Billy Collins Introduction To Poetry Essay

Some people cringe at the thought of poetry, mostly because they are afraid that they will not understand the intended meaning hiding behind the words. Because of this fear, the reader often avoids poetry entirely or gives up without ever really trying to grasp what is meant by its expression. The reader might not be intimidated by poetry, if there were a set of instructions, spelled out with step-by-step how to’s to help guide them in the right direction. “Introduction to Poetry” by Billy Collins is a short poem with only 16 lines, and is written in free verse. While the poem in short in length, the message is abundant in meaning. In the poem “Introduction to Poetry”, Billy Collins teaches us to conquer our fears of reading poetry by using the one thing that we are afraid of to in order to achieve it.

As the the title would suggest, “Introduction to Poetry” is an introductory lesson into the literary world of expression and meaning. In the first stanza of the poem, the speaker asks the reader to address their fears by first giving poetry a try “I ask them to

take a poem / and hold up to the light /like a color slide” (1-3) by using the line “hold it up to the light”(2) and the words “color slide”, the speaker expresses the need for one to look closely at the words and see through their vibrancy and “color”-ful meanings, and to slowly take in the art of expression and relish its beauty, much like viewing a piece of art for the very first time. In addition to the visual cues, the speaker asks the reader to use their auditory sense in order to listen to the verse “or press an ear against a hive” (4) and hear what all the buzz is about.
The speaker expresses his desire that reading poetry will be an easy and enjoyable process that doesn’t take much effort as indicated by the stanza “I want them to waterski / across the surface of a poem” (9-10), but instead, our flight or fight response kicks in and we “begin beating it with a hose/ to find out what it really means” (15-16). We continue to force the words to make sense and yank the meanings from their letters. Our physiological response from the attack of poetry makes us withdraw form the words and “all [we] want to do / is tie the poem to a chair with a rope / and torture a confession out of it.” (12-14), not ever giving it a chance to evolve on its own, but instead destroying it with our frustrations and unwillingness to learn.
Once plummeted into a poem, the reader is consumed by the challenge of the words and has no choice but continue on their poetic journey.

“I say drop a mouse into a poem / and watch him probe his way out” (4-5) Once you start reading, you will eventually figure it out, and find that it in not as difficult as you have made out to be, and ultimately you will survive the maze.

In “Introduction to Poetry”, Billy Collins wants to share his passion and love of poetry. It takes work on the part of the reader to comprehend the meaning behind the words, and often times we feel the initial hesitation and apprehension by the lyrics we at first glance don’t understand. Billy Collins shows us that by confronting our fears, and giving poetry a chance, we will not only survive the battle, but possibly enjoy the beauty and adventure along the way. With an open mind, and dedicated time and effort, poetry is nothing to

fear.