Gail Hemmeter's How To Read Poetry

"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

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

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