I believe what the Poet is saying here is that people need to accept nonsensical poetry for what it is: nonsensical. As the poet says: "But all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with a rope and torture a confession out of it.
They begin beating it with a hose to find out what it really means."
What these 2 stanzas mean is that in poetry, there doesn't have to be a ulterior motive, no conspiracy on what it truly means, and that there doesn't have to be a wink of sense inside it. Poetry is meant to allow people to express their emotions. It's not meant to be a work of art that ties everything together and makes sense in the end. That's the opposite of what you should expect from poetry. Beauty, romance, happiness, raw emotion. Anger, envy, love...this is what poetry is truly about. Not sense. Emotion. I love poetry because it sucks you into it's nonsensical and whimsical worlds that have no logic. It allows you to stimulate your imagination, explore who you really are, and it above all can make you happy. Isn't that what writing is about? Expressing yourself? If you don't think so, then I believe you are not a true writer. It's not all about getting that A+ in Language Arts (but trust me, that helps.) To quote Robin Williams in the movie 'The Dead Poet Society:' "That the powerful play goes on and you contribute a verse." This means that life will go on, and that you should contribute something, that you should go out and write about yourself. As I said, it's not about the good mark. I believe it's about showing that you have a heart.
Q: What is the poet saying in this poem? Use examples from the poem in your explanation. A: I think that the poet is saying that a poem can have lots of layers, or meaning. "I say drop a mouse into a poem and watch him probe his way out." It is a complex maze that can have so much in it, while the surface words are simple. “They begin beating it with a hose to find out what it really means.” There can be so many different hidden meanings in a poem, but only a good poet can accomplish it.
Q: Do you agree with the poet? A: I do agree with the poet Billy Collins. Not all poems have such layers though, since is can be difficult to do.
What is the poet saying in this poem? Use examples from the poem in your explanation. Do you agree with the poet? The poem is saying that he wishes that ‘them’ to fully understand and make a great poem. “Or walk inside the poem’s room and feel the walls for a light switch.” May mean that Collins wants you to find something interesting and bright ideas in the poem. Or just write things down until it sounds right. “But all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it.” Means that these people are trying to force it. But really, a poem should be something you do for fun, not something you should do by force. I agree with Mr.Collins wholeheartedly. When writing a poem you just go with the flow, not go crazy saying: "I MUST MAKE THE MOST-EPIC-AWESOME POEM EVER WITH NO MISTAKES."
Oh, and I do agree with the author. As I said in my rant, poetry does not have to include layers and layers of deep thoughts. As I said, it is about emotion. (I kind of used up all my energy writing the rant...)
Q: What is the poet saying in this poem? A: This poet is saying that poems don’t need to be understood, just felt, and that you don’t need to know the “meaning” of a poem to enjoy or understand it, as Billy Collins explains in the last two phrases, “But all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with a rope and torture a confession from it. They begin beating it with a hose to find out what it really means.” Q: Use examples from the poem in your explanation. Do you agree with the poet? A: I completely agree with this poet. I think that as long as you understand the poem with your heart and soul, then you really don’t need to know the “true” meaning of the poem, for the poet would want you to interpret his or her poem in the way you think is right. I think that poets didn’t write their poems to be understood, but more to be “felt”, as Billy Collins explains in the first verses of the poem: “I ask them to take a poem and hold it up to the light like a colour slide or press an ear against its hive.” Of course, he doesn’t mean this literally. He means read the poem, and enjoy it, don’t ponder over the meaning of it.
THIS WAS BY MACKENZIE, IF YOU FAIL TO SEE MY NAME ABOVE THIS POST (like Mackenzie Rolfe in bold? If you didn't see that, you really need to get your eyes checked)!!!!!
I think that the poet is saying that poem isn't meant to be understood. Maybe, the own author of the poem didn't understand what he/she was writing. They're trying to say that you need to enjoy the poem. Multiple times they stated enjoyable things you could be doing with the poem, enjoying it rather than understanding it. "I ask them to take a poem and hold it up to the light like a colour slide." Just to see the poem as a work of art, not as a mystery waiting to be solved. The poet is stating how he is simply asking someone these things, "But all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with a rope and torture a confession out of it." Meaning they wish to understand it, rather than just enjoy it as he was asking.
Do you agree with the poet?
I do agree with the poet . . . Partially. I can say right now that I completely and wholeheartedly agree with him, but, when I put some thought into it, I realize I do really like to understand things and make sense out of them. If I don't understand something then I usually work quite hard to figure out the meaning, but I do agree that poems are meant to be enjoyed, not understood.
What is the poet saying in this poem? Use examples from the poem in your explanation.
I think what he is trying to say is that poems are about feelings, color, smell, taste. “or walk inside a poems room and feel the walls for a light switch”What it’s trying to say is poems don’t have to make sense or have a meaning. They have to have a feeling. Happy, sad, angry, worried. You don’t know that it means but you can still enjoy it. For example, Jabberwocky. It doesn’t really make sense, but it still gives you a creepy feeling. Poems can mean many things. Poems are supposed to bring you in and explore it. “or walk inside a poems room and feel the walls for a light switch” You can’t really explore a poem that makes complete sense. You can not find the light switch if you already know where it is. But people don’t understand that. “But all they want to do is tie the poem to the chair and torture the confession out of it.”
Do you agree with the poet?
Yes. In some ways I do. I sometimes “tie the poem to the chair and torture the confession out of it.” but I guess that is not the point of poetry. I think if you try to look for the light switch in the poem's room, and be that mouse in the poem that tries to find his way out of the poem, you really don’t need the meaning of the poem.
What is the poet saying in this poem? Use examples from the poem in your explanation. Do you agree with the poet?
I believe what the Poet is saying here is that people need to accept nonsensical poetry for what it is: nonsensical. As the poet says:
ReplyDelete"But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with a rope
and torture a confession out of it.
They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means."
What these 2 stanzas mean is that in poetry, there doesn't have to be a ulterior motive, no conspiracy on what it truly means, and that there doesn't have to be a wink of sense inside it. Poetry is meant to allow people to express their emotions. It's not meant to be a work of art that ties everything together and makes sense in the end. That's the opposite of what you should expect from poetry. Beauty, romance, happiness, raw emotion. Anger, envy, love...this is what poetry is truly about. Not sense. Emotion.
I love poetry because it sucks you into it's nonsensical and whimsical worlds that have no logic. It allows you to stimulate your imagination, explore who you really are, and it above all can make you happy. Isn't that what writing is about? Expressing yourself? If you don't think so, then I believe you are not a true writer. It's not all about getting that A+ in Language Arts (but trust me, that helps.)
To quote Robin Williams in the movie 'The Dead Poet Society:'
"That the powerful play goes on and you contribute a verse." This means that life will go on, and that you should contribute something, that you should go out and write about yourself. As I said, it's not about the good mark.
I believe it's about showing that you have a heart.
-Aidan
Sorry about this extreme rant
Delete-Aidan
Q: What is the poet saying in this poem? Use examples from the poem in your explanation.
ReplyDeleteA: I think that the poet is saying that a poem can have lots of layers, or meaning. "I say drop a mouse into a poem and watch him probe his way out." It is a complex maze that can have so much in it, while the surface words are simple.
“They begin beating it with a hose to find out what it really means.” There can be so many different hidden meanings in a poem, but only a good poet can accomplish it.
Q: Do you agree with the poet?
A: I do agree with the poet Billy Collins. Not all poems have such layers though, since is can be difficult to do.
What is the poet saying in this poem? Use examples from the poem in your explanation. Do you agree with the poet?
ReplyDeleteThe poem is saying that he wishes that ‘them’ to fully understand and make a great poem. “Or walk inside the poem’s room and feel the walls for a light switch.” May mean that Collins wants you to find something interesting and bright ideas in the poem. Or just write things down until it sounds right. “But all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it.” Means that these people are trying to force it. But really, a poem should be something you do for fun, not something you should do by force.
I agree with Mr.Collins wholeheartedly. When writing a poem you just go with the flow, not go crazy saying: "I MUST MAKE THE MOST-EPIC-AWESOME POEM EVER WITH NO MISTAKES."
Oh, and I do agree with the author. As I said in my rant, poetry does not have to include layers and layers of deep thoughts. As I said, it is about emotion.
ReplyDelete(I kind of used up all my energy writing the rant...)
-Aidan
Q: What is the poet saying in this poem?
ReplyDeleteA: This poet is saying that poems don’t need to be understood, just felt, and that you don’t need to know the “meaning” of a poem to enjoy or understand it, as Billy Collins explains in the last two phrases, “But all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with a rope and torture a confession from it. They begin beating it with a hose to find out what it really means.”
Q: Use examples from the poem in your explanation. Do you agree with the poet?
A: I completely agree with this poet. I think that as long as you understand the poem with your heart and soul, then you really don’t need to know the “true” meaning of the poem, for the poet would want you to interpret his or her poem in the way you think is right. I think that poets didn’t write their poems to be understood, but more to be “felt”, as Billy Collins explains in the first verses of the poem: “I ask them to take a poem and hold it up to the light like a colour slide or press an ear against its hive.” Of course, he doesn’t mean this literally. He means read the poem, and enjoy it, don’t ponder over the meaning of it.
THIS WAS BY MACKENZIE, IF YOU FAIL TO SEE MY NAME ABOVE THIS POST (like Mackenzie Rolfe in bold? If you didn't see that, you really need to get your eyes checked)!!!!!
What is the poet saying in this poem?
ReplyDeleteI think that the poet is saying that poem isn't meant to be understood. Maybe, the own author of the poem didn't understand what he/she was writing. They're trying to say that you need to enjoy the poem. Multiple times they stated enjoyable things you could be doing with the poem, enjoying it rather than understanding it.
"I ask them to take a poem and hold it up to the light like a colour slide."
Just to see the poem as a work of art, not as a mystery waiting to be solved. The poet is stating how he is simply asking someone these things, "But all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with a rope and torture a confession out of it." Meaning they wish to understand it, rather than just enjoy it as he was asking.
Do you agree with the poet?
I do agree with the poet . . . Partially. I can say right now that I completely and wholeheartedly agree with him, but, when I put some thought into it, I realize I do really like to understand things and make sense out of them. If I don't understand something then I usually work quite hard to figure out the meaning, but I do agree that poems are meant to be enjoyed, not understood.
~ Amanda
What is the poet saying in this poem? Use examples from the poem in your explanation.
ReplyDeleteI think what he is trying to say is that poems are about feelings, color, smell, taste. “or walk inside a poems room and feel the walls for a light switch”What it’s trying to say is poems don’t have to make sense or have a meaning. They have to have a feeling. Happy, sad, angry, worried. You don’t know that it means but you can still enjoy it. For example, Jabberwocky. It doesn’t really make sense, but it still gives you a creepy feeling. Poems can mean many things. Poems are supposed to bring you in and explore it. “or walk inside a poems room and feel the walls for a light switch” You can’t really explore a poem that makes complete sense. You can not find the light switch if you already know where it is. But people don’t understand that. “But all they want to do is tie the poem to the chair and torture the confession out of it.”
Do you agree with the poet?
Yes. In some ways I do. I sometimes “tie the poem to the chair and torture the confession out of it.” but I guess that is not the point of poetry. I think if you try to look for the light switch in the poem's room, and be that mouse in the poem that tries to find his way out of the poem, you really don’t need the meaning of the poem.