Poem Review: Class Picture, 1954 By Billy Collins
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.
As the poem writer reminisces she states “I wanted so badly that night/ to believe violence was a little bell you could ring/ and get what you wanted” (9-11). The verse explains to the reader that what she thought would be easy being the center of attention was not as easy as she thought it would be, instead she saw violence first hand. In the verse “It often occurred to me then that if only/ we could get quiet enough, we’d hear/ the universe calling back to us, telling us/ what to do next” (26-29). This is where the author knows what she thought she wanted is not really what she desired and wishes were simple to attain with guidance being available to guide her.
Adjectives describing beautiful settings, such as the “open glade” and “summer isle”, add to the bright, cheerful mood. The rhythm of the poem is almost in a song form- every other line is short, and when read aloud this changes the pitch of your voice and further contributes to the message of hope that the poem shares. There is one break in the poem, separating it into two stanzas- this break is peaceful, almost like a sigh in the middle, which further implies the message of hope, bliss, and
"Spring in the classroom," by Mary Oliver is a juxtaposed poem that allows opposite things come together. Miss Willow Bangs ,the teacher, and the students are described as different characterizations in the poem. Also, there are literary elements that are being stated throughout the poem to contribute to the meaning. The poem expressed the teacher as being a harsh, cold hearted, and then changing to a soft character at the end. Miss Willow Bangs is unfeeling towards her students and have a love for teaching.
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. In order to accentuate the profound influence poetry held on his life, Pablo Neruda’s “Poem” reflects on his first encounter with poetry through an introspective tone that brings forward to light how poetry allows its writers the freedom of self-expression in a setting with no
I replaced the dialogue with exposition by having the narrator explain how “soft whispers and warm glances” from a “demon” have “led [her] to betray” that demon. The finished poem is still open to interpretation about who or what that demon is, but I clarified the meaning of that verse by erasing the awkward use of flashback and dialogue. Another change that was suggested to clarify the meaning of the poem was to alter “[the narrator’s] blood run[ing] cold and numb” to another description that was less cliché and connected better with the narrative. I agreed, since I never liked that line either. I just struggled to create another line that ended with a word that rhymed with “sum”, but I eventually connected the prior idea that “with each wet step” the narrator “grew lighter” to the idea that her inner demons have been vanquished.
Commentary The third and final example of figurative language in the poem is “the axis, the long pole that runs/ through everyone…” (lines 11-12).
The second stanza begins with the runaways on the train mentioned in the first stanza. The line, “lame guard strikes a match and makes the dark less tolerant,” is showing how runaways would want to stay in
“I, Too” Poetry Analysis Poet Langston Hughes has written many great works including, I, Too. The poem was written in the nineteen twenties when Hughes, along with other African Americans, were facing segregation everywhere. This poem was one of the many pieces that was a part of the Harlem Renaissance, an African American movement in the fine arts. As the piece focuses on the struggles and hope for the future, it was definitely appropriate to be a part of the evolution of African American artists.
With time comes change. No longer do we live in the time where each subsequent generation continues the work of the past. In this day and age people are capable to do their own thing regardless of what the generation before them did … In Seamus Heaney’s poem “Digging”, he depicts a speaker who recalls the work of both his father and grandfather as a potato farmer and peat farmer respectively. These lines of work heavily contrast that of the speakers job as a writer which creates tension throughout the poem.
Although the whole poem isn 't like this one quote, this quote is a great example of how a poem can use description to amplify the feelings of a
When asked to write a page comparing my life event to a poem I didn 't know where to start. First off there were so many poems to choose from, how could I pick just one. Till I came across one called, The School Children by Louis Cluck. This poem contains imagery and phrasing to show the disconnection of the children to both their mothers and their teachers.
The poem’s speaker describes a time when they were strolling through the countryside and discovered a very large grouping of yellow daffodils. They recall the daffodils to be so enchanting as they waved in the passing breeze
While the connotation of this poem was to state that appearances are dishonest and that death with be the judge of everything. There are four stanzas, with six lines in
Childhood Memories Our childhood memories always remain with us. These memories can be either pleasant or distressing. For some reason unpleasant childhood memories are easier to recall than the pleasant ones. In both poems “Zimmer in Grade School”, by Paul Zimmer and “Those Winter Sundays”, by Robert Hayden, speakers express their childhood memories.
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