Most people try to shield children from the evils of the world; however‚ some may try a little too hard. The teacher in Billy Collins’s poem “The History Teacher” is an example of this. By teaching the children a fairy-tale version of history rather than the reality of it‚ the children fail to learn about the consequences of their actions. The desire of the teacher to protect his students has caused him to soften the harshness and reality of the past. Not wanting to corrupt their innocence‚ “he
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Analysis of Introduction to Poetry & Reading Poetry “Introduction to Poetry” by Billy Collins the theme that there is most focuses on is the experience getting out of reading a poem. When reading a poem readers tend to just read the poem and then come to a direct conclusion and assume that they understand the meaning‚ and not looking at it in a different way. This is not what Billy Collins wants “them” referring to his students to do. In the first stanzas it shows how “I” who is referred to
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The use of symbol in poetry and in literature as a whole is commonplace because it is an outlet for the author ’s creative psyche. A symbol is a creative use of metaphor‚ using a comparison but not just a direct comparison. The author attempts to achieve the effect that there is much more than just the reader ’s initial reaction creating a want to delve deeper into the true meaning‚ leaving a vast space of interpretation. Allegory on the other hand is a specific comparison‚ a symbol that is set
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Discuss texts in which an interesting idea is developed‚ exploring how the writer has used effective language to convey the idea. In the poem ‘Rising Five’ by Norman Nicholson‚ the main idea is about a boy who want to rush through his childhood “like a boy throwing away his toffee wrappers”. We can link this poem to another poem‚ ‘On Turning Ten’ by Billy Collins‚ which describes a boy who doesn’t want to move on in life. Through Collin’s writing‚ the boy is shown as being also scared about growing
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The title of this poem suggests that this person will always have the heart of the person they love. The person could actually be holding their lover’s heart‚ or a locket or other heart-shaped object belonging their loved one. Figuratively‚ the person does not actually carry around their lover’s heart‚ but rather that the person will always be loved‚ cherished‚ and remembered by the speaker‚ no matter where their loved one is. In the first stanza‚ I think it means that he is always
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The true nature of the poem was cordial and relaxing. The sentiment was also inspiring as the poem gave me the strong feeling of passion by his use of poetic devices and tone. The verse "Loving can heal‚ loving can mend your soul" paints a beautiful mental image which strengthens the power and passion the poet is trying to portray. In addition‚ the verse "We keep this love in a photograph" allows for the symbolization of a picture as a memory of love. This provides the poem with the basic foundation
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of communication they don’t know how to express it anymore. It would be so out-of-the blue now that they don’t dare show it. The line ’chastity faces them‚ a destination for which their whole lives were a preperation’ is the most negative in the poem. It basically tells us they will never be intimate again‚ never have sex‚ and this is the way they were always doomed to end up. We can infer
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In the poem “On Turning Ten” there are many words that Billy collins uses to make have different feelings. Some words he uses are”this is the beginning of sadness” and”i’m coming down with something”. He uses words like to makes us feel the “sadness and sickness” of the kid as he turns 10 years old thinking about his childhood and all of the things that hw has to say goodbye to. For example his imaginary friends Some other lines that he uses are “you tell me it’s too early to be looking back”. This
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The title of this poem is what caught my eye when I was searching through the book trying to decide which poem to write about. “Writing In The Afterlife” by Billy Collins is a poem that had a certain sound and feel that stood out to me. Every night before I go to bed I think about my life and all of the people who are involved in it. I think about my parents lives and meaningful they are to me and that I would be lost without them. Then I think about my own life and how meaningful it is to them.
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Where can memories lead? How do these all affect someone in the long run? The poem “Schoolsville” does a great job of representing life itself. It points towards life in general and explains the comical‚ serious and memorable‚ then poignant parts of life. Laughter is something that pleases the mind. Throughout our entire lives‚ we search for things that make us feel‚ even for the slightest amount of time‚ happy. Billy Collins writes‚ “Chalk dust flurrying down in winter‚ / nights dark as a blackboard”
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