Essay Questions

Why is Smokey the Bear used as a character in the poem, "Flames"?

Smokey the Bear is a character in the poem, but not in his physical form - rather a symbolic one. Smokey is a commonly known figure that also happens to be associated with flames, a helpful unexpected add-on that the author received when using the character instead of someone else. The themes of the poem, "Flames" can be stated in several ways, but one is likely that only a professional can do things perfectly, and you can't expect perfection all the time. Smokey begins to burn the forest, symbolically burning everyone's trust and the expectations that everyone expected him to live up to, and ends up being hypocritical in that fashion.

Why are things like "the quadratic equation" and "the order of the planets" mentioned in the poem titled, "Forgetfulness".

Once again, we see that Billy Collins enjoys to use symbols in his works, because it typically makes things seem more meaningful. In this case, the narrator is talking to someone that has forgotten things like "the quadratic equation" and "the order of the planets" and is angry with them for doing so. These things represent basic knowledge, with is symbolic of the basic knowledge of love that is forgotten throughout the course of the poem.

Why does the author, in the poem, "Litany", use a quote from an author of an outside source?

The original quote shown in the introduction of the poem is supposed to be meant as a positive thing - the person is speaking to someone they love, and describing how they are the center of their universe. However, Collins shows that not all things are what they add up to be, and writes what happens if this quote was continued at a later time in the sayer's life. Things would turn out a lot differently, and the sayer would say all of the things their prior love is not.