Poetry Analysis Essay on "Embrace" by Billy Collins

Introduction

The poem, "Embrace," is one of the greatest work of Billy Collins that employs the great use of imagery and allusion. It is one which can be analysed from different aspects. The poem itself describes the parlor trick which involves wrapping the arms around one's body. One's the arm is wrapped, there are different views which are noted, for example, it may appear as the person being embraced by someone or even the person is not lonely. Therefore, this is one of the poems that help us to understand various poetic techniques used by poets in passing their message. The thesis of the paper is thus premised on the structural analysis of the poem, "Embrace," by Billy Collins. The analysis will also touch on how imagery has been used by the poet to pass his intent.

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The poem begins by making a direct reference, "You know," The word you are used to grabbing one's attention. It continues to, "the parlour trick," which makes the reader develops an interest in reading further and knowing about the parlour trick. The second line where the poet speaks of wrapping the hand around the body is a command. Billy Collins uses a command through a universal language to enable all the readers to become involved in the poem. In the fourth line, he speaks about someone being embraced (Collins, n.p). He uses the word, "someone," to keep the image ambiguous with the aim of forcing the reader's imagination to fill in the blanks. It also makes the poem to appear personal. The subsequent lines from the fifth to the twelfth line, it appears that Bill Collins tries to recapture the reader's attention whose mind may have wondered after the two last lines on, "fitting you with a straight jacket, one which would hold you tight."

On the part of the content analysis, the poem gives a false impression of the embrace; the persona speaks about the embrace from the back to the straight jacket's true function. Billy Collin's strikingly notes the internal loneliness that is covered by other immature jokes of intimacy. When we view the deception created from the back, it comes out clearly that the perception we have about people are usually false and the facades are used in hiding the truth (the front). He also appears as if he is being fitted with a straight jacket which in most events is used in cases which may involve the psychotic patients. The overall meaning of the poem may be interpreted to denote the similarities that exist between those who are mentally stable and those who have been driven by their loneliness to the joke of intimacy (Collins, n.p). His depiction of the straight jackets may mean that the jackets hold people tighter than the actual relationship. In the last line, he speaks of the ability of the jacket to hold one tighter than the actual relationship hence erasing the need for companionship. Therefore, it is notable that most of the words used in constructing various lines by Billy Collins are those that portray hidden meaning about the general life of a person and what people can resort to in case of loneliness.

Further use of imaginary in the poem can still be noted in the case of a person wrapping their arms around themselves so that it images someone who is in front holding them in an embrace." When one closes his or her arms around him or herself, he or she may not be able to hold any other person. The thought that you can only hold yourself is painfully lonely. Therefore, the imagery use helps in expanding on the structural analysis since they share similar explanations. Another important imagery is the depiction of the straight jacket. It opines those who have gone over the edge after a long period of loneliness (Collins. n.p). The structural analysis and imagery gave help the reader to picture a man in the poem who is desperate and holding himself as if crying for help. The image of the man in a straight jacket equally allows the reader to acquire the emotional connection where we feel the despair and distress that is given to the man by Billy Collins.

Conclusion

In summary, Billy Collins through his poem, "Embrace," opine the world we live in where some people live with the element of the desire of acquiring the company, and because they cannot fulfil their wish, they resort to embracing themselves. The entire plot has explored the theme of loneliness and other literary techniques. Such techniques included imagery or symbolism and allusion to mention but a few. The choice of words used by Billy Collins also brought an aspect of personal connection with the poem, for example, in the first line where he used the word, "you," to start off his argument. In the second line, he used a command, "Wrap your hands around your body," hence making direct references. Billy Collins' poem is, therefore, one the poems which depict the reality of nature through the use of various poetic techniques as noted therein.

Works Cited

Collins, Billy. Embrace. 2006. Print.

Collins, Billy. Embrace. Rebecca's Anthology. N.Y. Retrieved from https://rebeccasanthology.weebly.com/billy-collins-embrace.html