Analysis of Illustrated/Animated Poetry

Our assignment was to find a poem made to catch someones eye. I looked around and came across an animated poem called "budapest". I found this poem was enticing and represented how I feel about drawing. It relates to me because most of the time what i'm sketching just comes to me, I usually don't have a concept. My hand is like the wild animal that wants to explore and try new things. I usually feel the need to draw, like a very odd addiction that keeps growing and becoming more vivid.

The style of this video makes it feel as if the hand is a skittish little creature doing what it needs to survive. The lighting is dim and the film looks aged. The narrator Describes the arm and hand as if he's been researching them for a documentary. I find it strange how at the end of the poem describes how he wants to go to Budapest. I think what he's trying to say is that he's not focusing on what he's writing, he is focusing on other subjects. Letting the mind drift away sometimes can trigger great ideas that can have impacts about the way we react to things.

The sounds you can hear in the video are pens scratching and sniffing, most of the video is quiet so you can listen to the narrator. His voice is low and monotoned, it matches the overall mood of this poem. He's not excited, he sounds as if he may even be forced to say these things. The scene were the hand is using the pen and it looks as if it is drinking the ink is very creative, it's although it's an actual animal drinking from a lake.


The poem itself seems as if he's a prisoner doing his job to get money for his family so they will be able to live comfortably. The man dosen't want to do this job, he wants to be free and go explore and travel, but he is caged up in an office that is dark and blue. When he looks out the window, the sky is bright and stands out. This poem is a bit depressing but is how many people actually have to live. I think the author, Billy Collins demonstrates how everyday life can be pain, how some people feel like prisoners in cages.