Billy Collins
Tiffiny Wallace
Background
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Born in New York in 1941
Parents (William and Katherine) were in their early forties and both worked.
Never enjoyed his english classes as he grew up, he started to really enjoy literature when his
dad brought home a poetry magazine home every month.
Went to the College of Holy Cross in Massachusetts, and then to the University of California at
Riverside to get his PhD in English.( Lawrence Ferling..)
His first two collections were Pokerface(1977) and Video Poems(1980) which were not super
successful
Shortly after he got married to his wife, Diane, and moved to New York here he got a teaching
job at Lehman College.
The Apple That Astonished Paris, Questions About Angels, and Sailing Around the Room
2001, appointed United States Poet Laureate. He increased awareness of poetry in in youth
with Poetry 180.
Poems
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Forgetfulness
Introduction To Poetry
House
Another Reason Why I Don’t Keep a Gun at my House
Oh Turn Ten
Flames
Today
Invention
Walking Across the Atlantic Silence
The Only Day in Existence
Some Days
Neither Snow
Dharma
Consolation
Pinup
The Trouble with Poetry
Litany
Candle Hat
Taking Off Emily Dickinson’s Clothes
Thesis
Billy Collins has a certain style in his poetry that was developed from his
childhood, influences on him from other successful poets, and from his
unique personality.
Forgetfulness
The name of the author is the first to go
followed obediently by the title, the plot,
the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel
which suddenly becomes one you have never read, never even heard of,
as if, one by one, the memories you used to harbor
decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain,
to a little fishing village where there are no phones.
Long ago you kissed the names of the nine muses goodbye
and watched the quadratic equation pack its bag,
and even now as you memorize the order of the planets,
something else is slipping away, a state flower perhaps,
the address of an uncle, the capital of Paraguay.
Whatever it is you are struggling to remember,
it is not poised on the tip of your tongue
or even lurking in some obscure corner of your spleen.
It has floated away down a dark mythological river
whose name begins with an L as far as you can recall
well on your own way to oblivion where you will join those
who have even forgotten how to swim and how to ride a bicycle.
No wonder you rise in the middle of the night
to look up the date of a famous battle in a book on war.
No wonder the moon in the window seems to have drifted
out of a love poem that you used to know by heart.
Title: I think that this poem is going to be about how humans will
forget. It is inevitable for humans to be imperfect.
Paraphrase: the more that you learn, the more that you forget at
the same time. It is impossible to remember every single thing
that you have ever learned.
Speaker: I think that the speaker of this poem is again Billy Collins
because it sound like this guy has a lot of experience and knows
what he is talking about.
Figurative Language: much figurative language was used like
metaphors and similes especially. They really paint a picture of
why we forget things important.
Attitude: the attitude is almost happy, which is a little ironic
because the title is forgetfulness which is generally not a positive
thing.
Shift: after reading through the poem, I could not detect any
major shifts in attitudes.
Title: I think that my original prediction was pretty close to spot
on. This is, the things that humans forget because we are not
perfect.
Theme: the theme itself I think is forgetfulness. As Miley Cyrus
puts it, nobody is perfect.
The Only Day in Existence
The early sun is so pale and shadowy,
I could be looking up at a ghost
in the shape of a window,
a tall, rectangular spirit
looking down at me in bed,
about to demand that I avenge
the murder of my father.
But the morning light is only the first line
in the play of this day-the only day in existence-the opening chord of its long song,
or think of what is permeating
the thin bedroom curtains
as the beginning of a lecture
I will listen to until it is dark,
a curious student in a V-neck sweater,
angled into the wooden chair of his life,
ready with notebook and a chewed-up pencil,
quiet as a goldfish in winter,
serious as a compass at sea,
eager to absorb whatever lesson
this damp, overcast Tuesday
has to teach me,
here in the spacious classroom of the world
with its long walls of glass,
its heavy, low-hung ceiling.
Analysis
Title: something one of a kind is going to happen, “the only day in existence” that is happened
ever.
Paraphrase: someone is lying in bed in the morning, thinking about all that he will need to do that
day. He is not super excited to go tackle it.
Speaker: a student I either high school or college maybe?!
Figurative Language: Billy Collins uses Figurative language to describe how boring this students day
is going to be.
Attitude: it is sad kind of, but at the same time it is kind of just blah. Maybe there isn’t an attitude?
I am not sure.
Shifts: no shifts hat I could find, maybe it is because of how short the poem is.
Title: it is the only kind of day this character has ever had. Therefore it is the only day in existence
of their lives.
Theme: students need to be able to live their lives while they are young and still can. Teenagers
should be a little rebellious.
Today
If ever there were a spring day so perfect,
so uplifted by a warm intermittent breeze
seemed so etched in sunlight
that you felt like taking
that it made you want to throw
open all the windows in the house
a hammer to the glass paperweight
on the living room end table,
and unlatch the door to the canary's cage,
indeed, rip the little door from its jamb,
releasing the inhabitants
from their snow-covered cottage
a day when the cool brick paths
and the garden bursting with peonies
so they could walk out,
holding hands and squinting
into this larger dome of blue and white,
well, today is just that kind of day.
Analysis
Title: Maybe this poem will talk about a normal persons everyday life and struggles that they know
they will face that day.
Paraphrase: it is a perfect spring day, and they, the character, just want to be able to show and
share it to everyone.
Speaker: I think that this is the author speaking from experience. They have been through a
beautiful day like this before.
Figurative Language: thoroughly describes how amazing warm spring days are using metaphors and
similes.
Attitude: The character in the poem is super stoked because of how awesome the warm day is.
Happiness and excitement all around.
Shifts: because this poem is pretty short, I do not see any true shifts in the attitude of this poem.
Title: after reading through this poem, I have decided that this title is like a fresh start and a
happier day than the last, so make use of it.
Theme: Nature is so beautiful in the spring and it makes people more happy and generous.
Shadow (Flames)
Henry the Hedgehog emerges
The crowd eagerly
out of his dust bed
awaits his decision.
with soda in one hand,
depending their future
and potato chips in the other.
on a small rodent.
His spines are all matted
He says yes, but mostly because
at an interesting angle.
he wants to nap for a few weeks longer.
His brown eyes dilate
quickly as the sun penetrates
his enlarged pupils,
causing minimal pain.
Citation
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“Billy Collins.” Encyclopedia of World Biography. Vol. 28. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Biography in Context. Web. 10
Mar. 2015.
“Billy Collins.” Authors and Artists for Young Adults. Vol. 64. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Biography in context. Web.
12 Mar 2015.