No Holds Barred Poetry
Who's to say what true poetry should be? Many people in the history of this underappreciated branch of literature seem to believe that poetry requires a traditional touch. However, famous poet Billy Collins disagrees wholeheartedly. Whereas most poets stick to the traditional status quo, Collins thinks outside the box and produces very interesting works. The difference between Collins and phonies who simply perform absurd acts for attention is his end goal. Collins’ goal of changing the landscape of poetry can be found within three of works, Taking Off Emily Dickinson’s clothes, Flames, and “To my Favorite 17-Year-Old High school Girl”. Collins’ goal is to promote freedom and creativity within society and the poetry …show more content…
Collins wrote "To my Favorite 17 Year-Old High School Girl” to craft a satirical comedy about how the expectations for young people has changed drastically over time. Throughout the poem, Collins compares his daughter to many famous people in history who achieved great things around her age. An example of this would be, “A few centuries later, when he was your age, Franz Schubert was doing the dishes for his family, but that did not keep him from composing two symphonies, four operas and two complete masses as a youngster.” (Collins ¶ 7). He is expressing the fact that in modern America, teenagers are not expected to achieve as much as they were many years ago. Collins also wanted to expresses that teenagers in America today aren’t given many opportunities to be creative and achieve great things. In America today the school system inspires no creativity in student and merely turns them into unimaginative machines that regurgitate memorized facts. Teenagers are immediately thrust into a world where money is everything, and often have to take on jobs that they truly don’t enjoy to stay afloat. Collins is merely using his daughter as an example of a teenager who is being forced to underachieve by the American school system. The final reason for why Collins wrote "To my Favorite 17-Year-Old High school Girl" to show that in his poetry, no subject or individual is off limits. Writing a sarcastic and hilarious poem about your teenage daughter can be considered a pretty effective way to demonstrate that fact that you are a no holds barred poet. This poem is unique because not only does it demonstrate Collins’ controversial views on poetry, but it also does so without being unnecessarily obscene or vulgar. At no point while reading this poem do you feel as though Collins’ doesn't love his daughter. However, the message is still very clear, no person or topic is safe, and it makes for
Who's to say what true poetry should be? Many people in the history of this underappreciated branch of literature seem to believe that poetry requires a traditional touch. However, famous poet Billy Collins disagrees wholeheartedly. Whereas most poets stick to the traditional status quo, Collins thinks outside the box and produces very interesting works. The difference between Collins and phonies who simply perform absurd acts for attention is his end goal. Collins’ goal of changing the landscape of poetry can be found within three of works, Taking Off Emily Dickinson’s clothes, Flames, and “To my Favorite 17-Year-Old High school Girl”. Collins’ goal is to promote freedom and creativity within society and the poetry …show more content…
Collins wrote "To my Favorite 17 Year-Old High School Girl” to craft a satirical comedy about how the expectations for young people has changed drastically over time. Throughout the poem, Collins compares his daughter to many famous people in history who achieved great things around her age. An example of this would be, “A few centuries later, when he was your age, Franz Schubert was doing the dishes for his family, but that did not keep him from composing two symphonies, four operas and two complete masses as a youngster.” (Collins ¶ 7). He is expressing the fact that in modern America, teenagers are not expected to achieve as much as they were many years ago. Collins also wanted to expresses that teenagers in America today aren’t given many opportunities to be creative and achieve great things. In America today the school system inspires no creativity in student and merely turns them into unimaginative machines that regurgitate memorized facts. Teenagers are immediately thrust into a world where money is everything, and often have to take on jobs that they truly don’t enjoy to stay afloat. Collins is merely using his daughter as an example of a teenager who is being forced to underachieve by the American school system. The final reason for why Collins wrote "To my Favorite 17-Year-Old High school Girl" to show that in his poetry, no subject or individual is off limits. Writing a sarcastic and hilarious poem about your teenage daughter can be considered a pretty effective way to demonstrate that fact that you are a no holds barred poet. This poem is unique because not only does it demonstrate Collins’ controversial views on poetry, but it also does so without being unnecessarily obscene or vulgar. At no point while reading this poem do you feel as though Collins’ doesn't love his daughter. However, the message is still very clear, no person or topic is safe, and it makes for