Monday, April 2, 2012

#17 Week 11 "Schoolsville" by Billy Collins pg.467-478


Summary

“Schoolsville” is a poem, told from the point of view of an ex-teacher. Collins uses the use of metaphors and analogies to compare school items to everyday life. The narrator remembers the days when he was a teacher to all types of students; from the slackers to the hard workers. He gives examples of where the A students are in terms of the present and where D students wound up due to their “I don’t care attitude. The narrator states that over the course of his career he must have taught enough students to fill a small town, and says that he would be the mayor of that town if it existed. The narrator ends his poem by telling of his life now how past students still come by from time to time to ask him a question or two, and that many stare in his windows to watch him teaching past lessons to his possessions.

Reader Response      

This was a cool poem. I like the style it was written in, how easy the words were and how simple the metaphors are. I especially like how he is truthful of where A and D students ended up in life. It is interesting, how Collins is only twenty- seven yet he writes this poem from the perspective of an older literature teacher. Collins makes his narrator seem so old that he can no longer remember the names of any of his students. Over-all I like how realistic the poem was, the style and use of literary elements were awesome and related to me. But my favorite part was the reference to the Scarlet Letter. (I love that book!)

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