Morning

Morning by Billy Collins

Why do we bother with the rest of the day,

the swale of the afternoon,

the sudden dip into evening,

           

then night with his notorious perfumes,

           ⁵his many-pointed stars?

This is the best-

throwing off the light covers,

feet on the cold floor,

and buzzing around the house on espresso-

         ¹⁰maybe a splash of water on the face,

a palmful of vitamins-

but mostly buzzing around the house on espresso,

dictionary and atlas open on the rug,

the typewriter waiting for the key of the head,

         ¹⁵a cello on the radio,

and, if necessary, the windows-

trees fifty, a hundred years old

out there,

heavy clouds on the way

         ²⁰and the lawn steaming like a horse

in the early morning.

                                                                                                            1998

From: The Norton Anthology

Billy Collins’ poem Morning depicts the early time of day as invigorating and full of both vitality and possibilities.  As an early riser myself, I enjoyed the poem because it expressed many of the same uplifting feelings I sometimes experience, most often during the summer when I have nothing planned for the day.  Collins at first negatively depicts the night, favoring the morning hours, but the third, fourth, and fifth stanzas support his assertion about the morning.  The imagery he uses to describe the morning alludes to a freshness and exhilaration that it possesses because we have the ability to control the events of the day.  We can ponder all of the possibilities of what we will do, fostering an excitement and appreciation towards each new morning that comes.  Since this poem’s message resonated within me, I thought that it would be worth exploring.

Literary devices:

1. Pathetic fallacy: Although the nonhuman phenomenon of the night is inevitable, Collins suggests that the night comes because of its evil and manipulating nature.  He describes the “night with its notorious perfumes / his many-pointed stars” (4-5) to portray the human-like emotions it possesses.  Its “notorious perfumes” suggest that the night has committed some sort of evil act while “his many-pointed stars” allude to its majestic and magical powers.  As a result, the use of pathetic fallacy in regards to the night makes it seem as if its onset stems from its evil, power-hungry nature and emotions, strengthening Collins argument about the beauty of the morning.

2. Repetition: The repetition of the line “buzzing around the house on espresso” (9, 12) portrays the excitement and vitality of the morning.  The espresso gives a jolt of caffeine to awaken an individual, and it makes them ready to carry out whatever they desire to do during the day.

3. Imagery: The imagery of the third stanza illuminates the invigorating nature of the morning.  The lines “throwing off the light covers” (7), “feet on the cold floor” (8), and “a splash of water on the face” (10) are each attempts to make the reader feel a coldness and a freshness at the same time.  Thus the imagery makes the reader feel chilled, and they can understand the exhilaration and excitement of the morning that Collins captures in this poem.

4. Conceit: The last two lines of the poem contain a simile of two seemingly dissimilar things.  Collins draws a comparison by describing “the lawn steaming like a horse / in the early morning” (20-21).  The horse and the lawn appear not to have much in common, but after careful discerning, the simile serves to exemplify the vitality felt during the morning hours.  I think Collins depicted the lawn as steaming to portray dew evaporating off the grass, which often happens in the morning.  I also think that the steaming horse is representative of a horse who has just exercised and is perspiring.  Therefore, the horse feels awakened and rejuvenated, and when compared to the morning, Collins is able to suggest that the morning is a time that can be invigorating and rejuvenating.