Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Norton Anthology of English Literature" by Billy Collins playfully navigates the realms of literary history, the perception of poets through time, and the intimate, if whimsical, relationship between reader and writer. Collins uses the Norton Anthology—a staple of English literature education—as a lens through which to consider the boundaries between the contemporary and the historical, the living and the deceased. His characteristic wit and accessible language invite readers into a contemplation that is both light-hearted and profound, exploring the ways in which literature serves as a bridge across time.

The poem begins with a humorous take on categorizing poets by their era—an endeavor familiar to students and scholars of literature. Collins points out the folly in mistakenly classifying a poet as belonging to a bygone age, such as the Victorian, Elizabethan, or even medieval period. The criterion for determining a poet's contemporaneity is whimsically described as the presence of a dash after their birth year in the Norton Anthology, leaving space for a death date "only spirits know." This dash signifies not just the poet's current living status but also a kind of temporal limbo within the pages of literary anthologies, where authors are simultaneously captured in time and waiting for history to complete their entries.

As the poem progresses, Collins personifies a contemporary poet, perhaps even imagining himself, walking in the night, alive and vibrant, crafting thoughts into smoke in the air. This vivid imagery contrasts with the fate of poets whose birth and death years are both recorded in the anthology. These poets, now fixed points in literary history, exist only through their surviving works—words that echo in the "empty room" of the reader's mind and space.

Collins then introduces a playful, almost magical notion: that by reading a poet's work repeatedly, one might cause the author's eternal rest to stir, to "spin gently, even affectionately, in his grave." This idea underscores the dynamic interaction between reader and writer, a relationship that transcends the finality of death through the continual engagement with the text. It's a whimsical acknowledgment of the power of literature to animate and reanimate its creators in the minds and hearts of their audience.

The poem's closing stanzas meditate on the role of history in the life and legacy of a writer. Collins personifies History as a diligent worker in a "freezing cemetery," etching death dates into stone and closing the parenthetical embrace around lives now concluded. This imagery serves as a reminder of the inevitability of mortality and the role of literary documentation in preserving human thought and experience within the "long sentence" of existence.

In contemplating his own visibility to History and her "allegorical tools," Collins expresses gratitude for the moment of recognition, for being seen and perhaps recorded by the grand narrative of literary history. The solemn and immaculate figure of History, as imagined by Collins, embodies the majestic and relentless progression of time that ultimately encompasses all writers, their works, and their readers.

Through "Norton Anthology of English Literature," Collins invites readers to reflect on the fluid boundaries between life and death, the contemporary and the historical, and the profound connections forged through the act of reading. He celebrates the enduring vitality of poetry and the peculiar immortality granted to poets through their inclusion in the annals of literary history, reminding us of the living essence captured within the written word. In this poem, Collins not only pays homage to the literary tradition but also adds his own voice to the ongoing conversation across generations, a testament to the vibrant, communal spirit of literature.

POEM TEXT: https://verbalarmor.blogspot.com/2005/10/norton-anthology-of-english-literature.html

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