem is very doable, yet one has to have patience and follow the right path through the poem. Also, Collin uses the vivid scenario of a person in a dark room
“feel[ing] the walls for a light switch.” This is the most apt example of Collins’ message of
the poem which is to explore it. When you first get a poem, it’s like walking into a dark room, or the unexpected, but as you read through the poem or “feel the walls,” you will eventually understand the meaning of the poem and find the “light switch.” these images of exploration are intended to persuade the reader that this approach to poetry is much more exciting and involved. The fifth stanza depicts a lovely scene of people on the beach and having fun. Collin’s wishes readers can enjoy reading poetry in the same way and experience the same thrill in poetry as in
“waterskiing.”
In the first five stanzas, Collins uses multiple analogies to explain what he would like readers to do with a poem when they first read it, thus creating an academic tone throughout the first five stanzas. Stanza six takes a sharp turn as Collins’ tone shifts to one of indignation and vexation. Collins displays a concern for how students are analyzing poetry through the use of negative words like “torture”, “confession,” and “beating.” Collins straightforwardly makes a call to attention informing the reader of the violent approach that is being taken and to realize that they should change their methods of analyzing poetry
Ultimately, Billy Collins wants readers to take a different approach on poetry besides making a dry analysis of what he believes is art. Poetry should be seen as an art and therefore analyzed as art; exploring the poem in a way that it appeals to all the senses.