Teacher: "Would someone read us the first paragraph of the preface entitled 'Understanding Poetry'?"

Student: "To understand poetry, first, know its meter, rhyme, and figures of speech. Then ask: How artfully is the poem's objective rendered, and how important is that objective? These questions determine the poem's perfection and significance, making its greatness clear. If the poem's score for perfection is plotted along the horizontal axis of a graph, and its importance is plotted on the vertical axis, then calculating the total area of the poem yields the measure of its greatness."

(As he reads, the teacher rises from his desk, walks to the board, and sketches a graph. The students begin copying it down. The teacher turns away from the chalkboard with a smile.)

Teacher: "Excrement. That's what I think of that paragraph. We're not laying pipes; we're talking about poetry."

(Students seem suddenly interested in what he says.)

Teacher: "Now I want you to rip out that page."

(The students look at him as if he has just gone mad.)

Teacher: "Go on, rip out the entire page. You hear me, rip it out. Rip it out! Don't just tear out that page; tear out the entire introduction."