How To Read Poetry: Reading, Summary, and Analysis of 'Introduction to Poetry' by Billy Collins

Welcome to a reading, summary, and analysis of "Introduction to Poetry" by two time US Poet Laurette, Billy Collins.

In this poem, Collins examines the beautiful world of poetry, and how it all too often turns nightmarish in the classroom. We'll look at why this is, and explore ways that teachers and students can better enjoy reading poetry.
==========================================================
Want to check out more Billy Collins poetry? Check out the link below
==========================================================
My favorite notebooks:

Use code OXFORDCOMMA for 10% your order!
==========================================================
Find great writing utensils and support a great small business:

(Five dollars off your first order with the code OXFORDCOMMA).
==========================================================
Note, if you purchase anything through the affiliate links above, this channel will receive a small commission. Thank you for your support!
==========================================================
Support the channel and unlock rewards like bookmarks and one on one editing through Patreon.
==========================================================

I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

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

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

I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author’s name on the shore.

But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.

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

-1988

[mrquaackers]

hi! at 6:20 i have to agree, i dont like 99.99% of poems i have found but "introduction to poetry" was interesting!

[tammyt]

I actually had a teacher who started our poetry segment by admitting she didn't like it and we all had to tough it out because it was in the curriculum.
She wasn't a very good teacher overall. Thanks for showing me what a good teacher can do!

[somethingthinkabout]

Good work, Oxford Comma. Another light hearted video talking about poetry for the sake of poetry. These really are a relief from the gloom and doom of stuff like war poetry. Not saying that things like that aren't important too. After all, I personally prefer poetry that has definite meaning(s), but compared to heavy stuff like your last poetry video, I enjoy little breaks like this. 😊

[the-comments-poet]

Unbroken

I’ve walked to and from
I’ve walked with and without

And I’ve walked with you

It’s just a curiosity on a morning walk
Today I am alone but I’m thinking of you
And how you would be taken at the oddity
Of this ornament, broken by the side of the road

Laying on its side, bulb cracked, wires exposed
The fence post lamp has been knocked down, undone
Most trivial — unimportant
And most would just walk on by

But you

And I think of all the questions you have
And the hows and the whys
And all the plans defined and formulated
To unmain, to heal, to rectify

You are not here, still you’re with me
And I carry your wonderings
And your plans, and your awe
Your abandon to that simple moment

I’ve walked to and from
I’ve walked with and without

Today I walk alone
With your hand in mine
And in every step, I feel your heart
And in a broken lamp, your shining light

How much of you
Has unbroken me