S07_250_Grp3

= = =**Group 3: Unpacking Billy Collins "Introduction to Poetry" lines 7-8**=

**__Expert move #1: identify & excerpt the figurative language__**
Billy Collin's "Introduction to Poetry," is a poem that guides the reader to find meaning in poetry. "Or walk inside the poem's room / and feel the walls for a light switch," gives the image of darkness: a dark room (7-8). A person cannot see in a dark room, but a sense of touch easily becomes a set of eyes, groping the walls (the words and phrases) for the light switch (help in understanding the poem).

This metaphor of feeling the walls emphasizes the idea found throughout the poem that the speaker wants the reader to use his or her senses to open the poem: to see it, to hear it, to feel it.

The light switch is another metaphor, again referencing the senses used in poetry reading; in this case the author directs readers to the idea of shedding light on the poem. Light is a metaphor for students' knowledge and understanding of literature. Just as a switch controls a light, once the switch is found the understanding is turned on. Since the reader seeks light in the room, which represents the poem, he or she is looking for the light switch to become aware of the intended meaning derived from the poem.

The metaphor of "walking inside" alludes to the reader's movement (7). Readers are exposed to more understanding by moving, or walking, to all of the different parts of the poem: language, form, meter, and rhyme. This metaphor could also be defined as exploring the poem to find the meaning.

**__Expert move #2: explain the comparison__**
The image of darkness may provide a sense of serenity, but may also portray loneliness and uncertainty. These images help readers see that poetry can be peaceful. However, trying to understand poetry can also make a reader feel isolated or doubtful.

The metaphor of searching for a light switch shows the reader that the poem is a dark room. By using this metaphor, the speaker implies using the sense of touch to shed light on the poem. Walls are generally cool and smooth and in a dark room one cannot tell what design or color is painted on them. By finding the light switch and turning it on, the poetry's reader will be able to not only feel the poem, but to see it as well.

Collins uses the metaphor of walking as a means of getting the reader to a place where he or she needs to be in order to find meaning. When a person searches for something, he or she first looks in one location, then moves on continuing the search. People can cover many miles by simply walking, observing many things on their way. Walking also implies a slower, steadier pace. Collins does not want the reader to read quickly, but rather to walk, taking in all aspects of the poem.

By exploring the poem and observing each aspect of each line, the reader will begin to piece together the meaning of the poem. When the reader reaches the light switch, he or she will have gained the understanding of the poem.

**__Expert move #3: unpack the figurative meanings__**
By painting the picture of a dark room and the reader exploring the walls to find the light switch, the author suggests that it is the reader's responsibility to explore the poem for its meaning. If the room were lit, the reader would not have to explore; the message would be in plain sight. But that is not how poetry is written; it is written to be explored for meaning that is not obvious to the quick readers. Poetry is meant to conger up emotions and to light different ways of thinking. It is meant to be touched, just as the metaphor suggests "feel[ing] the walls" (8). A touch is gentle by nature; the message is to be gentle with poetry.

An interesting idea about the instruction to "feel the walls," is that the reader is speculating where the light switch may be located (8). In the darkness one can generally find the switch if it is located in a common place, but authors may not always place them in the same location in the rooms of their poetry. Similar to entering a new room and struggling to find a light switch, a poem is a journey that involves continuing forward after learning more about what it may be trying to portray. By exploring new concepts and ideas from the poem, the reader will come to a conclusion on what the poem is saying to them.

The author explicitly asks students to "walk inside the poem's room" (7). Walking into a dark foreign room can be stressful and cause the reader to become anxious or nervous. When this happens, the reader should slow down their pace. Just as there is a beginning and an end to any journey, walking implies looking at each word. The reader should not look briefly at the word from a distance, but walk up to it, step on the word, look at it from all angles, and include every detail of it when developing an understanding of the poem. The author suggests to "walk inside the poem," which means to become part of the poem rather than to explore it from the outside looking in. Only when one becomes part of the poem and begins to explore will one find the true meaning.

**__Expert move #4: recontextualize within the whole poem__**
By exploring poetry, as the metaphor suggests, the reader will not beat the meaning out of the poem. This image is brought up in the last stanza of Collins' poem. Readers should not force the meaning out of a poem, but rather let the meaning develop out of unpacking a poem piece by piece.

Walking is relevant throughout the poem as it points to ways of searching inside the poem's words for deeper meaning. "Introduction to Poetry" says "to take a poem," "press an ear," "drop a mouse," "walk inside," "waterski across the surface"(1,4,5,7,9-10). Walking is yet another way of moving the reader along in their search of meaning while being introduced to poetry.

__**3-Sentence Summary**__
By using metaphors such as "walk inside the poem's room and feel the walls for the light switch," the author instructs readers to sense a poem rather than solve it (7-8). Collins is informing readers that they must explore the entire poem by "walk[ing]" through it, searching for meaning line by line, or room by room (7). By exploring the entire poem, the reader will begin to understand the meaning of each line and how to define the entire poem.