Introduction to Poetry Quotes
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Source: Introduction to Poetry
Author: Billy Collins
"But all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with rope and torture a confession out of it."
But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.
Context
This line is from the poem "Introduction to Poetry" by Billy Collins (1988).
Billy Collins doesn't want you to go all Dick Cheney on poems. They're fragile creatures, not things to be tortured, whipped, or water boarded. In this poem, Collins urges students to gently examine a poem, inside and out.
Where you've heard it
You've heard this during your least favorite literature class when your teacher is having a bad day.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
Even if you don't like poetry, it isn't pretentious to ask someone to treat a poem—or any other bit of lit—with a little respect.