Introduction to Poetry

Collins views overanalyzing as the antithesis to appreciating poetry. He demonstrates the dangers of overanalyzing a poem by frontloading “Introduction to Poetry” with extremely positive imagery. Repeated comparisons are made between poetry and joyful sensory experiences like waterskiing to force readers to remain in the moment that Collins conjures with figurative language. Readers are therefore prompted to focus less on finding the correct interpretation of the poem as an academic endeavor, and more on experiencing the poem as a piece of art.

All of the stanzas and lines that make up “Introduction to Poetry” air on the side of brevity, leaving little to no room to overanalyze on the basis that there simply is not much there. The longest line of the poem is made up of a mere nine words (Line 13), and the shortest is four words (Line 3). The longest stanzas are only three lines in length (Stanzas 1, 5, and 6), and the shortest is but one (Stanza 2). This brevity, however, does not mean “Introduction to Poetry” is not complex. On the contrary, Collins’s use of purposefully short stanzas and lines illustrates this theme through the poem’s construction speaking directly to the argument the content is making.