S07_250_Grp2

=Collins Group 2=

**"Introduction to Poetry" by Billy Collins**
Line 4: "or press an ear against its hive."

[|Collins, Billy. “Introduction to Poetry.”]

__**Expert move #1: Identify and excerpt the figurative language**__.

In the poem “Introduction to Poetry,” Billy Collins instructs his audience to “press an ear against its hive” (4).

The pressing of the ear against the hive is a metaphor for how we hear a poem. In this metaphor, the tenor is our “hearing” of the poem, and the vehicle is the pressing of the ear against a hive. Thus, the experience of hearing a poem is compared to listening to the buzzing of bees in a beehive.

The hive itself is also a metaphor for the poem. The poem, in this line represented as “its,” is the tenor of the metaphor. The vehicle of the metaphor, the “hive,” is what the poem is being compared to. Thus, the poem, and the hidden activities beneath the surface of the poem, is compared to a hive.

The pressing of the ear is also an image, one dependent on the hive metaphor.

__**Expert move #2: Explain the comparison**__.

The verb press has several denotations pertinent to this poem. First, to press means to act upon through steady pushing exerted in contact. To press also means to squeeze out the juice or contents of something. To lay stress or emphasis upon a thing is another denotation of press. To press can refer to clasping something in affection. Finally, to press may also mean to crowd a thing closely. The act of removing honey from a honeycomb is also referred to as “pressing.”

The noun “ear” has a fairly straightforward denotation. An ear is simply a vertebrate organ of hearing and equilibrium. Ear can also mean the sense or act of hearing, including sensitivity to nuances of language.

The most common denotation of hive is a container for housing honeybees. A hive can also refer to a place swarming with activity. A teeming multitude—a large lively group—can also be defined as a hive.

__**Expert move #3: Unpacking the figurative meanings**__.


 * “its hive”**

The hive metaphorically represents the poem, its body, and the hidden activity underneath the surface of the poem. Each component of a beehive can directly correspond to a part of a poem. For example, as we stated, the actual physical body of the hive is symbolic of the poem itself. The teeming multitude of bees in the hive parallels the words of a poem, buzzing around in a flurry of activity, creating sounds for the ear to discover. The combs of the hive represent the structure and form of the poem, the place where the words live. The honey of the hive symbolizes the poem’s sweet, nourishing essence.

Throughout history, the beehive and its components have held a place of great symbolic importance. Freemasons, for example, use the beehive as an emblem of industry. Perhaps this industry might be a connotation for the way that words in a poem work together to form a cohesive, productive whole. Also, as honey is stored in a hive, so might the hive connotate the brain as the place where the precious information gleaned from a poem is stored. The hive can also be thought to symbolize a sort of a safety barrier. Collins may be using this to imply that a reader should stand back a bit from the poem to look at it objectively.

Honeycombs are formed in the shape of the hexagon, a six sided polygon. All sides and all angles of a hexagon are equal; thus, in sacred geometry hexagons are used to symbolize the perfection of divine nature. Collins, by using the specific metaphor of the hive and its ancillary components—the bees, the comb, and the honey—seems to be suggesting that the art of poetry also exemplifies this perfection.

Bees have always used symbols as well, usually representing industriousness. Again, this may be seen as a connotation of the words of a poem working together. In addition, this industriousness may connotate the effort and fastidiousness needed on the part of the reader to properly work at interpreting a poem.

In addition, bees hold a very sacred and important place in nature due to their pollination of flowers. This makes bees symbolic of life and fertility as well. Perhaps Collins is trying to suggest here that a poem makes the mind of its reader fertile with new ideas, and thus facilitates spiritual and emotional growth.

Just as many people fear bees and their stingers, some people are afraid of poetry and the process of interpreting it. Because poetry contains so much of the human condition, it has the potential to show us parts of the world and of ourselves that may make us uncomfortable. However, just like the sweet honey for the beekeeper, good poetry yields many edifying rewards for the hard work of the interpreter. Thus, Collins uses this metaphor to assure his readers that although poetry is challenging, and sometimes painful, it is often highly gratifying as well.

Honey is a substance rife with symbolism. In Greek mythology, honey is said to represent knowledge, learning, and wisdom. It is a food reserved for only the select, initiated few. Collins may be using this metaphor to tell the audience that if they work diligently to discern a poem’s meaning—thereby gaining wisdom, the sweet reward of its essence—they will be initiated as literary citizens into the larger world of literature.

Honey is 100% pure in its constitution, and as such it has been used to symbolize truth in many religions. Some of the poets of ancient Greece ate honey so they could absorb this truth and express it via their scholarship and poetry. Perhaps Collins is using this metaphor to clue his audience in to the fact that poetry, like honey, can be a conduit for truth. Collins seems to be suggesting, we consume this truth via poetry and it can have a profoundly influential effect on our studies, our creations, and our lives.

Honey, because of its purity and its innate antibacterial properties, is frequently used as a folk curative for all kinds of ailments. It is use to soothe many maladies, from sore throats to dry skin. Thus, Collins uses this to suggest to his audience that they may look to poetry as a source of comfort for their spiritual and emotional woes.


 * “press an ear against”**

“Pressing” is the term used for the process of removing honey from the honeycomb. This ties the pressing of the ear in with the hive metaphor. Collins implies that when listening to the language, meter, and rhythm of a poem we are gently extracting its essence. In this case, the pressing of the ear is also an image in that when read; this line gives the reader a sensual suggestion of bees buzzing inside a hive. The buzzing is connotative of the sound of the poem’s rhythm and language.

To press implies using gentle force when coming close to a thing. This could be connotative of the close reading techniques used to discern the subtext of poetry. Collins uses the more active verb of press, rather than a more passive verb like place, to imply the vigorous yet still delicate methods needed to interpret a poem. He does not want his audience to tie a poem down with heavy-handed methods of analysis.

To press a thing can also mean to hold it close with affection. Collins, as a poet, would like his audience to regard poetry with some fondness. He asks this of them not to flatter his own vanity, but because he wants to share his love of poetry with them. Collins suggests to his audience that they take a positive approach to interpreting poetry in order to get more out of the process.

The ear is connotative of the way we hear a poem. Hearing is one way to sensually experience the language of poetry. As a person hears the buzzing of the multitude of bees in a hive, so does a reader perceive the rich nuances of syntax when listening closely to a poem. Since the ear supplies equilibrium, Collins may be implying that when his audience hears poetry, the truth of it can help provide balance in their lives.

__**Expert move #4: Recontextualize**__

Throughout the course of “Introduction to Poetry,” Billy Collins tutors his audience in the methods used in interpreting a poem. First, he tells the audience to “take a poem / and hold it up to the light / like a color slide” (1-3). Then, Collins tells the audience to “press an ear against its hive” (4). Next, he instructs them to “drop a mouse into a poem / and watch him probe his way out” (5,6). Finally, he asks the readers to “walk inside the poem’s room / and feel the walls for a light switch” (7,8). Thus, Collins asks the readers to see, hear, and explore the poem in a variety of sensual ways. The metaphors of the hive, the color slide, the maze, and the room tie together by symbolizing the poem and its multitudinous aspects. Collins suggests to the readers that once they explore these different layers and interpretive techniques, they can, in enjoyment, “water"-ski / across the surface of the poem / waving at the author’s name on the shore” (9-11).


 * __Summary__**

With the metaphor, “or press an ear against its hive,” Billy Collins informs the audience that poems have many components, and thus many dense layers of meaning. Hearing is one way, but not the only way, that readers can experience a poem. Collins tells the readers that by exploring these sensual avenues of understanding, they may increase their knowledge of poetry in specific. In addition, the readers' wisdom about the mysteries of life in general will be heightened.

Collins, Billy. “Introduction to Poetry.”