Towards a Humanitarian Race
A Study in Selected Poems by Billy Collins
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31973/aj.v3i142.3816Keywords:
Postmodern poetry, Billy Collins, preaching, Morality, American poetryAbstract
The purpose of this article is to analyze selected poetic works of Billy Collins (1941- ), the most popular American poet in the present time, to show a clear line of moral humanitarian preaching that runs under the surface of his often humorous and entertaining poems. The topics discussed in this article include manners, respecting privacy, personal responsibility, self-acceptance, practical living advice, gratitude for life and finding meaning in death. The poems analyzed in this study address a wide range of human issues that are relatable in a global sense. The way Collins delivers these universal messages includes many postmodern devices such as humor, wit, sarcasm, satire and irony. Collins style of writing is freestyle and involves many settings and themes of the everyday and matters that the common person would encounter. The accessibility of his writing has gained him widespread public appeal and his lessons for humanity set him apart from the poetry that is only for entertainment value.
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References
Collins, B. (1988). The Apple That Astonished Paris. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press.
--------. (1991). Questions About Angels: Poems. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.
--------. (1998). Picnic, Lightning. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press.
--------. (2021). Sailing Alone Around the Room. New York: Random House.
--------. (2005). The Trouble with Poetry and Other Poems. New York: Random House.
--------. (2011). Horoscopes for the Dead: Poems. New York: Random House.
--------. (2013). Aimless Love: New and Selected Poems. New York: Random House.
Primary Facts Editors. “Charge of the Light Brigade: Facts and Information.” Primary Facts by Wordpress. Publish Date: February 11, 2015. Web reference. https://primaryfacts.com/5742/charge-of-the-light-brigade-facts-and-information/#
SparkNotes Editors. “Tennyson’s Poetry: The Charge of the Light Brigade.” SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Web reference. https://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/tennyson/section9/
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