In the poem, “Introduction to Poetry” by Billy Collins, the poet uses figures of speech to help the reader understand the theme that poetry should be treated with respect and examined thoroughly to understand it. For example, “Take a poem and hold it up to the light like a color slide…” Here, the poet uses the simile to tell the reader to examine a poem and try to figure out what it means. And he also uses the metaphor “drop a mouse into a poem and watch him probe his way out…” to compare a poem to a maze, and how it may be difficult to understand, but eventually you’ll find the meaning. Another example is, “ tie a poem to a chair and beat a confession out of it…” This uses personification to express how the poem might feel if treated incorrectly and beaten to get answers from it. Through this evidence, the author uses figures of speech to reveal that we should examine a poem respectfully and thoroughly to understand it’s meaning.

In the poem “Introduction to Poetry” by Billy Collins, the poet uses similes and metaphors to help the reader understand the theme of take time to truly understand something, and not just demanding answers from it. For instance, when the author says, “hold it up to the light like a color slide” it is a simile that is saying you should take a closer look at a poem and examine it up close. The author uses metaphor when he says “drop a mouse into a poem and watch him probe his way out.” The author is saying that the poem is like a maze and the reader can be a mouse that needs to find their way through a poem just as a mouse would through a maze. Through this evidence, the author uses similes and metaphors to reveal that you should take your time with poetry to understand it. Your purpose should not just be to quickly find the meaning.