Litany
By Billy Collins
You are the bread and the knife,
The crystal goblet and the wine…
-Jacques CrickillonYou are the bread and the knife,
the crystal goblet and the wine.
You are the dew on the morning grass
and the burning wheel of the sun.
You are the white apron of the baker,
and the marsh birds suddenly in flight.However, you are not the wind in the orchard,
the plums on the counter,
or the house of cards.
And you are certainly not the pine-scented air.
There is just no way that you are the pine-scented air.It is possible that you are the fish under the bridge,
maybe even the pigeon on the general’s head,
but you are not even close
to being the field of cornflowers at dusk.And a quick look in the mirror will show
that you are neither the boots in the corner
nor the boat asleep in its boathouse.It might interest you to know,
speaking of the plentiful imagery of the world,
that I am the sound of rain on the roof.I also happen to be the shooting star,
the evening paper blowing down an alley
and the basket of chestnuts on the kitchen table.i am also the moon in the trees
and the blind woman’s tea cup.
But don’t worry, I’m not the bread and the knife.
You are still the bread and the knife.
You will always be the bread and the knife,
not to mention the crystal goblet and–somehow–the wine.
Summary of Litany
- Popularity of “Litany”: The poem ‘Litany’ was written by Billy Collins, a British poet. This is an interesting piece about love. It first appeared in a magazine, Poetry, in 2002. Later, he included it in his poem Nine Horses: Poems. The poetic brilliance of this piece is found in its exploration of the metaphor of love, as introduced by Crickillon in the epigraph.
- “Litany” As a Representative of Metaphorical Love: The poem begins with an epigraphic metaphor from Jacques Crickillon’s poem. With slight modifications, he persists in metaphorically describing his beloved as everything that crosses his thoughts, including what she isn’t. He states that she is the bread, the knife, the goblet, the wine, the morning grass, the white apron, and even the marsh bird. However, she is not wind, the plums, or the house of cards and scented air. Strangely, he again thinks about her that she may be the fish, pigeon but not cornfield, boots, or boat asleep. Afterward, he addresses her directly, stating that despite the abundance of imagery, he confesses that he embodies the sound of rain on the roof. He again tells her that he is the shooting star or the evening paper or the breakfast. He adds another line of images, saying that he is the moon, the teacup of a blind woman. However, he is not what she is, which is the bread and the knife. Yet, he does not want to mention some things that she is and he is not.
- Major Themes in “Litany”: Modern love, modern imagery, and poetic beauty are three major themes of the poem. “Litany” starts with an epigraph that echoes his thoughts and he echoes those thoughts in his poem. The poet has presented the modern expression to woo his beloved, who does not respond. She seems to be the listener of this modern expression of love that presents poetic beauty–the use of the modern figures of speech for the beloved of the poet.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used In Litany
literary devices beautify simple poetic structures and make them meaningful. Billy Collins also used some literary devices in this poem whose analysis is as follows.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /i/ in “However, you are not the wind in the orchard” the sound of /o/ and /i/ in “It is possible that you are the fish under the bridge” and the sound of /oo/ in “I also happen to be the shooting star”.
- Alliteration: The poem shows the use of alliteration in the shape of initial consonant sounds of the neighboring words such as the sound of /r/ in “that I am the sound of rain on the roof”.
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /r/, /d/ and /n/ in “However, you are not the wind in the orchard,” and the sound of /t/ in “I also happen to be the shooting star.”
- Epigraph: The poem shows the use of an epigraph from Jacques Crickillon such as,
You are the bread and the knife,
The crystal goblet and the wine…
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example;
I also happen to be the shooting star,
the evening paper blowing down an alley
and the basket of chestnuts on the kitchen table.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, “You are the bread and the knife”, “the crystal goblet and the wine” and “You are the dew on the morning grass.”
- Metaphor: The poem has presented his beloved as a metaphor as he compares her to several things such as bread, knife, wine, goblet, and many other things, etc. The poet also presents himself as a shooting star or a teacup.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows the use of different modern symbols that speak about the difficulty the poet encounters in praising his beloved. These include a knife, bread, teacup, goblet, wine, and even natural things such as air and orchard.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Litany
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction and Tone: The poem shows the use of modern images to express love. The tone is, however, pleasant and interesting.
- Free Verse: The poem is a free verse poem as it does not follow any rhyming pattern.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. The poem has eight stanzas with each having a different number of verses.
Quotes to be Used
These lines from “Litany” are appropriate to quote about the significance of the world and the people.
It might interest you to know,
speaking of the plentiful imagery of the world,
that I am the sound of rain on the roof.