In Billy Collins poem “Schoolsville”, a man is reminiscing in his memories of being a teacher. He creates an alternate world in his mind, where as he describes a town full of all his past students. The town itself shares characteristics of an actual school feel environment.

The poet of Schoolsville chose the title because he compares the school to a town in that the school has people of different characters just like a town. The word ville means town or city. The poet combined the word school and ville to come up with the term Schoolville.

The theme of Billy Collin’s “Introduction to Poetry” is that readers should enjoy poetry instead of overanalyzing it in an attempt to find its meaning. Collins illustrates this theme through his comparisons between how he wishes to experience poetry and how he perceives poetry to generally be experienced.

‘Introduction to Poetry’ by Billy Collins is a free verse poem of modern literature. There are a total of 7 stanzas in the poem. The stanzas don’t have specific line lengths. Some stanzas only contain one line while the comparably long stanzas contain only three lines.

“Introduction to Poetry” Speaker The speaker is a poetry teacher or professor—perhaps one rather like Billy Collins, who has taught poetry for many years. Regardless of whether one reads the speaker as Collins, what’s clear is that this teacher wants to help students learn to love poetry.

But, Introduction to Poetry is the poet’s way of saying that a poem is a thing of wonder and should be treated in a way that does not cause internal bruising to both poem and reader. In effect, Billy Collins is declaring his love for poetry because, to him, it is a living thing, made of everyday language.

countable noun. A poem is a piece of writing in which the words are chosen for their beauty and sound and are carefully arranged, often in short lines which rhyme. Synonyms: verse, song, lyric, rhyme More Synonyms of poem.

Here are some poetry writing tips from poet Billy Collins:

1. Find your persona. Billy says, “I think when we write poems, we put a lot of ourselves in the closet, and we put on a better self—more sensitive, more in tune with emotions.
2. Write uncensored.
3. Make a mess.
4. Read poetry.
5. Start small.
6. Be yourself.

Style. Collins is known for a distinct style of writing that is simple and unpretentious, usually free verse, with no set rhyme pattern, rhythm, or line and stanza numbers. He often takes small objects or situations and amplifies them as if they are very important, sometimes in a humorous way.

The most common types of poetry include acrostic, free verse, haiku, sonnet, and ballad poems.

Top 10 Types of Poems, Forms or Formats

• Free Verse. Not to be mixed up with blank verse, free verse is poetic form/technique where the poet does not follow the conventions of any meter or rhyme.
• Haiku. This is the only poem that rivals free verse these days.
• Sonnet.
• Blank Verse.
• Limerick.
• Tanka.
• Cinquain.
• Sestina.

From sonnets and epics to haikus and villanelles, learn more about 15 of literature’s most enduring types of poems.

• Blank verse. Blank verse is poetry written with a precise meter—almost always iambic pentameter—that does not rhyme.
• Rhymed poetry.
• Free verse.
• Epics.
• Narrative poetry.
• Haiku.
• Pastoral poetry.
• Sonnet.

proper noun 1An industrial city in European Russia, to the south of Moscow; population 500,000 (est. 2008). 2The ancient capital city of the Toltecs, generally identified with a site near the town of Tula in Hidalgo State, central Mexico.

The central theme of a poem represents its controlling idea. This idea is crafted and developed throughout the poem and can be identified by assessing the poem’s rhythm, setting, tone, mood, diction and, occasionally, title.

How to Find the Message or Theme of a Poem

1. Examine the Title.
2. Read Slowly and Read Aloud.
3. Identify the Speaker.
4. Determine the Subjects.
5. Determine the Types of Imagery and Metaphor Used.
6. The Poem Isn’t Just About Meaning.