Yikes...

Okay, so I was completely unaware that this blog assignment was due before 11:00 p.m. tonight! Reflecting on the title of my blog...this is completely inconvenient considering I just arrived at my crib about a half an hour ago. Mr. Costello, I beg of you, show some mercy and change the time that it is due!! And as for the assignment...

Prior to reading the article, I would not have agreed with Perrine's argument. I have always had the idea that poetry could be interpreted in whatever way one chose to see it. However, when Perrine describes how a reader's image of a poem cannot have contradiciting qualities in order to be a correct interpretation, I realized that most of my interpretations were incorrect. For example, when addressing the poem written by Emily Dickinson, I would have never, in a million years, guessed that it was written about a sunset. I took the descriptions literally, and I saw it as a ship on a sea with sailors that mingle. The way that poets dive into abstract details amazes me! Although, verb usage confuses me. I can never picture the noun performing the act of the verb that is attached to it. I think if I allowed myself to use my imagination more, I could develop theories on the various meanings of a poem without giving up and being rational.

“'A symbol,' writes John Ciardi, 'is like a rock dropped into a pool: it sends out ripples in all directions, and the ripples are in motion.'" I think that the simile used to compare the meanings of symbols to the ripples of water is perfect. Symbols are another reason why I find interpreting poetry so difficult. I do not understand how the thought's of the poet are supposed to magically be understood by the audience. Everyone should be allowed to view the symbol as they wish; in my opinion, it is the purpose of poetry. Poetry seems more philosophical than logical, which gives permission to the audience to conform their own interpretations. In the article, it says that no poet wants to explain the meaning behind his work. Therefore, how can there be wrong or right answers when it comes to poetry? If the writer intends for a person to find their own meaning in a poem, who is Perrine to say they are wrong?