Introduction to Literature

Running head: Introduction to Literature
Introduction to Literature
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE
The poem entitled. ‘Nostalgia’ by Billy Collins was written in 1991. In the poem, Billy
Collins employs one of the oldest techniques of humour namely the hyperbole. The poem
reiterates a sense of wistfulness and longing for the past. The writing of Billy Collins reflects a
sense of longing and he writes in a gentle humorous way. He displays a profound understanding
of subjects and his writing style is emblematic of both humour and solemnity. The poem is
written in first person narrative and is descriptive in nature.
Humour and irony are a distinctive style of Billy Collins and in the poem entitled
‘Introduction to Poetry’, which was written in 1996, is full of similes and metaphors as the poet
asks his readers to delve into a poem and appreciate it without hankering for an explanation. The
poem is free verse poem of sixteen lines and is made up of seven stanzas. The meter is irregular
for the most part of the poem and the tone of the poem is slightly didactic in nature.
The poem entitled ‘Daddy’ was written by Sylvia Plath is a very disturbing and a dark
poet where Sylvia Plath kills her father’s memory metaphorically. She presents herself as a Jew
and makes her father a Nazi thereby dramatizing the inner turmoil in her soul (Bhasin, 2015). It
is a confessional poem and when Sylvia Plath drives a stake through her father’s heart she is
metaphorically not only killing her husband but all men (Kennedy, 2017).
The poem entitled ‘Eating Poetry’ by Mark Strand published in his 1968 is a surreal
poem that is set in a library. The poem is about a person eating poetry and the effects that it has
on the person, upsets the librarian. It has six stanzas comprising of eighteen lines. Each tercet
gives us a greater understanding of the mind of the speaker and the strange consequences that
unfurl once he has eaten the poetry. There are examples of anaphora in the poem and alliteration
occurs in the second stanza of the poem with comparatively soft consonants. Assonance occurs a