Introduction to PoetryBy Billy Collins

I ask them to take a poem

and hold it up to the lightlike a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poemand watch him probe his way out,

or walk inside the poem’s roomand feel the walls for a light switch.

I want them to waterskiacross the surface of a poemwaving at the author’s name on the shore.

But all they want to dois tie the poem to a chair with ropeand torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hoseto find out what it really means.

Introduction to Poetryby Billy Collins

1. Read the poem first to enjoy it. Read it straight on through, preferably aloud. Then read it again (and again), looking for any of the following literary devices or features: Language: tone, style, diction (word choice)Conventions: punctuation, grammar, poetic formsDevices: structure, organization of content (e.g., stanzas, past to present)Connections: How might this relate to the other works we are reading, conversations we are having in class lately?Purpose: Is the poet trying to explain? Define? Persuade? What, why, and how do they do this?

2. Mark up the poem. You must show evidence of close reading—for example, underlined words, questions, connections, suspected patterns.

3. Answer the questions on your worksheet in complete sentences.

Independent Work

Group Analysis

What is the significance of the poem’s title?

Introduction to Poetry

Group Analysis (line by line)

I ask them to take a poem

• Who is the “I”?

• Who is the “them”?

• How do you know?

Group Analysis (line by line)

I ask them to take a poem

Notice they aren’t being asked to read the poem. They’re being asked to examine the words in a non-traditional way.

and hold it up to the light

Group Analysis (line by line)

I ask them to take a poem

and hold it up to the light

Why did the speaker use this metaphor?

Color slides hold information, but the information can be difficult to see without light. How might that relate to understanding poetry?

like a color slide

Group Analysis (line by line)

or press an ear against its hive.

• What words do you associate with a hive?

• What might you hear if you put your ear against one?

The speaker wants them to listen for the sounds in a poem.

The S’s and V’s even give an approximate buzzing sound when read out loud.

or preSS an ear againSt itS hiVe

Group Analysis (line by line)

I say drop a mouse into a poem

• Notice the preposition choice. The speaker wants them to drop a mouse into a poem.

• A poem is something you can get into, and the speaker wants them to examine the space (form) of the poem.

• The speaker wants readers to consider why the poet shaped the poem the way he or she did.

Group Analysis (line by line)

I say drop a mouse into a poem

• Poets like E. E. Cummings use deliberate syntax and word placement to create images within his poems.

“The Sky Was” by E. E. Cummings

Group Analysis (line by line)

I say drop a mouse into a poem

and watch him probe his way out,

• What associations do you make with mice trying to get out of something?

• What is the speaker saying about readers of poetry?

Group Analysis (line by line)

or walk inside the poem’s room

• Now it's time for Collins to take the idea of a poem having physical space even further.

• Instead of a mouse in a maze, now we, the readers, are "walk[ing] inside the poem's room.”

• The word “room” is important here. Poems are broken up into stanzas. The word stanza is an Italian word that means room.

• The units, or stanzas, of a poem are like joined rooms in a house. It could be a 500-room mansion or a one-room shack. Either way, Collins wants us to take the grand tour and get a good feel for the place.

Group Analysis (line by line)

or walk inside the poem’s room

and feel the walls for a light switch.

• What might the light switch be a metaphor for?

• How might this metaphor relate to the poem’s earlier instruction to “hold [the poem] up to the light like a color slide”?

Group Analysis (line by line)

I want them to waterski

• What words/feelings do you associate with waterskiing?

• What might the author be telling us to look for in poetry?

Group Analysis (line by line)

I want them to waterski

across the surface of a poem

• What does it mean to complete a surface reading?

• What is the speaker suggesting poetry readers should do at times?

Group Analysis (line by line)

I want them to waterski

across the surface of a poem

waving at the author’s name on the shore.

• What might the author mean by “waving at the author’s name”?

• Does he want us to spend a lot of time thinking about the author? Does he want us to ignore the author completely?

Group Analysis (line by line)

But all they want to do

• Poems commonly contain a shift in topic or tone. A shift is a common tool that poets use to create meaning in their work.

• Can you explain the shift that takes place just before this line?

Before this line: “I ask them”, “I say drop”, “I want them to”

Group Analysis (line by line)

But all they want to do

is tie the poem to a chair with rope

• How do these lines make you feel?

• What associations do they bring up?

• In what way has Collins’s imagery changed and how does that affect the poem’s overall tone?

and torture a confession out of it.

Group Analysis (line by line)

They begin beating it with a hose

• How does Collins feel about “all they want to do”?

• How do you know?

• What would he prefer they do?

to find out what it really means.

Independent Reflection (1/2 page minimum)

• How did our group analysis differ from your independent analysis?

• Billy Collins is a teacher. Based on this poem, would you like to take a class from him? Why or why not?