Perrine Poetry

"That all interpretations of a poem are equally valid is a critical heresy..."(The Nature of Proof in the Interpretation of Poetry pg.1)

At first, I did not agree with Perrine. I have always thought there could be multiple interpretations of poems. I did not understand how there could be correct and incorrect interpretations of poetry because I thought the meaning of a poem was different for each reader. However, as I continued reading his paper, I realized there was some truth to his reasoning. Perrine was saying that some interpretations of poems are more correct than others. Take the Emily Dickinson poem for example: there are multiple ways to interpret it but some are better than others. I am one of those people who thought it was about a garden and I though it was a valid interpretation. However, after reading Perrine's reasoning, I would agree that the sunset reading of the poem fits much better.

I thought Perrine also made a good arguement on symbolism. Symbols can have multiple meanings within certain bounds. He proved this with The Sick Rose. The rose represented something pure and good, while the worm represented somthing dark and evil. There are many different things that the rose and worm could represent as long as they were with in the bounds set by the poem. Perrine makes a sound arguement and I agree with him for the purpose of literature class. However, I believe that for the purpose of enjoyment there can be many different interpretations of poetry. I think that in order to actually enjoy poetry, the reader must find a personal connection and interpretation of the poem, even if it is "incorrect."