The Figurative Language In 'Introduction to Poetry'

Choose one of the poems that we have studied in your reader, and analyze the figurative language in it. Make sure to choose a poem rich with figurative language if you choose this option. What kind of figurative language does the poem have (give examples from the poem), and how does this help to create meaning?

            The poem "Introduction to Poetry", by Billy Collins, is full of different types of figurative languages. In the first stanza, ‘I ask to take a poem and hold it up to the light like a color slide’, a simile is being used. A simile makes a comparison between two different things and shows how they are similar to each other. Billy Collins is comparing poems to a color slide which holds pictures or images that can be difficult to be seen without the light. So, he’s encouraging us to examine the poems for  information that may not be readily revealed, just like we would do by holding up the color slide to the light to see the information it contains. Metaphor, personification, and symbol are also used throughout this poem. The figurative language used in this poem helps it to tell its message in a much more interesting and effective way.

Enjambment's Real Cool

In "We Real Cool," Gwendolyn Brooks uses the poetic element of enjambment. Why do you think she does this, and how does it affect the meaning of the poem?

The poet Gwendolyn Brooks uses enjambment to create a hard hitting poem about seven boys whose life choices lead them down a spiralling path of bad consequences. The use of enjambment in this poem forces readers to speed up as they read the poem, giving them the feeling of time speeding up. Because of this, her poem serves as a strong message to kids to stay in school and make good choices, because if you do not it can lead to unwanted consequences very quickly. The boys felt they were too "cool" to be in school and they could prosper by playing pool, drinking, and jazzing. Their actions quickly conclude with their early deaths as the poet states in th last line. Rhyming also plays a big role in aiding the flow of the poem allowing it to be read more smoothly. The enjambment allows the readers to experience this powerful message at a rapid pace with but a few well placed words. 

The Marake Coming of Age Ceremony

       The Marake Ceremony is a coming of age ritual usually only for young boys. When the parents of the child thinks that he/she is ready, typically when they are between the ages 5-8, they take them to the local shaman, who holds one of the highest positions in the Amazonian's eyes, to initiate the ceremony. The ceremony is seen by most as very brutal, although it is seen as normal by these Amazonian tribes. The ceremony is conducted by taking a kunana with live bullet ants, or wasp, stuck to it. Kunanas are intricately designed mats made out of woven bamboo (see picture No. 1). Usually they are shaped like animals (see picture No. 2). If the child succeeds in becoming a man they are allowed to keep the kunana that was used on them as a symbol of their accomplishment. The shaman repeatedly places the side of the kunana that has the bullet ants stingers protruding from it all over the child's body. This is a very painful process for the child. If the child reacts to the stings then he has failed and will have to wait another year to go through the ceremony again. Because of the large amount of toxins that are released into the body from the ant stings, children are typically left disabled anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks. Because of this, dancing is done after the initiation to get the child's blood circulating so that the toxins leave the body faster.

(Picture No.1)

       From the onlookers perspective this is a very harsh and unpleasant experience, but for the young boys about to be initiated this is a very exciting event. In the eyes of the Amazons this is as normal and "cruel" as taking your child to the dentist or to get a shot. Although the process is painful the children look forward to the day when they finally become a man. To prepare the children for the ceremony, the parents sting the children with the ants to help their bodies get used to the stings and the toxins. The ceremony is a moment the children have been waiting for ever since they can remember. The reason for the ceremony is to prove if the boys can take the pain endured by the stings without complaint, they should be able to endure the things that they may confront later in life as men such as battles and injuries. The motivation overrides the fear of the child and he steps forward to become a man. In the end the pain and the toxins from the ant stings is but a small price to pay for the victory that is achieved .

(Picture No.2)

       Although the Marake Ceremony is under American standards as child abuse, because of the pain inflicted on the child, the Houston Museum of Natural History's "Out of The Amazon: Life on The River" exhibit presents the life of the Amazons in a non offensive and unbiased manner. This is good because until we have walked in another persons shoes we can not truly understand the behavior or traditions of the individual.

The Differnce Between The Writer of a Poem and The Author

What is The Difference Between The Speaker of a Poem and The Poet?

The poet of a poem is the person who writes it and the speaker is whom the poem's point of view is from. These two are often mistakenly thought of as one and the same by the general public. In the poem "Monologue for an Onion" the speaker of the poem is an onion and the poet is Suji Kwock Kim. Sometimes the writer of the poem is also the speaker of the poem. For example, in the poem "Introduction to Poetry" Billy Collins is both the poet and the speaker. Understanding who the speaker of the poem is may help the reader better understand the message of the poem.