Read the excerpt from "Introduction to Poetry" by Billy Collins. They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.

How does the figurative language in this excerpt reveal Collins’s message?

It criticizes the way some readers try to understand a poem.
It criticizes the violent themes found in modern poetry.
It suggests that the study of poetry requires physical strength.
It suggests that every poem has a simple meaning.

It criticizes the way some readers try to understand a poem

Explanation:

You see, not everyone reads the same as you and I. Heck, you and I probably read differently. Though we are all different, there are still some things that shouldn't be done while trying to understand a text. Mr. Collins was probably referring to some of those habits, such as assuming all poems mean the same thing.

answer: "the beating heart symbolizes the narrator's conscience, or his sense of guilt and wrongdoing" so its b

explanation:

"to look at him, or hear him describe it, he had no guilt. however, poe decided to symbolize this man's subconscious guilt through the heartbeat."

irony  

i hope this you and have a good day

~ashbelle