My Thoughts On The Interpretation Of Poetry

After studying Perrine's "The Nature of Proof in the Interpretation of Poetry", I was left with parts of the article that I disagreed with, as well as parts that I agreed with. I disagree with the idea that poetry only has one meaning that is correct. I agree with Perrine's idea that when the poetry was written that the author had a particular idea in mind. But, I do not think that it is the only correct interpretation. I believe that someone's interpretation of a poem could be affected by their life. Everyone has different events in their lives that could spark an idea for them when interpreting  the poem, which leads to a different analysis. I also believe that everyone is entitled to their own personal opinions. I don't think that a teacher can state whether a persons opinion is right or wrong! The only way, in my opinion, that an interpretation could be wrong would be if, as Perrine stated, it contradicted itself. 

Reading the Perrine article actually further  proved my thoughts before reading it. In reading the different interpretations discussed in the article, I discovered that multiple interpretations are possible. As long as the reader finds a way to support his opinion in a non-contradictory way, it is correct. Although all of the interpretations were different, they were all correct in my opinion. I also learned how easy it is in some ways to interpret poetry. Many of the things discussed in the different interpretations were very simple and to the point. For example, Perrine talks about the bright and twinkling in the poem immediately referencing stars. Sometimes when reading poetry we look too deep and miss what is right in front of us!