Books by Billy Collins
From the heart of this dark, evacuated campus
I can hear the library humming in the night,
an immense choir of authors muttering inside their books
along the unlit, alphabetical shelves
5Giovanni Pontano next to Pope, Dumas next to his son,
each one stitched into his own private coat,
together forming a low, gigantic chord of language.
I picture a figure in the act of reading,
shoes on a desk, head tilted into the wind of a book,
10a man in two worlds, holding the rope of his tie
as the suicide of lovers saturates a page,
or lighting a cigarette in the middle of a theorem.
He moves from paragraph to paragraph
as if touring a house of endless, panelled rooms.
15I hear the voice of my mother reading to me
from a chair facing the bed, books about horses and dogs,
and inside her voice lie other distant sounds,
the horrors of a stable ablaze in the night,
a bark that is moving toward the brink of speech.
20I watch myself building bookshelves in college,
walls within walls, as rain soaks New England ,
or standing in a bookstore in a trench coat.
I see all of us reading ourselves away from ourselves,
straining in circles of light to find more light
25until the line of words becomes a trail of crumbs
that we follow across a page of fresh snow;
when evening is shadowing the forest,
small brown birds flutter down to consume them
and we have to listen hard to hear the voices
30of the boy and his sister receding into the perilous woods.
April 1988
From: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse/152/1#20601575
As someone who has loved to read ever since I was in elementary school, I was immediately intrigued to Billy Collins’ poem Books because of its title. I discovered that the speaker and I cherish books for many of the same reasons. In his poem Books, Collins depicts the books on library shelves as intriguing and full of vitality. Each one contains its own story that one can quickly become immersed in, such as the man he describes reading about the suicide of two lovers while sitting in his office. The poem then shifts to describe why we become so engrossed in literature. There is a comfort in forgetting our own lives at the present, our futures, and even looming hardships, and reading temporarily placates any fears or uncertainties we may have about journeying into the unknown. This peace and ease of mind achieved through reading, repeatedly alluded to in Books, is what has made me an avid reader. Collins has succeeded in making a seemingly simple poem have a profound, lasting impact on its reader.
Literary devices:
1. Personification and figurative language: Collins uses personification and figurative language throughout the first stanza of Books to convey the enticing, intriguing nature of books. Collins personifies the library as he writes of its “humming in the night” (2), a noise that can be heard from the center of the campus and thus perks the interest of potential readers. The figurative language employed in the first stanza also alludes to this idea. Collins lists authors rather than naming books, describing each author as “stitched in his own private coat” (6) and “together forming a low, gigantic chord of language” (7). Literally, he describes the appearance of a book, with its cover and pages filled with words, but figuratively he suggests that the content of books can lure a reader.
2. Figurative language: In the fourth stanza, the speaker describes a scene that seems somewhat abrupt and disconnected from the rest of the poem. The speaker recalls himself “building bookshelves in college” (20) and even “standing in a bookstore in a trench coat” (22). While he may have actually done these acts, they are symbolic of the phase of life he is going through. The act of “building bookshelves” is synonymous to preparing oneself to move out into the real world after college. However, “standing in a bookstore in a trench coat” represents the ambiguity and uncertainty that accompanies this phase of life. Figuratively, the speaker is attempting to shelter himself from reality by immersing himself in the comfort of books and wearing a trench coat to protect him from the unknown.
3. Aphorism: The fifth stanza contains an aphorism that illuminates the meaning of the poem. As the speaker observes, “I see all of us reading ourselves away from ourselves, / straining in circles of light to find more light” (23-34), he suggests that books provide an escape for us. They allow us a temporary reprieve from reality, and they can help us to reevaluate and “find more light” in our daily lives. With this new knowledge, we can return to reality and either adjust or transform our lives for the better.
4. Metaphor: Collins uses a metaphor in the last two lines of the fifth stanza to exemplify the power and hold books have over us. He notes that we read “until the line of words becomes a trail of crumbs / that we follow across a page of fresh snow” (25-26). While the words do not become an actual “trail of crumbs”, he uses such a metaphor to illuminate the captivating nature of books. He suggests that we are lured to reading because of the new knowledge, wisdom, and point of view it grants us.
Please comment on this poem.
ReplyDeleteLike Kathleen, I enjoyed this poem because I share Billy Collins' affection for book. Collins diction conveys my feelings for books with very accurate and precise words. My favorite lines occur in the second to last stanza. Collins writes "I see all of us reading ourselves away from ourselves". He gently shows how readers learn about other people and how they can escape from their own bad habits or problems. I also enjoyed the line "until the line of words becomes a trail of crumbs/that we follow across a page of fresh snow". He sums up perfectly how there are some books that you devour and your eyes follow the words on the page as fast as they can trying to soak up the story. I think the poem says a lot more than an expression of affection for books, but these lines were the most sentimental for me.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Marianna and Kathleen in that this poem connects with the reader and, in many cases, causes the reader to reflect on his or her own experience with literature. I like the way Collins illustrates the reader as he moves through the poem, depicting him at the desk,"shoes on a desk, head tilted into the wind of a book,a man in two worlds, holding the rope of his tie", and then in a more general sense throughout the rest of the poem. I think what makes this poem so enticing is that Collins leads us into the mind of the reader, and reveals his own experience in doing so. He is able to connect with the reader on a personal level as he describes reading as a child, " I hear the voice of my mother reading to me from a chair facing the bed, books about horses and dogs,". Moreover, he is almost creating his own story, a metastory in a sense, as he gives a story of the everyday reader.
ReplyDeleteI think my favorite line in this poem is "He moves from paragraph to paragraph as if touring a house of endless, panelled rooms." This line really struck me because in my opinion, I think of reading as a leisurely activity, but this line makes reading seem like an active sport. I also loved the fifth stanza: "I see all of us reading ourselves away from ourselves, straining in circles of light to find more light until the line of words becomes a trail of crumbs that we follow across a page of fresh snow" I agree with Marianna's interpretation of the first line of this stanza, how reading can be an escape from everyday life because you get so wrapped up with the characters in the book. I love the imagery and the metaphor in this stanza. I can see the circles of light surrounding a reader that Collins wrote about. As Kathleen mentioned, the metaphor at the end of the stanza is used to show that reading is captivating and leaves you wanting more so you keep turning the pages of the book.
ReplyDeleteMy reason for enjoying reading is the same as the point that Kathleen, Michaela, and Marianna bring up which is that through reading, one can escape reality and enter into another life within the story. The use of personification that Kathleen has found accentuates the vitality behind the world of books from “the library humming in the night” (2) to “we have to listen hard to hear the voices/of the boy and his sister receding into the perilous woods” (29-30). I felt nostalgic while reading this poem when I found references to stories that I recognize such as Hansel and Gretel (“the line of words becomes a trail of crumbs”(25) and “the boy and his sister receding into the perilous woods” (30)) and Romeo and Juliet(?) (“a man in two worlds, holding the rope of his tie/as the suicide of lovers saturates a page” (10-11) I’m not entirely sure about this one because there are so many stories about romantics taking their lives, but it is one of the most well-known).
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this poem because I thought it was easy to relate with the speaker because I enjoy reading. Collins uses, as Kathleen mentioned, figurative language and personification and by using these devices he does a good job of almost convincing the reader that reading a book is an enriching experience. I enjoyed the third stanza because Collins is showing how at young age, before he could read on his own, he was intrigued by books. I was able to relate to this because I have always loved books. As everyone has mentioned, they provide the reader with the opportunity to escape reality and enter a world that is up for their interpretation. I was also going to comment on the line "straining in circles of light to find more light," (24) but realized that I agree with Michaela and her interpretation. I thought of the "light" as being the discoveries within a book and you want to keep turning the pages to find out what comes next.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the poem for the first time I think Kathleen’s breakdown of the poem was close to spot on. The beginning sets the scene for the rest of the poem and gives context, pulling the reader into the world of the reader. The gentle journey that all of us relate to as readers very aptly begins at childhood. I enjoyed how this poem was laid out because I see myself in caught up in the midst of the reader’s experience. The poet captures my past in the lines, “I hear the voice of my mother reading to me / from a chair facing the bed” (15,16). Also, my not so distance future seems to emerge among the lines, “I watch myself building bookshelves in college, / walls within walls” (20,21). This poem appeals to me because of the collective journey that everyone experiences from the moment they hear their first story onward.
ReplyDeleteTo me, this poem has a strong sense of the vast environment created by the books. The escape offered by them elicits feelings of comfort and a place of belonging. Although the ultimate destination is a mystery, the definite knowledge of arriving somewhere besides reality offers a sort of haven to the reader. I really liked the line, “I see all of us reading ourselves away from ourselves, / straining in circles of light to find more light” (23-34), as it puts into words the feeling of finding individual places of peace away from the darkness of reality.
ReplyDelete