*ILP+Poem+Analysis*

__[|Litany By Billy Collins]__ __Poem Analysis__ At first glance, you would think “Litany” by Billy Collins (born in New York, 1941) is a heartfelt poem about love. However, after reading it through, you would see how there is a completely different meaning to it. When I first read “Litany,” it gave me the impression that Collins wasn't being completely serious; it felt like he was making fun of old-style poetry, when men wrote poems that did nothing but compare the person they loved to beautiful things in the world. When I looked into it more, I found that the poem was a lot like Shakespeare's Sonnet 130, which began with the line, “My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun.” The two poems have the same idea, but are just using different ways of expressing it. The poem is also strictly free verse, which means it does not follow iambic pentameter or any sort of rhyme scheme. Although, it does seem to follow a pattern of changing tone: from serious to humorous, and back to serious again. I had to read the poem several times before understanding the connection between it and my topic. On the third or so time, I understood; comedy, like this poem, often makes fun of things in clever ways. Satire, for instance, is a form of comedy that makes fun of things using sarcasm. This poem slightly uses satire by having a sort of mocking tone to it—  t he word “litany” itself means a long boring address. “Litany” starts off with the lines, You are the bread and the knife, the crystal goblet and the wine. You are the dew on the morning grass And the burning wheel of the sun. You are the white apron of the baker, and the marsh birds suddenly in flight. The first two lines are an allusion to a poem by a Belgian poet by the name of Jacques Crickillon. His original intentions were to write a love poem, but Collins took those lines and “rewrote” it into something completely different. Collins, at the 2009 National Writing Project Annual Meeting, said, “I felt I should rewrite [this poem]. . . What was all wrong with it, I thought, was that it was a love poem full with comparisons. . . It should be corrected because it relies on the assumption that men know what women want; it's not that they want love or respect or admiration or fidelity or passion, but they just want similes. They want to be compared to stuff.” He then continues his litany with the line “You are the dew on the morning grass.” The entire first stanza has a serious tone. The speaker uses a metaphor to compare the person he loves to the dew. Dew on grass is a very pretty, glimmering thing to look at, especially if the morning sun is shining. I believe that the speaker is saying that his beloved is very beautiful, just like the tiny diamonds of water on grass. The next line emphasizes the line before it; the speaker uses another vivid metaphor to say that his beloved is bright and beautiful, like the sun. The following two lines also describe the speaker's beloved, but in a different way. I believe that the white of the apron represents her purity and innocence, while the birds suddenly in flight could represent her unpredictability as a person. The second stanza is where the tone takes a different tone: However, you are not the wind in the orchard, the plums on the counter, Or the house of cards. And you are certainly not the pine-scented air. There is no way you are the pine-scented air Here, Collins breaks the rules of old-style poetry— authors of old-fashioned love poems usually focus on what the beloved //is,// not what he or she (usually she) isn't. In this stanza, the tone starts to sound mocking, maybe even a little degrading at first. It reminds you that you aren't supposed to take this poem seriously, and that Collins is just poking fun. “Plums on the counter” seems like s simple thing, so the speaker could be saying how his beloved is complex or compelling that some plums on the counter. He also says that she is not “the house of cards.” Houses of cards are fragile things, so to me, that speaker is saying that she is stronger than that, while still retaining the teasing tone. In the last two lines, Collins uses a sense that is not visual to describe somethings appearance. Here you get the sense that Collins is making fun of old-style poetry; his choice of words in those last two lines (“you are certainly not . . . There is just no way . . .”) emphasizes his purpose and tone. The third stanza continues with the same idea: It is possible that you are the fish under the bridge, maybe even the pigeon on the general's head, but you are not even close to being the field of cornflowers at dusk. Going by the love poem interpretation, the second line could mean that the speaker is calling his beloved odd, because the imagery in the line paints an unusual scene in my head. However, the last two lines, like the second stanza, takes on a mocking, playful tone, again making fun of old-style poetry by using the words “but you are not even close. . . “   The fourth stanza switches tone and is more like the first: And a quick look in the mirror will show That you are neither the boots in the corner nor the boat asleep in its boathouse. This stanza is back to having the serious tone. In this stanza, the speaker also uses more metaphors to describe the person he loves. He says in the second line “that you are neither the boots in the corner.” I believe that in this line, the speaker is saying that his beloved is not like the kind of object that has been left behind, like old boots; he is saying that she is special. In the next line, “nor the boat asleep in its boathouse,” the speaker is emphasizing his point. She isn't like an object that would have been unwanted. A boat wouldn't be in its boathouse if it had been used or wanted. The fifth stanza continues with: It might interest you to know, speaking of the plentiful imagery of the world that I am the sound of rain on the roof. This stanza goes back to having the humorous tone; the first line, “It might interest you to know,” is unusual in the sense that those kinds of lines aren't included in old-style poetry. Most of the time, love poems would start, continue, and end with the speaker comparing his beloved to beautiful things in the world. You don't see in the love poem the speaker comparing //himself// to beautiful things anywhere. The speaker also says “speaking of the beautiful imagery of the world. . . “ what exactly he is doing throughout the entire poem. The third line is another example of that. The sixth stanza has the same difference: I also happen to be the shooting star, the evening paper blowing down an alley And the basket of chestnuts on the kitchen table. The poem continues with its pattern of changing tone— this stanza has the serious tone. Collins uses more visual metaphors and comparisons to get his point across to the reader. The first and second line contrast; shooting stars are known to be hopeful things, but the second line paints a desolate, alone scene in my head, completely different from the bright shooting star. In this stanza, the speaker could be using these metaphors to describe his personality. He could be a hopeful person, but also sometimes alone or easily depressed. The seventh, last stanza ends with humorous lines that make the reader giggle: I am also the moon in the trees and the blind woman's teacup. But don't worry, I'm not the bread and the knife. You are still the bread and the knife. You will always be the bread and the knife, not to mention the crystal goblet and —  somehow —  the wine.  At the end of the poem the speaker talks in a teasing mocking tone. In the last four lines, he goes back to what he said in the beginning, reiterating. Unlike the first time, he uses this line to make fun of old-style poetry one last time. It's like the speaker is saying, “I may be all these things, but you are still somehow the bread and the knife.” One little word in the last line ties the whole poem together —  “somehow.” That one word concludes what Collins is trying to say, and it connects with the title of the poem. The entire poem is a long list of comparisons. A “litany,” so to speak. The speaker says the the person he loves is morning dew, the bright sun, and other things, but goes back to the allusion of the Belgian poet. The original poem was a love poem, but it seems like the speaker is wondering how his beloved like a crystal goblet and wine, or the bread and the knife. To me, that's what the tone of this stanza is saying, and how the word :somehow: ties it all together.   “Litany” by Billy Collins is an enjoyable read chock full of metaphors and good humor. I actually looked up more of Collins' works, and this poem helped me enjoy poetry a lot more.