Because the "nerdy kid" asks if there is a test in response to the English teacher's directive to cast away the rules and follow your heart and look into your soul, it seems he/she is unable to experience poetry freely and enjoy all that if offers: introspection, self-discovery, and awareness of the world around us. The later mention of the nerdy kid shuddering uncontrollably as a result of being told of the opportunity to examine and write poetry further illustrates his/her inability to break free from the restraints of his/her own perception of learning. Free thinking is scary to the "nerdy kid."
The figure of speech used in the last stanza to illustrate the students' sorrow is "Please shoot me, just shoot me now and put me out of my misery." This is metaphor describing the desperation students sometimes feel when tasked with working with poetry.
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