Billy Collins: Two poems about what dogs think (probably)
Вставка
- Опубліковано 22 сер 2024
- What must our dogs be thinking when they look at us? Poet Billy Collins imagines the inner lives of two very different companions. It's a charming short talk, perfect for taking a break and dreaming ...
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less). Look for talks on Technology, Entertainment and Design -- plus science, business, global issues, the arts and much more.
Find closed captions and translated subtitles in many languages at www.ted.com/tra...
Follow TED news on Twitter: / tednews
Like TED on Facebook: / ted
Subscribe to our channel: / tedtalksdirector
Reading the comments, I see some people have no appreciation for anthropomorphizing & somewhat whimsical humor. Yes, we must always be serious & literally accurate. Especially poetry should not be allowed to be funny or contradict our assumptions, including about what animals "think of us." These poems were as much about people as about dogs, & as such, were right on target. That's why they're funny. One of my favorite Billy Collins poems about a dog is called "Dharma." See The Best American Poetry 1999. I bet the negative critics won't bother, because they don't actually read or like good poetry. Well done, Mr. Collins. Thank you.
I see what you're saying. Poetry is an art. But the purpose of these poems is to capture (artistically) dog consciousness or "what dogs think". In that task I believe both the poems did not do a very good job.. That is just a value judgement and of course it's hard to argue about value judgements.. but me having that judgement doesn't mean I have "no appreciation for anthropomorphizing & somewhat whimsical humor".. I just find the poems to be not very good especially when considering what they're meant to be about.
Aaron Jacobs Well said, although I disagree. I doubt that these poems present what the poet actually thinks dogs think. On the contrary, I think the poet assumes a persona & presents for our amusement & pleasure what the imagined narrator thinks dogs think. From this POV, criticizing the poem for lack of "accuracy" misses the joke & the whole point. The poet may be right to suggest that a beloved pet might not have liked his owner as much as the owner thinks, but beyond that possibility, the poems are meant as humor, not as a serious attempt at realistic canine psychology.
What an eerie yet cute perspective on the human condition, my favorite line was
"I resented the way your moved, your lack of animal grace"
Here's what ALL dogs think: That human gives me food, I won't bite him, I will wag my tail. That human doesn't give me food, I'll take a nap.
More or less yeah :)
WHAT WAS THAT?
Oh yeah, my tail.
WHAT WAS THAT?!
Oh yeah, my tail.
...I think my balls itch.
SQUIRREL!!!!
What if they thought about more in depth thoughts? We'll never know..
wow, the "enlightened' one... I hope you never had/get to have a dog with this understanding of them.
Billy Collins is one of the most acclaimed poets of our time. It was nice to hear him read instead of reading his text. :D
"... that everyone here can read and write
the dogs in poetry, the cats
and all the others in prose."
Haha, nice dig at the dominance of prose and at cats & humans, and a claim of superiority for poetry & dogs-consistent with the conceit that the poem was written by a dog. Love his poems that take you to a place by the end that is unexpected or says more than the topic originally suggested.
this is true but i was thinking as he read it ,.. he could have ended it at the first " "i never liked you " and left it there ,it would have had a more profound punchier feel to it ,..lol
***** "I never liked you" gets the biggest laugh, because it's the turning point, the shock that the beloved pet didn't reciprocate the owner's feelings. But to just come to a turning point and then stop would be strange, abrupt, & surely unsatisfying for most readers or listeners. Once you turn, you need to go somewhere with it, and the poet does a good job of it.
@@alwaysuseless Very well said six years ago.
The last line of the first poem is like a knife in my heart.
Flawless poetry
My dog Bash, is 3 and full of life. He's good. Seriously this guy makes me laugh nearly every day and I can tell he enjoys it. I'm not sure what that say's about him or me but I sure am grateful and I enjoy making him happy. Bash, is good people. He's informed by more than instinct and experience it seems.
Very good stuff and he's a master of couching a serious subject in himor.
The second dog sounds more like a cat.
I've heard him read live twice. He's just wonderful.
I love this man
I loved this! I love dogs so much haha I've thought of not poems but mini ideas for short films. x)
My dog thinks the brush is a torture device.
Yellow King mine 2
Here's what I imagine most dogs think "OH HI! How are you, hi! Let's be friends, wanna be friends? We're friends. Hey what's that over there? Wanna go on a walk? Wanna give me food? Oh, what's that there?"
I think the comments reveal exactly what Billy is observing within the poems. beautifully juxtaposed against each other - critiquing humans’ self aggrandizement. doesn’t matter what dogs think - the irony is that everyone in the comments think they know better than anyone else, including Billy, including dogs themselves
Wonderful
Billy Collins-
Dogs-
Where The Red Fern Grows...
hmmm made me think^^, for me dogs are like us people..
Thats two poems of what humans would think if they where dogs.
little deeper dive than most. more empathy than you'll find from someone on their phone and watching tv while their dog wishes they'd take him out to play.
this is sadder than the sarah mclaughlin commercials
"In the eyes of an angel...Blahblahblaaaaah!"
GRiMHOLD i think it's arms not eyes
That second dog is a cat in disguise, trying to give dogs a bad name...
😅😅😂maybe
If the poems were about cats, there would probably be more rhyming.
Particularly if the cat wore a hat...
Can we please appreciate the satire of the last poem? Billy Collins, if you should ever see this, can you please confirm or deny if you have ever had a dog, and, if you did, did they occasionally look at you disdainfully? What made you think of the topic for the last poem?
Excellent :-)
💙
I like you Billy.
This is hilarious. Loved this.
Beautiful! Love!!!
Bacon ? did you say... bacon? ruff ,
Those are some 'rough' comments.
Does someone have a guilty conscience?
Aesop: "The Dog and the Wolf"
I would be depressed if I were his dog.
Enough internet for today.
Pot! I dont love it but Im not against it...
This is a poem about what dogs think that we think (almost definitely)
Woof! -Woof!-Bark....Bark?-
Woof-Lick own Genitals-Sick up Grass?
Meow.
okay
First poem was beautiful. Second one not so nice.
Huh
The TRUTH does not set you free. KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH SETS YOU FREE. You lie.
I really hope no stolen money (taxes) was used for any research into this.
I believe most, if not all, non-human animals have more complex cognitive abilities than those for which most of us would give them credit. That being said, this was, at best, cute; at worst, disrespectful. There should be no "probably" in the title - only "perhaps", maybe - because we cannot say for sure what they think, and this is an unjustified anthropomorphisation of a dog's potential thoughts.
Also, not sure why it's a TED Talk...
In the context of this video and your assertion above, what is the difference in meaning between anthropomorphism and personification?
TheSneakyTruth I can't think of any difference. Why?
Because I see this term used quite frequently within the literature and philosophy sphere, and never fully understood the distinction between it and 'personification.' As a student of the sciences, it always perplexes me as to why people just don't keep things simple.
Don't get me wrong, this isn't a personal attack. I'm merely just trying to increase my own vocabulary and understanding.
TheSneakyTruth Oh, yeah, no worries. I didn't take it as a personal attack. I use it 'cause it's with what I'm most familiar.
Also, outside of this context, personification can be used more flexibly - "So-and-so is the personification of all things good." - whereas anthropomorphisation is always used to cast something in a more human light.
This was horrible. I saw something in my facebook feed about 6 TED talks for dog lovers. I had to put my dog to sleep yesterday and the second one is all about how much the dog hated their human. It was awful.
Sailing alone around in the room. Rude
WTF Ted ideas worth spreading not this one!
Lmfao explaining my thoughts on this.. I find no end... like howling at the moon when nature calls.. I do not think of what I am.. something a dawg never does is morph into a man like I do.. some say I never have.. what memories.. what dreams.. the dawg has no buisness being explained by people.. and definitely not you
These are supposed to be ´poems´..? Where´s the rhyming?
Not all poems rhyme. Rhyme is a literary device some may like to use. It's not a requirement. I personally prefer poems that don't rhyme.
mat hut I guess it's personal preference, I prefer rhyming poems. They're much more interesting to listen to and have a flow unlike unrhyming poems, but I guess that's just my opinion.
That's why he said and all the others in prose. God. You missed the very point lol
Poems do not mean they hv to rhyme!
@@scoelliot15 bet you’ve read a lot of poetry…lol
These poems may be cute, but they're definitely not close to what dogs "think"..
Those are jokes and he's a funny poet. Not some scientist reading the results of the latest study on canine cognition. You're supposed to find it cute and smile.
This sucks
I would be depressed if I were his dog.