Patricia Konarski Tucson Poem 1

Patricia Konarski Literary Services of Tucson

Poems: Dissecting and Analyzing Them for All of Their Value

A portion of the following poem, “Introduction to Poetry,” by Billy Collins, is given a close look to underscore its attributes that are deserving attention and interpretation.

"Introduction to Poetry"

Billy Collins

I ask them to take a poemand hold it up to the lightlike a color slide

/…./

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.

What should be appreciated from the above portion of the poem is that it is packed with a great use of figurative language, tantalizing the mind about the intricacies of human nature in terms of how people come to perceive different things from what is written by others, and how people come to even approach the perception of the writings in radically different ways: In this example, the author wants the reader to come to interpret a poem relatively gently, to place it before a light like a delicate slide, and yet the author comes to ‘complain’ about how some people come to brashly approach interpretation of a poem by subjecting the poem, itself, to what amounts to a rough interrogation.

Different techniques of interpreting a literary work like a poem will surely bring about different meanings.

Patricia KonarskiFreelance Editor and Owner of Patricia Konarski Literary Services of Tucson (Ret. Librarian)Patricia Konarski’s Health – Life Quote: “Life with love is bliss, and adding dark chocolate makes it blissfully healthy.”

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Book lovers: If you have an interest in books, and live in Tucson, AZ, I encourage you to join my fellow friends and me at our monthly book socials; it is usually held in the immediate area of the University of Arizona campus; just contact me for details! (My email is [email protected].)

Patricia Konarski Literary Services of Tucson