Billy Collins

The attitude of Billy Collins' poem "On Turning Ten" is solemn and sad. The poem is about fear of growing up and losing the creativity and invincibility of being young. It shifts between memories of...

Billy Collins employs notable literary devices in "Introduction to Poetry," primarily metaphors and similes, to contrast traditional poem analysis with his desired approach. He uses a simile to...

"The Lanyard" by Billy Collins is an expression of the human condition and has two main themes. One is a parent's sacrificial love for her child that gives without expectation of reward. The other is...

Collins uses metaphors in "The Lanyard" to enhance imagery and meaning. The lanyard itself serves as a metaphor for the child's attempts to repay a mother's countless gifts, representing the "thought...

“The Lanyard” by Billy Collins is an open-form or free verse poem, and it does not adhere to any structured metrical pattern or rhyme scheme. It is made up of seven stanzas, each with six lines.

In his poem “Silence,” Billy Collins meditates on the various qualities of silence that occur in different situations. At the end of the poem, he speaks of the silence broken by his pen, meaning in...

Billy Collins uses images of armed conflict to convey the theme of the reversal of normal relationships in “Snow Day.” He compares the snow’s closing down the city to revolution or war. Political...

One theme in Billy Collins's "No Time" is that people focus on the wrong things in life and time passes quickly, showing the importance of paying attention to the right things. Collins uses setting...

The names in Billy Collins' poem "The Names" signify the victims of the September 11 attacks. They represent the enduring impact of the tragedy, inscribed into every facet of life and nature. By...

After line 12, the mood shifts from playful and experimental to dark and somber. Initially, the speaker encourages students to engage with poetry creatively, using tactile imagery to explore poems....

The relationship between the mother and son in Billy Collins's "The Lanyard" is one of deep gratitude and reflection. The speaker nostalgically recalls making a lanyard for his mother as a child,...

The first question being asked is an opinion question, so feel free to answer it according to your personal thoughts about "On Turning Ten." Personally, I did not (nor currently do I) find this...

In "Introduction to Poetry," Billy Collins uses the metaphor of "torturing" a poem to criticize how students often forcefully try to extract a poem's meaning, akin to interrogating a victim for a...

The teacher in "The History Teacher" refuses to teach tough topics because he wants to protect the innocence of his students. The poem highlights difficult questions about developmental and...